Does myth still have purpose?

[ComradeMeow]

Over the weeks I have found myths and religious scripture to be of no value. Although I am strongly fond of symbolism I am not so of myth.

When myth is used to convey a message I find it to be blurred and obscure, much like trying to make sense of the Bible. Myth tends to cloud my ability to understand things so my once admirable love of holy writ(myths) has just dropped because of this.
No matter how you look at myth you realize that it all comes down to hermeneutics or how you interpret them. This is why seemingly evil books like the Bible and Qur'an have stuck around for so long.

If myth makes its message so unclear to the point that undesirable aspects can be expunged from interpretation what is the point?


...Meow

[psychoslice]

Yes I do think Myths have meaning, they can teach us deep understanding, which we could call metaphorical understanding, its just a story that is loaded with wisdom, but only for those who are ready.

[ComradeMeow]

Yes I do think Myths have meaning, they can teach us deep understanding, which we could call metaphorical understanding, its just a story that is loaded with wisdom, but only for those who are ready.

My issue is that mythical writings are like philosophical writings. They over state their case and do unnecessary elaboration until you cannot tell what is intended to have meaning and what it intended to progress the lore.

[Michael]

I like Karen Armstrong's understanding of mythos: 'a myth is something that in some sense happened once and still happens today'.

Yes, I think myths are excellent for capturing and communicating truths that transcend cultural setting. I think they help us lift up our heads and see beyond our immediate surroundings in space and time. They help us to learn from those that came before us, and help us explore what it is to be human. They remind us that we're connected to countless generations of those before us who have explored our humanity; we join a 'bigger family' of humanity when we engage with and explore myth.

[ignoramus]

I love the myth about (was it) Hercules who had to kill the minotaur in a maze in Crete.
Everyone else who entered got lost in the maze and never returned.
Hercules, of course, used some string to navigate the maze, killed the minotaur and followed the string back!

Why couldn't they say, hey stupid, there's no GPS signal, you must use a bit of string so you won't get lost. Why did they have to include fantasy to pass on a simple message.

[Eel_LahjicK]

They serve some entertainment purpose. My problem with myths is that they brainwash people into strapping bombs to their chest so they can go defile their 72 virgins in the afterlife. They tell people being gay is a sin and they're going to burn in hell for all eternity. They tell people that someone died for their sins and that they're supposed to accept this as truth on no evidence whatsoever. The myths give god all of the credit for other people's good works, and tell them that they are worthless, and can do no good without "the" god of their faith. I feel this world could use a bit more reality, and could afford to lose some of its myths.

[psychoslice]

Yes I do think Myths have meaning, they can teach us deep understanding, which we could call metaphorical understanding, its just a story that is loaded with wisdom, but only for those who are ready.

My issue is that mythical writings are like philosophical writings. They over state their case and do unnecessary elaboration until you cannot tell what is intended to have meaning and what it intended to progress the lore.

But I could tell you a insightful story with much meaning to it, if you are ready to receive such a story, then the story will help you in your life. It doesn't matter if the story is true or not, its the wisdom that is within the storey that helps one to understand what one needs to understand.

[ComradeMeow]

They serve some entertainment purpose. My problem with myths is that they brainwash people into strapping bombs to their chest so they can go defile their 72 virgins in the afterlife. They tell people being gay is a sin and they're going to burn in hell for all eternity. They tell people that someone died for their sins and that they're supposed to accept this as truth on no evidence whatsoever. The myths give god all of the credit for other people's good works, and tell them that they are worthless, and can do no good without "the" god of their faith. I feel this world could use a bit more reality, and could afford to lose some of its myths.

This has been my issue. We do not live in an age where mythical thinking is acceptable. All religions are becoming heavily secularized and very quickly.
Mythical thinking to me is a precursor to philosophical thinking and philosophical thinking is a precursor to scientific thinking.