RE: Food for thought
July 14, 2009 at 9:48 pm
(This post was last modified: July 14, 2009 at 9:50 pm by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
Quote:I'm not disputing cosmic myth, I'm just saying, don't take them too literally, they're intended as allegories.
Just a second there buckeroo. I think that's common mistake in taking myths out of context of their times.
Of course SOME myths are meant as allegories just as some ,even many,have some basis in actual people or events. It can be virtually impossible to tell. You may be right,or not.
The belief systems of some ancient religions were literal. Egyptian religion is a good example. In many cultures,ancient and not so ancient the line is blurred between "real"and "magic" or "pragmatic" and "religious"
It's a lot of fun trying to work out exactly what people long dead actually believed.We can claim what we like,they're not going to contradict us. All we can ever hope to say with confidence is "the evidence suggests" or "X is likely, Y is unlikely"
On a pragmatic level it's impossible to ever fully understand another human being,let alone an entire culture. Perhaps the least reliable source of information is the individual,about himself or members of a culture about their culture.Written records are often not a lot more reliable. (especially the vainglorious boasting found on monuments)
Imo the study of history is much harder, varied and 1000 times more interesting than the mythology of a tribe of bronze age goat herders. Not to mention the later mythology of a single person,so bloody gormless that he got himself nailed to a cross..
Viking to Christian missionary :"YOUR god got nailed to a tree. MY god carries bloody great hammer! [so fuck off}"
