Myth for the Masses: Symbolism and the Language of Liturgy

The Imaginative Conservative ^ | Dwight Longenecker

[don-o]

We have forgotten that religion is not about making the world a better place, but about going to a better place. All the old chthonic mysteries of the cave have been replaced by cheerful exhortations and enthusiasm for self-improvement and prosperity. The ancient commerce with the other world and the soul saving transactions with eternity have been relegated to the shelf with the books on ancient civilizations, anthropology and psychology. We know better now. We have outgrown that stuff. We are no longer in the dark ages.

Or are we? The ancient symbolism of myth and magic still thrives in the superhero movies, the fantasy novels and the popular stories of the supernatural. Indeed the supernatural and the superheroes are popular everywhere but in church—where ordinary people once did extraordinary business with the supernatural and learned to be those superheroes called saints.

[Russ]

Thank you for posting this. I found it to be very informative.

[VermiciousKnid]

Excellent article. Thanks for posting.

Regards,

[don-o]

I find The Imaginative Conservative to host a wide variety of well written and deeply thoughtful works. Glad you liked it.

[Kolokotronis]

“Then we went on to Greece, and the Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty. Every man, after tasting something sweet, is afterward unwilling to accept that which is bitter, and therefore we cannot dwell longer here.”

You and I will be there Sunday at the Divine Liturgy, d-o, worshiping our Triune God with the angels and the saints, not here on earth, off the timeline. Every one can if they wish. The West, frankly not surprisingly, has chosen another way.