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To: Louis Foxwell

Your statement and that of C.S. Lewis’ in the video I linked to, shows you two are of like mind, kindred spirits. That should be considered a great compliment.

As for me, I am not sure if the term ‘myth’ fits with the life of Christ. To me, Christ is real and His fleshly life in scripture is real, not a myth.

His resurrection may be considered by some as a ‘myth’, but to me it is true because if it were not, then all scripture fails and is false. So it must be true or we are all lost.

But then, I haven’t studied the nuances in meaning of the word ‘myth’.


12 posted on 09/21/2016 1:16:38 AM PDT by Hostage (ARTICLE V):)
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To: Hostage

Not really answering your post, just throwing out some thoughts sparked by this thread.

In itself Myth simply means ‘story’ or dramatic narrative, typically with a supernatural component.

As Tolkien averred: human myth is sub-creation: because we are created, we yearn to create.

Not just the ancient world, but the modern world also has created thousands of stories that (at their best) elevate and enoble us. For instance: think of “Star Wars” or the “Magnificent Seven”. These stories are not true, but they capture noble truths and/or engender childlike wonder.

And - being fallen humans - we also create stories that degrade and shame. I’m thinking here of “Saw”, “Evil Dead” and similar movies and novels. They are not true, and they are also degrading and hollow.

Now the Myth of Christ is no mere human story: it is The Whole Drama of Reality and it is told by God. It is not only true and real, it is more true and more real than we can understand.

The God that is both Priest and Victim. The God who is forsaken by God on the cross. The God who feeds us with His Body and Blood.

We can walk round these tremendous truths and examine them again and again, but never get to the bottom of them.

Also: we’re not passive observers of This Story. We are an intrinsic part of it. We only exist, after all, because The Author of All Things wrote us into being.

I don’t remember who said it, but “the great thing about God is the care that he takes with his minor characters”.

Hope this is helpful.


16 posted on 09/21/2016 2:18:17 AM PDT by agere_contra (Hamas has dug miles of tunnels - but no bomb-shelters.)
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To: Hostage
There are 2 meanings for myth:

1. a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

2. a widely held but false belief or idea.

I know that I myself usually identify myth with the 2nd meaning, however, the 1st meaning leaves the possibility for a myth to be a real story.

25 posted on 09/21/2016 4:12:20 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
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