---------------------------------------- Myths and truth July 05th, 2018 ---------------------------------------- Joseph Campbell was fond of saying that all myths are true. His line of thinking is that the myths we know and that our societies have developed are culturally dependant expressions of a universal story. In comparative mythology or comparative religion we see the same aspects echoed across time and space. In his mind there were two possible reasons why: 1. There are similarities in human psychology and physiology that lead us to generate the same responses to our experiences regardless of culture and climate. 2. There is a shared truth which all of our myths and symbols help us to express. That expression is unique to our culture but it speaks to a universal truth which itself is ineffable. That is a tragically simplified summary, but it should do for my purposes as there's only a small point I'd like to make regarding myths. Myths are not true, they reveal truth. When Catholics look at the bible and read the story of creation, that story is a myth [0]. It is not literal. It is there to teach us something about creation in language and stories that make sense to the culture of the time. This reading with a cultural lens is vital to a Catholic reading of scripture, even the Gospels. (TXT) [0] Genesis 1 In the book of Luke [1], there is a passage that should be familiar to even the most lapsed of Christians. It is the story of Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. [1] (TXT) [1] Luke 2 I want to focus on just two phrases in this paragraph: "he was of the house and lineage of David" and "laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." Starting with the first phrase, this is an important note for a few reasons, biblically. It touches on prophecy fulfillment because it satisfies the messianic idea that the figure will come from the house of David. It is also important because of the political implications of the house itself. The house of David was the most prestigious of the Jewish people, after all. Heading to the ancestral home of that people is a big deal in a culture dominated by family value. This is a key point to remember in the story, too. Mary and Joseph aren't going to some small town in the middle of nowhere. They're going to the home of the wealthiest, most prestigious family. The people of the house of David would be many. This is not a land of strangers for them. It's also important to remember that for these people at the time there is a great emphasis put on the idea of hospitality. Elijah is going to return, and they must be ready. He may come in the guise of a beggar to your door. And so, welcoming in the traveler has a major role in daily life. It has such a role, that it even affected the architecture of first century Palestine. The typical home at the time was made up of two main rooms. The first was the family's room. It would be raised up off the ground a few feet and be all open. On one side there would be a ledge that drops down to ground level as the room extends into the animal enclosure. The animals would stay inside in poor weather or seasons, and their heat would be shared by the family. On the floor by this ledge were impressions in the ground where feed was placed: the manger. The second room was attached, often with a separate entrance. This was the guest house or reception room, and it was intended for visitors and extended family. We see such a room referenced twice in the bible by the Greek word kataluma. A kataluma is the room used by Jesus and his disciples during the last supper. It is also the word used in this paragraph and translated as "inn". In the ancient world there were no hotels. The closest you might find was a tent filled with straw mats, called a caravansary. This word was translated to "inn" during the story of the good Samaritan. When the man is injured and placed in the inn for care, that was a caravansary. In Luke we're talking about a very different thing. Taken together with our understanding of Jewish culture and the importance of the family of David, it is inconceivable to imagine the holy family alone in a barn on that first Christmas. The kataluma was full, so they were instead brought into the family room in communion with many others. When the child was born he was placed there in the manger where all could see him. So why do I bring this up? It isn't to criticize those poor Christmas pageants. It's to talk about the myths. The story of Jesus birth is not vital to the story of his teaching or his role within the faith. If Jesus is born in the midst of the most powerful Jewish family instead of alone in a barn, there's no fundamental truth being assaulted. In fact, if you spent your entire life believing one idea vs the other idea, it would have almost no bearing on your understanding of Jesus at all. Does that mean it doesn't matter? Does that suggest that a bunch of these stories are filler and don't have an impact on us? Well, no, not exactly. The stories, the myths, and our comprehension of them are trying to tell us something, but it's almost never the literal histories. Here in the story of Christ's birth we are being made to understand his place in the culture of the Jewish people, and his relationship to the prophets that came before him. In this way we can understand that he is legitimate. His role is appropriate. He's not just some guy who found a bunch of metal plates in his backyard [2]. (HTM) [2] Problems with the gold plates Each myth is meant to communicate something to us that words alone can't. They are intricately tied to the culture of their creation, and when that culture changes so must the myths. Without this change they become distance, misaligned, and misconstrued. Before you know it you are taking words from Leviticus and applying them to a whole different world. As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. [3] (TXT) [3] Leviticus 25 Whether we're looking at stories of the Buddha or Brahman, Gicelemû’kaong or Birrahgnooloo, the myths create and communicate our understanding of their truth. The myths are not the truth, but they are true, all of them.