'The myths of primitive society are merely the result of an endeavour to express certain ways of thinking and feeling about the facts of life which are brought into existence by the manner in which life is regulated in society.' ---Alfred Radcliffe-Brown (as noted by E.O. James in 'The Nature and Function of Myth' in …
Tag: myth
Defining Myth for Missionaries
The term "Myth" is very hard to define because so many people have investment in the term. It is used in anthropology, it is used in religious studies, it is used storytelling and literature. It is used by the scholar and the layman alike. But the meanings often differ. I teach in a seminary and …
Quote of Myth, Meaning, and Ministry
One of my students put a great quote in one of his papers for our Cultural Anthropology class. “Myth is a perceived truth which is immeasurably greater than concept. It is high time that we stop identifying myth with invention or simply human imagination, with the illusions of primitive mentality. The creation of mythis among …
The Story Wheel (Part 2)
The previous post was dedicated to the illustration of the story wheel. It is based on work by Sacks, as well as Crossan. But it seemed valuable to me to add 'antimyth.' The reason is that a myth ultimately establishes the underlying worldview of the culture. In fact all of the story types (the weakest …
The Story Wheel (Part I)
Below is the Story Wheel... loosely based on work by Sheldon Sacks and John Dominic Crossan. Will talk about it more in Part II. a Part 2 is HERE.
Mythic and Parabolic Stories in Culture, Part II
If one takes the definitions for “mythic” and “parabolic” from the previous post, then, Myth: A story that has power within a certain culture because it resonates with the culture's deep-seated values. Parable: A story that has power within a certain culture because it is dissonant and challenges the culture's deep-seated values. First, clearly, using …
Continue reading Mythic and Parabolic Stories in Culture, Part II
Power of Parables
One of the problems of not getting a real liberal arts education (most of my education is in Mechanical Engineering and military leadership), is limitations in communication and the arts. One of these is in the role of parables. When I was young going to church, parables were defined as "earthly stories with a heavenly …