Mythos 1

Who was Joseph Campbell? What is a myth? What does "Follow Your Bliss" mean? If you are new to the work of Joseph Campbell, this forum is a good place to start.

Moderators: Clemsy, Martin_Weyers, Cindy B.

Locked
Frank Canepa
Associate
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 5:01 am

Mythos 1

Post by Frank Canepa »

I just finished viewing the Mythos 1 series and am wondering what is up with JC's apparent dislike of the Judeo-Christian spirituality. He speaks almost reverently of a catholic priest consecrating the Eucharist, but more than once seems to say that the Judeo-Christian myth is inferior to the others, for which he seems to have a healthy respect.

Clemsy
Working Associate
Posts: 10645
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2002 6:00 am
Location: The forest... somewhere north of Albany
Contact:

Post by Clemsy »

Hi Frank, and welcome to the JCF Forums. You know, I really don't think Campbell disliked the Judeo-Christian mythos as such. He did, however, and as I read him, very much despise that it has been concretized. When the metaphor is taken literally, and read as biography, geography and history, it is killed. He does state that nowhere else is a god set up as empirically better than another's as it has been in the religions that come out of the Levant, and this includes Islam.

Indeed, he treats the poetry of the Judeo-Christian myth with great wonder and appreciation. It's what's been done with it that he, and I for that matter, takes exception to.

Cheers,
Clemsy
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

Frank Canepa
Associate
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 5:01 am

Post by Frank Canepa »

Thanks, Clemsy - I appreciate your response. I see the concretization, yet at the same time is a living spirituality (at least in some expressions of Christianity) in the mystical end of things. What would an authentic Christianity look like without the forms and encrustations?

Regards,
Frank

Clemsy
Working Associate
Posts: 10645
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2002 6:00 am
Location: The forest... somewhere north of Albany
Contact:

Post by Clemsy »

Absolutely, Christianity can be a living spirituality. The breakdown occurs when people become stuck in the sociological function of myth; making sure everyone abides by the unquestionable rules. However, the imagery, ritual, stories, etc., can indeed speak to one and provide a way to experiencing the mystery with tremendous awe.

But that is an individual experience, and can stand in contradiction to the ethnic impulse of a faiths structure. The mystical aspect faces inward, the ethnic, which is very tribal in nature, faces outward defining boundaries and those outside as other.

Campbell had a problem with this and he did state it in no uncertain terms.

Cheers,
Clemsy
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

Locked