Can Christianity be recreated to work as a metaphor ?

What needs do mythology and religion serve in today's world and in ancient times? Here we discuss the relationship between mythology, religion and science from mythological, religious and philosophical viewpoints.

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Andreas
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Post by Andreas »

So I guess the next time somebody says to me “There’s no meaning to life” I can tell them…

“Yes there is, but you won’t be able to understand it until you figure out how to use your brain.” :lol: :lol:
:lol: :lol:
“To live is enough.” ― Shunryu Suzuki

Stone_Giant
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Post by Stone_Giant »

All, thanks for the great replies and insights. Neo/Jon I like the idea of the practice of "thinking in metaphor" to be the apotheosis of a hero journey..... it may just spur me on to start another thread on that very subject.

Also, thanks Neo, for the detailed quote on left/right brian function, my reference to it was a bit terse to say the least and it did lack an external reference for those less familiar with it.

One last thought, just to bring the thread back to its true subject. Maybe Christianity , with its more dynamic manifesto, is really a victim of its own success. Once you start to question the status quo, anything becomes fair game, even the "thought system" that spawned such an attitude.

The big question now, which Joe has put forward, is "What is its replacement? What is the new Myth?"

Science has proven many (most?) of the key lessons of religious thinking to be based on 'hard' fact. Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene" contains examples of game theory as applied to seagull populations, and it proves that "do unto others as you would have them do to you" actually results in stable populations and the greater benefit for the greater number. Problem is..scientific papers just ain't sexy! (for most people) . At the end of the day, just how do you grab the heart, the soul, the mind of Joe Public? Somehow you need to take the population Horse to the waters of Enlightenment, AND make him drink, which is what I guess Christianity did for the peoples of historical Europe (and therfore early Euro/Americans too). Can we ever repeat that trick for the new globalised world population?

"Teaching people to use their brians properly"

......you know, I like the sound of that. If you scratch the archaic coverings of all major religions, isn't that what they are really saying in an abstract sense? That there is nothing wrong with the world of today...its just your attitude/ to it that needs changing.

The reason the Old Religions are failing is that their metaphors are based on the world of 2000 years ago, they just don't work today. The fundamental teachings and human truths of religion still stand. If we could use the unified left/right brian as a model, and re-present those truths with a more relevant, science-oriented, but still artistically pleasing, 'front end' (- essentially by using vital, modern metaphors), then maybe we'd have a starting point for the New Myth. Hmmm.......

Regards

Stone_Giant
Want to wash away my sins, in the presence of my friends. (Arcade Fire)

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Post by jonsjourney »

Interestingly, the majority of the left/right neurological research is searching for specific regions that do specific things. It seems that few are interested in looking at the brain as an elaborate matrix....a network of connections that work in harmony (hopefully).

Is this a little like Descartes looking for the soul to be located in the pineal gland?

Dissection often seems to lead to duality.

The new mythology will certainly need, in my view, to be a monistic mythology. A reconnecting with the universe without the dominion over it.
"He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot." -Douglas Adams

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Post by Dionysus »

The new mythology will certainly need, in my view, to be a monistic mythology. A reconnecting with the universe without the dominion over it.
The new mythology is what WE create. And you're right, it does seem to be rather monastic. Tho' outside of my relationship, only. My pal puts up with my ravings. She likes it. Refreshing. Recovering Catholic (you know the type); I think they're more willing to see the insights of the Eastern way.

As for dominion. I believe that that belief is inherent in all the Semitic faiths. "The children of light battle the children of darkness here, in the realm of temporality. Eternity is other (but oh, so much more).

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

Is this a little like Descartes looking for the soul to be located in the pineal gland?

Dissection often seems to lead to duality.
Is it a wave or is it a particle? :lol:
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

Dionysus
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Post by Dionysus »

I THINK the answer is, "Both."

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

Right... and wrong. 8)
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

Dionysus
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Post by Dionysus »

Stop! Stop!! You're both right! It's two . . . two . . . two states of being in one!. (from an old Clorettes ad. ).

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

:lol:
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

At the risk of repeating myself (and many others) "Christianity" exists (for me) as a good idea that has never really been tried.

Goodness, Brian, but Christianity is "an idea that's been tried" for over two thousand years...

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Neoplato »

"The first of all the commandments is, hear O Israel; (seeker of spiritual truth) The Lord our God is one Lord: (There goes the doctrine of the trinity and the doctrine that Jesus is God) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: This is the first commandment. (Thou shalt love "God" unconditionally) And the second is like, (similar) namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (As another decent human being (or) as another "Child of God" for instance . . .) There is none other commandment greater than these". - Jesus the Christ, The Holy Bible, (KJV) St. Mark 12, 29 - 31.
Here is my interpretation:

I am life; respect me, heed me, acknowledge the way. This is the first commandment. (No idols; Name in vain; etc...)

The second is "The golden rule", 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

In that way, no one would covet anything, Neighbor's wives or asses. :lol:

Moses just couldn't conceive of the all encompassing law. It doesn't mean that he was wrong.
Infinite moment, grants freedom of winter death, allows life to dawn.

Stone_Giant
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Post by Stone_Giant »

"The first of all the commandments is, hear O Israel; (seeker of spiritual truth) The Lord our God is one Lord: (There goes the doctrine of the trinity and the doctrine that Jesus is God) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy streng
Brian, all well and good, but that is one heavily abstract statement. What is the actual practice of "Loving God" and what is its goal? Is it something as simple as treating all of creation with care and restraint? If so then I think most people would see the confusing terminology of a 2000 yr old "imaginative story construct" as a poor way to present such messages today. I would agree that human nature and human needs don't change, but their reference points do. There exist countless different ways to sin (a.k.a harming oneself and humanity in general) than there did 2000 years ago.

Regards SG
Want to wash away my sins, in the presence of my friends. (Arcade Fire)

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