Myths are archetypal stories that attempt to explain the human experience on this small speck of cosmic dust called Earth. Myths abound in every religion. Every theistic religion is rooted in its creation myths; how we came to be and, in some cases, why we came to be. Importantly they give us insight into our behaviors and interactions with one another and with the divine.
While Christianity is rooted in Judaism and its myths, Christianity has its own myths related to the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus's life and times that reflect the mythic imagination of the Hebrew Scriptures; an imagination that imbues the stories of real people and places with a mythic hue to expose within their stories their deeper meanings. No person in either the Old or New Testaments is ever meant to be idolized or thought of as apart from the rest of us because they are us.
Three prominent mythically imbued heroes of the Old Testament, Abraham, Moses, and Elijah are used by New Testament writers to explain Jesus and our relationship to him. The Epistles of Paul utilize the stories of Abraham to depict Jesus as the one offspring through which God's promise of being the father of nations is fulfilled; namely, that those who believe in Jesus are by faith the true offspring of Abraham [See Galatians 3]. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is depicted as being a law-giver like Moses and on par with Elijah as the greatest of all prophets. This is particularly demonstrated in the story of Jesus' transfiguration.
In my earlier posts, I said that I do no like using the word mystery too often, as the term has often been used to steer one away one from seeking explanations and accept what is written without understanding the reason for what was wrote. This is the primary reason I prefer the word myth when it comes to stories about Jesus. While there is an aura of mysticism surrounding these stories to be pondered, they are best explained and understood as myths. In fact, understanding these stories as myths removes the burden of having to believe them as fact so that one can freely investigate the truths they express and ponder their mystical applications within our life experiences from birth to death.
It is of upmost importance to never separate the teachings of Jesus from the mythic stories about Jesus. Treating the myths about Jesus as something to be believed as factual events necessary for salvation tends to diminish the teachings of Jesus as being nonessential to the redemptive purpose of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels, in particular, blend the teachings of Jesus with the mythic stories about Jesus into a linear narrative which is itself instructive on how the teachings of Jesus are experienced throughout one's life.
We start life on this planet like Jesus and we end life like Jesus, and in Jesus we are given a vision of more life yet to be. It is only the details of our individual lives that vary, but if we are to follow Jesus then we must be alert to where his and our stories connect. Such connections are exposed by following what Jesus taught.
It is in following the teaching of Jesus that we begin to understand the mythic meanings of life that surround them. It is in applying what Jesus taught as a way of life that one can experience the mythic meanings of his birth, his baptism, his transfiguration, his death, and his resurrection in one's life. I have already written about such applications in other post on Jesus' birth (here and here), baptism (here, here, and here) transfiguration (here and here), death (here, here, and here), and resurrection (here, here, and here).
There are other mythic stories about Jesus that are cast as miracles. Miracles are something that people truly experience. I have experienced what I call the miraculous in my own life. I believe it was Rabbi Jonathan Sachs, however, who wrote in one of his books, something to the effect, that miraculous events rarely, if ever, convince someone to join a religion.
To illustrate Rabbi Sachs observation, try explaining a miraculous event in one's life to others and you are likely to find someone giving you a reasonable (factual) explanation to the miracle that for all practical purpose is an attempt to explain the miracle away. In fact, I would go so far to say that any miracle is a personal encounter with mythic experience; that is, with truths that do not require a factual explanation. The only people who don't question the miraculous experiences of others are those who have experienced one themselves. This, of course, begs the question why stories of miracles abound in both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible.
When it comes to stories of miracles in the New Testament; particularly, those performed by Jesus we are once again faced with their mythic meanings and application, some of which are quite obvious and others are more cryptic. The point of miracle stories involving Jesus go far beyond trying to prove he is the Son of God. If that is all one gets from them, then one has missed the point of their being told.
The mythic aura surrounding the teachings of Jesus frequently involves the miraculous. In these stories, we see the teachings of Jesus come to life as they are fleshed out in stories depicting the direct impact they had on the lives of others. It is the intent of such stories to depict the relevance of what Jesus taught has in our lives.
In the posts that will follow, I will take a look at some of the miracle stories involving Jesus and their mythic meanings and applications.
Until next time, stay faithful.
Norm
