WHAT IS RELIGION? A FIRSTLOOK

Lession 6: The Stuff of Religion – Part 1

Don E. Peavy, Sr., M.D.,J.D.

QUOTE FOR THE WEEK

The sun and the moon are not mirrored in cloudy water. Thus the almighty cannot be mirrored in a heart that is obsessed by the idea of me and mine.

Ramakrishna

VI. The Stuff of Religion

– First Order Stuff.Myth.Symbol.Scripture.

– Second Order Stuff: Dogma Doctrine

OBJECTIVE

Explain the meaning of myth in academic religious studies, summarize and propose a solution to the conflict between mythic and nonmythic accounts of existence, identify mythic and nonmythic accounts of existence, identify mythic elements in popular culture, and compare and contrast mythic themes found in the major religious worldviews.

SYMBOLS

Sometimes thought to be interchangeable with sign that indicates the existence of a thing, event, or condition.

Symbols are “special kind of signs” (59). Representational and presentational. “express and help to sustain whole religious

traditions” (60). Master symbols.

OTHER SYMBOLIC FORMS

Metaphor – “strikes insight by creating something entirely new, … both similar and dissimilar.” (65)

Parable – an extended metaphor, drawn from the ordinary experiences of everyday living; uses surprise or irony to shake or shock us into a new or higher state of awareness.

OTHER SYMBOLIC FORMS

Stories – “shape our own inner story, our own sense of place, and our own pilgrimage through time.” (68)

Religious stories move us and affect us because whether or not the story is literally true, it resonates with our own life experiences or those of people we love and care about. We come to own the story!

Campbell Short Bio

Over one hundred years ago, on March 26th in 1904, Joseph John Campbell was born in White Plains, NY. Joe, as he came to be known, was the first child of a middle-class, Roman Catholic couple, Charles and Josephine Campbell. After earning a B.A. from Columbia (1925), and receiving an M.A. (1927) for his work in Arthurian Studies, Joe was awarded a Proudfit Traveling Fellowship to continue his studies at the University of Paris (1927-28). Then, after he had received and rejected an offer to teach at his high school alma mater, his Fellowship was renewed, and he traveled to Germany to resume his studies at the University of Munich (1928-29). http://www.jcf.org/about_jc.php?PHPSESSID=e3a07d209c11cab77161a987a8688cf6

MYTHS

“A complex of stories -- some no doubt fact, and some fancy -- which, for various reasons, human beings regard as demonstrations of the inner meaning of the universe and of human life” (84).

“Myths have to do with transformation of consciousness” (Campbell).

Myths bring us to a level of consciousness.

MYTHS (CONTD.)

“Myth is a manifestation in symbolic images -- metaphorical images -- of the energies within us moved by the organs of the body in conflict with each other” (Campbell).

Myths are “magnified dreams. Dreams are manifestations in image form of the energies of the body in conflict with each other” (Campbell).

MYTHS (CONTD.)

“Myths have to give life models and those models have to be appropriate for the times” (Campbell).

“All religions are true for their time … [People] have to separate truth from temporal inflections” (Campbell).

New metaphors must emerge and myths must be refashioned for a community to remain viable and vital.

Myths of Creation are among the most prominent myths.

Check out this website with links to many of the world’s myths of

creation: http://www.magictails.com/creationli

nks.html

THE COMPUTER ANALOGY

Computer is a culture. Software is myths. Operating system is religion. Campbell’s computer is like an OT god -- a

lot of rules and no mercy! “Each religion is a kind of software that has

its own system and signals” (Campbell).

FOUR FUNCTIONS OF MYTH

The first function of a myth is the mystical function.  Finding answers to all the mysteries of life and realizing the wonder of it all. (Campbell 31)

The second function of a myth is a cosmological dimension; adding science to the mystery of life, but still not having complete answers. (Campbell 31)

FUNCTIONS (Contd.)

The third function of a myth is a sociological one.  The validity and usefulness of a myth functioning on the social level would be based on the social order it is supporting or validating.  Where you are living and with whom you are joined as a community would determine whether the myth was useful or not. (Campbell 31)

FUNCTIONS (contd.)

The fourth function of a myth is a pedagogical function.  Myths have the ability to teach, especially focusing on how to live.  Myths usually provide a pedantic lesson appropriate only for specific people, communities or periods of time. (Campbell 31)

FUNCTIONS (Conclusion)

Above are the main functions of a myth, though a myth has other purposes, the purposes are not necessarily considered functions. 

SCRIPTURE

Scripture is a written body of sacred, authoritative, and normative text. (Livingston 128-29)Scripture is:- transformative and sacred power--points to that which is eternal and unchanging- that which has divine or heavenly origin- eternalThis scene from the classic film “Inherit the Wind” dramatizes the need for understanding scripture:Inherit the Wind.

HERMENEUTICS

“A word used to describe our understanding of the nature of texts and how we interpret and use them, especially with respect to the Bible, a collection of ancient texts with distinctive and abiding authority.”David Jasper, “A Short Introduction to Hermeneutics,” 2004.Has a philosophical root in epistemology – that is, the problem of how we can know anything at all.

Contd.

To understand a book means more than just looking at how it was written, it also entails reflecting on how it has been read and accepted as authoritative. Literary criticism would help us to do this.Hermeneutics perform the same function but for sacred texts.

TRADITIONAL HERMENEUTICS

EXEGESIS

-- Author, provenance, time, audience, genre (poem, homily, apocalypse, etc.)INTERPRETATION

-- What did it mean to its first hearersAPPLICATION

-- What does it mean to us today

BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS

Biblical hermeneutics can be defined in two ways: firstly, as 'methods of interpretation', which is perhaps closer to the ancient understanding of the Greek verb e9rmeneuein (hermeneuein) -- in this case, Biblical hermeneutics is almost synonymous with "methodology of Biblical interpretation" (this use of the term tends to be popular in conservative circles); secondly, taking into account the use of the term "hermeneutics" especially since Schleiermacher, 'Biblical hermeneutics' can be understood as the fundamental philosophical and theological assumptions 'behind' different methods of interpretation.http://www.biblicalhermeneutics.net/

WHY WE NEED IT?

As we continue our study of religion, it is essential that we have a holistic understanding of sacred Scripture since most religions have some form of scripture.Some religious thinkers, like Bonhoeffer, call for a radical obedience to Scripture.However, how can we obey what we do not understand? That is the role of hermeneutics.Those who believe are “faith seeking understanding.”

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL’S HERMENEUTIC SYSTEMOne of the founders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)1788-1866Father was a Presbyterian Pastor but later left his post at the strong suggestion of his superiors.

RULE I

On opening any book in the sacred scriptures, consider first the historical circumstances of the book. These are the order, the title, the author, the date, the place, and the occasion of it.Commentary: Note this first step is what is traditionally known as exegesis.

RULE II

In examining the contents of any book, as respects precepts, promises, exhortations, etc., observe who it is that speaks, and under what dispensation he officiates, Is he a Patriarch, a Jew, or a Christian? Consider also the persons addressed – their prejudices, characters, and religious relations.

RULE III

To understand the meaning of what is commanded, promised, taught, etc., the same philological principles, deduced from the nature of language, or the same laws of interpretation which are applied to the language of other books, are to be applied to the language of the Bible.

RULE IV

Common usage … must always decide the meaning of any word which has but one signification; but when words have according to … the Dictionary more meanings than one, whether literal or figurative, the scope, the context, or parallel passages must decide the meaning.

RULE V

In all tropical [figurative] language ascertain the point of resemblance, and judge of the nature of the trope, and its kind, from the point of resemblance.Definition: trope – the use of words in other than their literal sense.Commentary: How do you determine when a word should be understood literally or not?

RULE VI

In the interpretation of symbols, types, allegories, and parables, this rule is supreme. Ascertain the point to be illustrated; for comparison is never to be extended beyond that point – to all the attributes, qualities or circumstances of the symbol, type, allegory, or parable.

RULE VII

For the salutary and sanctifying intelligence of the oracles of God, the following rule is indispensable: We must come within the understanding distance. There is a distance which is properly called the speaking distance, or the hearing distance, beyond which the voice reaches not, and the ear hears not. To hear another, we must come

RULE VII (Contd.)

Within that circle which the voice audibly fills. Now we may with propriety say, that as it respects God, there is an understanding distance. All beyond that distance cannot understand God; all within it can easily understand him in all matters of piety and morality.

FINALLY

“These seven rules of interpretation offer a picture of the critical mind Campbell assumed whenever he approached scripture. Disciples, throughout the years following Campbell’s death, have, for the most part, continued in this critical tradition.”Mark G. Toulouse, “Joined in Discipleship: The Shaping of the Contemporary Disciples Identity,” Chalice Press (1977), 43-44.

CONCLUSION

We have now taken our first look at the “heart of the matter.”

That is, we have begun our review of the basic elements of religion. All religions share these common elements.

A possible exception is Wicca where some claim that Wicca does not have any scripture. However, this claim is disputed.