Do Myths Make the Bible Invalid?

If the Bible is based on myths and stories is it time we discard it?  In an article addressing, Myth and the New Testament, University of Manchester Professor F.F. Bruce speaks of Rudolf Bultmann and his demythologizing programme. Bultmann’s thesis, in brief, is that if the gospel is to make its impact on men and women today, it must be freed from its ‘mythological’ formulation. What would happen if we freed the Bible of all its myths and only relied on what could be scientifically and historically validated?

To make this decision, we must first examine what a myth is. The dictionary says a myth is a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation. Basically, a myth is a story that can’t be proven.

 In A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, John J. Collins suggests that anytime we hear a tale about a talking snake, it’s a good indication we might be looking at myth.   I think I’d have to admit that when I read a story of a man swallowed by a fish, walking on water, or turning water into wine, I might be reading a story that is a potential myth candidate. Even if the stories may not be true, it doesn’t mean we have to throw them out? 

 

 A myth is a story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence (Merriam-Webster). Just because a story is a myth, doesn't mean it isn't relative or spiritually powerful.  Myths are passed from generation to generation because they have stood the test of time, because, myths by nature, always point to a truth.

So, Where the Heck is God?

     

In Glimpses of Truth, Dr. Rev. Thomas Shepherd discusses, what he calls, the Let It In / Let It Out Controversy. The controversy asks, “Do all human beings have God’s spirit within them? Or must God send His Spirit to them?” (Shepherd 117)

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own. Shepherd points out the meaning is ambiguous. While Paul clearly says the Holy Spirit is within you. His next statement, “Which you have from God," is not without debate. Is Paul referring to a Holy Spirit which has been poured into the believer, or a divine spirit welling up from within?  (Shepherd 117). This is at the heart of the controversy.

A search through the Bible gives little clarification.  Some gospels refer to Spirit as the life-force within each person (Mark 14:38, Luke 23:26), while others show Spirit as the empowering divine presence within the believers (John 3:6, 6:63, 7:39, 14:17).  (Shepherd 118)  

Shepherd suggests that one resolution might be the middle path that would accept a God-out-there and God-within. (Shepherd 119)  If God in omnipresent and omnipresence it would seem reasonable that God could be both.

We can feel God’s presence “out there” as we watch a beautiful sunset, behold the majesty of the mountains and feel the power of the crashing waves of the ocean. We can also experience God within, as we gain peace and insights from the “still small voice within”

In the Bible, Jesus sometimes spoke of God within saying, “I and the Father are one.” At other times he seemed to cry out to God, “Take this cup from me.”

Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore speaks of a spirit within and a spirit out there. In the Revealing Word Fillmore writes: wisdom and divine understanding--These attributes come from the Spirit of Christ within us. (RW 212) While in the Metaphysical Bible dictionary he states, “The prayer of the soul alone in its upper room (state of high spiritual aspiration) brings down the Holy Ghost.” (MBD 648)   

When Fillmore spoke of spirit within and spirit that is brought down, he was not speaking of two separate spirits. In Lesson One of Christian Healing Fillmore writes, “There is one Presence, one Intelligence, one Substance, one Life: the good omnipotent.”

Fillmore believed in one Spirit--omnipresent.  Since Spirit is everywhere, not confined to location, it would seem reasonable that Fillmore could easily speak of God-within and God-out-there without contradiction—both were true.  It also seems reasonable to conclude that putting God in a box, confined  to a place within or a place out there, is limiting, and contradictory to the very nature of God.

 

 

Cited:

Shepherd, Thomas W. Glimpses of Truth-Systematic Theology for Skeptics, Mystics, and Metaphysicians. 2013

Fillmore, Charles.  Metaphysical Bible Dictionary. 2013. Kindle Edition.

Fillmore, Charles. Revealing Word. 2013. Online tigerseyedowing.com

Fillmore, Charles. Christian Healing 2013. Online. tigerseyedowing.com

  

DRIVING HURTS OVARIES

While browsing the internet the other day, I was stunned by a jarring headline from msn.com shouting, " Saudi Cleric Says Driving Hurts Women's Ovaries."  The story reports that, in Saudi Arabia, only men are given driver's licenses. I seems, Saudi women planned  a protest by rallying together and driving--in direct opposition to society and religious norms. To put a halt to this outrageous show of rebellion,  Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan warns women against driving claiming, "If a woman drives a car, not out of pure necessity, that could have negative physiological impacts as functional and medical studies show that it automatically affects the ovaries and pushes the pelvis upwards." 

 

Further investigation from Reuters reveals that the head of Saudi Arabia's morality police says there is nothing in Islamic law that bans women from driving, but in the past, they have been fined or put on trial for "political protest." 

 

I  remember first learning about the morality police while watching the TV show, House Hunters International.  On the show, they interviewed an American woman who's husband had taken a job in a country where women were considered subservient. Even as an American, she could not  get a driver's license, rent a house or even call a plumber without her husband's consent.  The woman shared her  run-in with the morality police while in a shopping in a mall.  She was shocked when a store clerk came up to her and shoved into her hand a morality police warning card. It asked her to be respectful in public and to be considerate of the culture. She was taken aback, because she thought she had done all she could do to be in conformity. Her skirt length was well below her knees and her shirt was modest and unrevealing.  After some inquiry,  she discovered that her infraction came from the her shirt's sleeve length.. Although the shirt had sleeves, the morality police determined the sleeves were too short and her arms were too exposed for a public place.

 In our country, stories  warning of the dangers of driving and ovaries, or morality police handing out cards for sleeve lengths, may seem absurd. But it doesn't take much reflection, for us to remember  absurdities that our country held, not to long ago--absurdities like slavery, and voting rights, dueling to the death and  married women not being allowed to teach in public schools.

 

The other week I took a trip to the Truman Library in  Independence, Kansas. At the end of one their movie presentations, they broached the  heated debate surrounding women serving in the military.They  pointed out  that the same arguments used against why women should not serve in the military today,  were the exact same arguments used to justify why blacks should not serve in the military years ago.

When I think of all the, seemingly,  absurd customs we, as a country, used to fight about and hold dear as a country, and read of the beliefs held by other cultural that almost seem laughable, instead of disregarding them, I stop. I try to take a moment and pause to look at my own values.  I try to  reflect on the passionate beliefs I hold today, and using history as a reference,  try to discern what side of history my beliefs might end up on.

What Gave Jesus His Authority and Do We Have the Same?

                                            What gave Jesus His authority?

 

Mark 1:21-22 states, “They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

 That statement is interesting, because as teachers, counselors, philosophers and copiers, scribes held the authority of leadership in their communities.  But from the scripture above, it's obvious that Jesus’s authority was much different than that of the scribes--Jesus's authority astounded the crowds.

 The Revealing Word defines authority as: rightful power; mastery; or dominion. The Scribes were copyist. They would copy the ancient Hebrew text and even teach from them, but they never understood the Truth and power behind those  words.  Like the scribes, Jesus was also an expert on the Hebrew texts, but they weren't just simply words and traditions to him.  Jesus not only studied the texts, but he understood the Truth and Power behind the words. He took to heart the scripture that proclaims man has been given dominion on earth--- He understood his rightful power and acknowledged it by saying, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me."

Will we ever have that kind of certainty? How and when?   Genesis reveals that, just like Jesus, we are given dominion. Certainty comes when we stop acting like scribes who merely read, write and talk about that dominion, and start acting with rightful authority and live it.

 Glimpses of Truth states, “We cannot teach with authority until we are willing to leave the blackboard for the marketplace, testing our beliefs in the only arena that counts, everyday life. Jesus Christ calls us to go and do likewise, to put feet on our prayers and test the ideas we cherish, and then to speak with the authority such experience will bring.”

 Fortunately, Unity co-founder, Charles Fillmore gave us tools to help develop mastery so we can more confidently put feet on our prayers.  Glimpses of Truth explains, “Fillmore discovered ideas which he could “assimilate, validate, corroborate and verify” in his own life. He then, spoke of “going to headquarters,” by which he meant spending time in contemplative prayer. The insights he received were then tested in the laboratory of daily living and referred to other Christians for discussions, testing, and application. His method was pragmatic; truth was truth because it worked for him. 

 When we put feet on it,  the Truth that worked for Jesus and Fillmore is the same Truth that will work for us.