Mythological Meaning

Most people think that the word "myth" is false and therefore unimportant when nothing could be further from the truth. A myth is simply a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to be.

The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths often are said to take place before recorded history begins. A myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it.

Every culture is based on a mythological substrate which is the glue of that society! Religious-studies scholars often limit the term "myth" to stories whose main characters "must be gods or near-gods".

The ancient Greeks gave us Zeus and Hermes as an example.

The Hindus embrace the cosmic divinities such as Vishnu and Brahma. Christians have the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the Mesoamerican cultures personified people such as Quetzalcoatl and Itzpapalotli.

Even the so-called atheists BELIEVE is something(s). We have our unproven beliefs in superstrings, Black holes, and Big Bang theories, which are just that. Theories. Postulates! But, these unproven myths weave our world into being, hold our psyche together, and give us hope to tomorrow. Carl Jung felt that the structures of our myths were buried deep within our society and it's from there that he developed his concept of the "collective unconscious".

Could it be that we're "unknowingly" following the Aztec myth which held that the cosmos dissolved and then regenerated itself on some regular cycle. They called that world the Fifth Sun, and they feared it so much that history reveals that they sacrificed some 70,000 people a year just trying to keep the Fifth Sun alive.

So while mankind in his foolishness and arrogance thinks he's above mythological thinking and concepts, maybe we've developed our own which are self-destructive and need revisiting. Were tribal cultures that far off and when we look at what's going on in the world, can we label ancient tribes primitive and us civilized? Has our technical expertise and scientific acumen advanced us even one step closer to our divinity? Could spiritually founded myths essentially carry the meaning to life? Did the Constantine Nicean Creed carry with it the seeds of destruction to valuable Christian myths?

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/spirituality-articles/mythological-meaning-292283.html

About the Author: Ernie Fitzpatrick
ernie@lrchouston.com