John Morreall - 50 Great Myths About Religions

John Morreall and Tamara Sonn

This edition first published 2014
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Might I suggest that [people doubting religious narratives] use the tactic used by many modern Jews dealing with biblical narratives that defy credulity, from a six-day story of creation to Jonah living inside a large fish. We distinguish between left-brain narratives (meant to convey factual truth) and right-brain narratives (meant to make a point through a story; the message will be true even if the story isnt factually defensible). (Rabbi Harold Kushner (2013))

This book was inspired by another Wiley Blackwell book, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology by Scott Lilienfeld et al. (2010), in which myth means a widespread belief that is not well supported by evidence. Some of our myths are like that, such as the beliefs that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, and that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem on December 25. But we also count as myths common beliefs that are questionable for other reasons, such as that they conflict with the teachings of the religions of the believers. Some Muslims (and countless non-Muslims), for example, believe that the Quran promises suicide bombers 72 heavenly virgins. In the Quran, however, both suicide and terrorism are condemned as grave sins. Many Christians believe that Satan and his devils torture humans in hell, but that actually conflicts with basic Christian teachings. When we call something a myth, then, our meaning is close to the dictionary definition for misbelief: a myth is a wrong, false, or unorthodox belief or opinion, especially in religion.

There is a second meaning of myth that we should mention, because it is important in the academic field of Religious Studies. When scholars of religion talk about myths, they generally mean traditional stories that explain important aspects of life, such as where we came from, why were here, who our heroes are and what makes them special, and how we should live. A good example is the story in Genesis about Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then being cast out of the Garden by God. This description of the origin of evil, and stories like it, are often characterized by extraordinary and even supernatural events, and some people believe they are literally true true in the same way that a traffic report or a medical diagnosis is true. They believe the stories are accurate representations of things that really happened. But many scholars believe that such myths are not to be judged on the basis of historic or scientific accuracy. In fact, these stories generally developed before modern criteria of historical and scientific accuracy. They are often about things in the deep recesses of prehistory, and sometimes about things in the far distant future. As such, they are beyond the realms of history and science. But we cherish them anyway because they help us understand who we are and answer some of the most pressing questions in life, including why bad things happen, who can be trusted, and what might happen next.

As we listen to stories like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we sometimes get a sense that we are in touch with higher reality. We are in the realm of the transcendent, a realm beyond the frailties and limitations that characterize everyday reality. Myths of this kind are commonly transmitted in religions, so much so that many scholars include myths as essential components of religions. Another example of this kind of myth is the Creation Story in the Bible and the Quran. According to that story, a single almighty personal God created the earth and everything upon it in just a few days, and provided all that was needed for his most cherished creatures, human beings. Stories like this provide a measure of assurance that things are basically as they should be and there is a reason for us to carry on, even in the most difficult circumstances.

When viewed from this perspective, myths in religion in their own unique way can be considered true. They provide context, continuity, and comfort for the communities who share them. They are thus true for the people who believe them. The fourth-century Roman historian Sallustius spoke from this perspective when he said, Myths are things that never happened but always are (Sallustius, 1996). Joseph Campbell, among the twentieth centurys best known mythologists, called myths the womb of mankinds initiation into life and death (1969: 12). The University of Chicagos Wendy Doniger (1998) presents myths as imaginative expressions of universal human experiences, which allow us to communicate across cultures. British scholar Karen Armstrong (2005: 4) stresses the sacred aspect of myth, saying that myths speak of another plane that exists alongside our own world, and that in some sense supports it. Belief in this invisible but more powerful reality, sometimes called the world of the gods, is a basic theme of mythology. For scholars such as these, myths are very much like what Pablo Picasso said about art: a lie which makes us realize truth (Borofsy, 1923).