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Christian mythology | HearLore
Christian mythology
Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending a mountain, the axis mundi, myths of combat, descent into the Underworld, accounts of a dying-and-rising god, a flood myth, stories about the founding of a tribe or city, and myths about great heroes (or saints) of the past, paradises, and self-sacrifice. Various authors have also used it to refer to other mythological and allegorical elements found in the Bible, such as the story of the Leviathan. The term has been applied to myths and legends from the Middle Ages, such as the story of Saint George and the Dragon, the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and the legends of the Parsival. Multiple commentators have classified John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost as a work of Christian mythology. The term has also been applied to modern stories revolving around Christian themes and motifs, such as the writings of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle, and George MacDonald. Over the centuries, Christianity has divided into many denominations. Not all of these denominations hold the same set of sacred traditional narratives. For example, the books of the Bible accepted by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches include a number of texts and stories (such as those narrated in the Book of Judith and Book of Tobit) that many Protestant denominations do not accept as canonical.
Mythical Themes And Types
Christian tradition contains many stories that do not come from canonical Christian texts yet still illustrate Christian themes. These non-canonical Christian myths include legends, folktales, and elaborations on canonical Christian mythology. Legends were a staple of medieval literature. Examples include hagiographies such as the stories of Saint George or Saint Valentine. A case in point is the historical and canonized Brendan of Clonfort, a 6th-century Irish churchman and founder of abbeys. Round his authentic figure was woven a tissue that is arguably legendary rather than historical: the Navigatio or "Journey of Brendan". The legend discusses mythic events in the sense of supernatural encounters. In this narrative, Brendan and his shipmates encounter sea monsters, a paradisal island and a floating ice island and a rock island inhabited by a holy hermit: literal-minded devotés still seek to identify "Brendan's islands" in actual geography. This voyage was recreated by Tim Severin, suggesting that whales, icebergs and Rockall were encountered. Folktales form a major part of non-canonical Christian tradition. Folklorists define folktales (in contrast to "true" myths) as stories that are considered purely fictitious by their tellers and that often lack a specific setting in space or time. Christian-themed folktales have circulated widely among peasant populations. One widespread folktale genre is that of the Penitent Sinner (classified as Type 756A, B, C, in the Aarne-Thompson index of tale types); another popular group of folktales describe a clever mortal who outwits the Devil.
Common questions
What is Christian mythology?
Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives.
When did Christian mythology begin to predominate the Roman Empire?
Christian theology was accepted by the Roman Empire in the 5th century when it was promoted by St. Augustine. Following this acceptance, Christian mythology began to predominate the Roman Empire before being carried north by Charlemagne and the Frankish people.
Which Persian religion influenced elements of Christian mythology?
Many scholars believe that many elements of Christian mythology originated with the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. Mary Boyce notes that ideas such as dualism between good and evil and belief in a future savior were discovered or systematized in Iran.
Who wrote the epic poem Paradise Lost classified as Christian mythology?
Multiple commentators have classified John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost as a work of Christian mythology. Dante Alighieri also wrote the Divine Comedy which describes a visit to Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
How does Christian eschatological mythology describe the afterlife?
Most Christian denominations hold some belief in an immediate afterlife when people die but focus much more on the myth of a final bodily resurrection than any beliefs about a purely spiritual afterlife away from the body. The Old Testament describes Sheol as a region dark and deep cut off from both God and human life above.
Christian eschatological myths include stories of the afterlife: the narratives of Jesus Christ rising from the dead and now acting as a saviour of all generations of Christians, and stories of heaven and hell. Eschatological myths would also include the prophesies of end of the world and a new millennium in the Book of Revelation, and the story that Jesus will return to earth some day. The major features of Christian eschatological mythology include afterlife beliefs, the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment. Most Christian denominations hold some belief in an immediate afterlife when people die. Christian scripture gives a few descriptions of an immediate afterlife and a heaven and hell; however, for the most part, both New and Old Testaments focus much more on the myth of a final bodily resurrection than any beliefs about a purely spiritual afterlife away from the body. Much of the Old Testament does not express a belief in a personal afterlife of reward or punishment: "All the dead go down to Sheol, and there they lie in sleep together, whether good or evil, rich or poor, slave or free" (Job 3:11, 19). It is described as a region "dark and deep," "the Pit," and "the land of forgetfulness," cut off from both God and human life above.
Historical Development And Evolution
From Roman Empire to Europe After Christian theology was accepted by the Roman Empire, promoted by St. Augustine in the 5th century, Christian mythology began to predominate the Roman Empire. Later the theology was carried north by Charlemagne and the Frankish people, and Christian themes began to weave into the framework of European mythologies. The pre-Christian Germanic and Celtic mythology that were native to the tribes of Northern Europe were denounced and submerged, while saint myths, Mary stories, Crusade myths, and other Christian myths took their place. However, pre-Christian myths never went entirely away, they mingled with the (Roman Catholic) Christian framework to form new stories, like myths of the mythological kings and saints and miracles, for example. Stories such as that of Beowulf and Icelandic, Norse, and Germanic sagas were reinterpreted somewhat, and given Christian meanings. The legend of King Arthur and the quest for the Holy Grail is a striking example. The thrust of incorporation took on one of two directions. When Christianity was on the advance, pagan myths were Christianized; when it was in retreat, Bible stories and Christian saints lost their mythological importance to the culture. According to Mircea Eliade, the Middle Ages witnessed "an upwelling of mythical thought" in which each social group had its own "mythological traditions".
Connections To Other Belief Systems
Some scholars believe that many elements of Christian mythology, particularly its linear portrayal of time, originated with the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. Mary Boyce, an authority on Zoroastrianism, writes: Mircea Eliade believes the Hebrews had a sense of linear time before Zoroastrianism influenced them. However, he argues, "a number of other [Jewish] religious ideas were discovered, revalorized, or systematized in Iran". These ideas include a dualism between good and evil, belief in a future savior and resurrection, and "an optimistic eschatology, proclaiming the final triumph of Good". The Zoroastrian concepts of Ahriman, Amesha Spentas, Yazatas, and Daevas probably gave rise to the Christian understanding of Satan, archangels, angels, and demons. In Buddhist mythology, the demon Mara tries to distract the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, before he can reach enlightenment. Huston Smith, a professor of philosophy and a writer on comparative religion, notes the similarity between Mara's temptation of the Buddha before his ministry and Satan's temptation of Christ before his ministry.
Literary Treatments And Allegories
Multiple commentators have classified John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost as a work of Christian mythology. Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy is a literary allegory that describes a visit to Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is a Christian spiritual allegory. C. S. Lewis's The Pilgrim's Regress is a more modern Christian spiritual allegory. According to some interpretations, Aslan's role in C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe allegorically represents Christ's death and resurrection (although Lewis denies that the story is a direct allegory). Legends about Christian saints and heroes include Abgarus of Edessa, John the Dwarf, and Saint George. Stories about artifacts such as the Holy Grail, Holy Lance, and Shroud of Turin. Names and biographical details supplied for unnamed Biblical characters are found in lists of names for the Biblical nameless. The legends of King Arthur and Charlemagne as Christian kings notably feature the Quest for the Holy Grail. Legendary history of the Christian churches includes tales from the Crusades or the paladins in medieval romance. Legends of the Knights Templar and the Priory of Sion exist within this tradition.
Legacy And Modern Cultural Impact
According to Carl Mitcham, "the Christian mythology of progress toward transcendent salvation" created the conditions for modern ideas of scientific and technological progress. Hayden White describes "the myth of Progress" as the "secular, Enlightenment counterpart" of "Christian myth". Reinhold Niebuhr described the modern idea of ethical and scientific progress as "really a rationalized version of the Christian myth of salvation". According to Irwin, from the perspective of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), "history is a tale of progress". Christianity inherited the Hebrew sense of history through the Old Testament. Thus, although most Christians believe that human nature is inherently "fallen" (see original sin) and cannot become perfected without divine grace, they do believe that the world can and will change for the better, either through human and divine action or through divine action alone. Political and philosophical ideas include the influence of the medieval "Gioacchinian myth [...] of universal renovation in a more or less imminent future" on theories of history by Lessing, Fichte, Hegel, and Schelling. Calling Marxism "a truly messianic Judaeo-Christian ideology", Eliade writes that Marxism "takes up and carries on one of the great eschatological myths of the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean world".