An Admirable Life-30-The Myth

   I never mean to taunt or tantalize my readers, only to teach. The word educere, from which we take our word education, actually means "to lead out." To lead out can imply displaying a misbegotten sense of moral or intellectual superiority. Or, to lead out might mean to suggest ways we can explore our feelings together with shared knowledge and common resources.

   I opt for the latter form of education.

   So, when I suggest myth as a representative word for religious thinking it is with this intention: to say that religion is mystical, deep, inspiring the section of the brain where art, great literature and music light the dark night of the soul, or religion is not religion at all. The myth is mystical. The cliche is Post-Modern Religiosity and amounts to religion as pornography, which is a gross, obscene, debasing misstatement of beauty, aesthetics meant to appeal only to baser human instincts for commercial purposes.

   So, why not just say Mysticism, and leave it at that? Well, after all, Mysticism is not truth. Myths are deep truth that may not be factual.  Humans must act on their myths for the myths compel us. 

   We do see darkly now, as though through a glass. God's ways are not our ways. We are dependent on God for living and moving and for our perception of reality. 

   If the culture wars of the 21st century are to be fought between the Nihilist on the right and the Fanatic on the left, where will you stand? Are you the fanatic, who must insist your regional religious imaging is all there is to reality and so all others must perceive reality as you see it? Or, are you the Nihilist who just nows his delirious empirical data gathering eliminates the need for god? 

   Or, will you be a thinking person? Neither the Fanatic nor the Nihilist allows thought. As soon as you fire up your Twitter account to invite your friends to Tahrir Square you have chosen one or the other. Once you put these forces in motion, you may no longer get to choose what you wish to be. You become part of something larger than yourself. 

 

Opinions expressed here are mine alone.

 

 

Comments

[Robert]

myst-what a very interesting prefix

ic-what a redundant midix(sic)

ism-an obtuse sorta fellow of a suffix