My class, that this post with more to follow, started Sept 24th.  This is a cross post from another blog I have so they will be a week behind,,,

Well I took the plunge and re-entered the world of academia.  Thanks to Coursera, I am able to test the waters and see if my addled brain will be able to survive the rigors if I decide to return to school and get my Masters/Doctorate in Metaphysical Theology.  My first class is none other than Greek and Roman Mythology, which falls in line with a personal project that I'm currently researching.  So I have and ulterior motive for taking this class.

Our fist lecture discussed and attempted to define what a myth is, and all ready questions are flying about in our forums as to our personal opinions.  Three discussions that piqued my interest:

1]  What is Myth? And what does it mean to me?

A generational narrative that attempts to explain and describe the world.  The gods and their powers were used to exemplify the order we as humans so crave.  I like Struck's analogy to a container into which people toss what is most valuable within their culture; the myth itself may change over time but the underlying truths remain (hence the Romans borrowing from the Greeks).  I believe there is both cultural and universal truths are associated to a mythos and why we still have them today.

2]  Do you think myths are lies or truth?

Without a frame of reference, like we have today, to explain natural wonders, the gods and their mighty powers where used to exemplify the order we as humans so crave.  Being that it was an oral tradition and not a written one, the myths, were done with rhyme and meter to make memorization easier; the truths were of a moral nature, in some ways a foundation of education

One thing that must be taken into consideration as well when talking about the "truth" of a statement or myth.  In our case, is it subjective or objective -to the victors come the spoils of war-  thereby shaping the truth.  But does that make it right or wrong?

3]  Do you think that there would come a time when the Bible will be treated as Greek and Roman Myth?  Why do you think that?

In the strictest sense of the definition it could be considered a myth, but in essence it is a collection of histories of the Jewish people and, the life and ministry of Jesus.  As an atheist I do not believe in the innerancy, infalliability or the divine inspiration of the texts.

A clarification so to speak,,,

That is why I use the term myth very carefully in regards to any religion's scared text as too many immediately focus on the negative connotations of the word.  And yes archeology is verifying some of the historicity of the biblical texts (ie. the Kings List in Gen 10) which even as an atheist I do not doubt.  BUT there is still much to be discovered and I firmly believe in the idea, that it is usually the victors (and by that I mean the Roman church) that write the history, so we are thereby only seeing one side of said history.  Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that, but one must remember that the information may be tainted.

I think in a sense Struck alluded to the idea of divine inspiration early in the first lecture when he was laying the foundation for defining myth -that some may believe that myths are an abstraction come down to us on high- a sort of textual inspiration as stated in 2Tim 3:16-17 (divinely breathed out):

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness(KJV)

A bit of a side note: if one looks at the etymology of the word inspire/inspiration -to blow into or to breathe deeply- its use can be traced back to the Roman poet Ovid in Metamorphoses.

On to lecture #2,,,


(To learn more about Coursera, and what they are, check out the above link,.  These are free college/university level courses taught by professors from many schools across the country).

Updated 10/2/2012:  The posts concerning my class Greek and Roman Mythology are taken from my personal notes and transcription of the lecture videos.  Tho not word for word, the thoughts presented are those of my instructor.  This first post is my thoughts in reaction to the first lecture and facebook conversations, but following that everything else is what I have gleaned from class.  My personal thoughts are in in orange.