Myth and Religion

Myth and Religion
Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1996
Genre: Myth
ISBN: 9780804830553

"This dynamic collection of edited transcripts begins with Not What Should Be, But What Is! In this powerful talk on the contrasts between classical Eastern and traditional Western mythologies, Watts questions whether the image of a divine patriarch is still intellectually plausible in light of our ever growing understanding of the universe. He then takes a revealing look at the mystical origins of Christianity in Jesus - His Religion, Or the Religion About Him? and explores how Christianity has diverged historically from those teachings in a brilliant and well researched critique of the Church. In Democracy in the Kingdom of Heaven Watts then carries his inquiry one step further, and asks if indeed a monarchical religion still makes sense in a democratic society. Watts takes a fascinating look at the ultimately anthropomorphic quality of man's view of his god in Images of Man. Here he is only half kidding when he says that "In the beginning there was Man, and he created God in his image," pointing to the highly subjective nature of our inquiry into the highest orders of reality. In the final chapter, Religion and Sexuality, Watts again looks at organized religion, but with more than a touch of humor as he suggests that churches today are sexual regulation societies, and precious little else. To make this point Watts asks, "How else can you get thrown out?" He then goes on to discuss the social implications of the Church's investment in moral issues, and demonstrates that this may in fact be a ploy to cover up for the lack of any substantial religious teaching in organized religion today."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America

20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America
Author: Ryan P. Burge
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2022-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506482015

The way most people think about religion and politics is only loosely linked to empirical reality, argues Ryan P. Burge. In 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America, Burge strives to be an impartial referee and to overcome these caustic misperceptions by using both rigorous data analysis and straightforward explanations.

The Myth of American Religious Freedom

The Myth of American Religious Freedom
Author: David Sehat
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2011-01-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199793115

In the battles over religion and politics in America, both liberals and conservatives often appeal to history. Liberals claim that the Founders separated church and state. But for much of American history, David Sehat writes, Protestant Christianity was intimately intertwined with the state. Yet the past was not the Christian utopia that conservatives imagine either. Instead, a Protestant moral establishment prevailed, using government power to punish free thinkers and religious dissidents. In The Myth of American Religious Freedom, Sehat provides an eye-opening history of religion in public life, overturning our most cherished myths. Originally, the First Amendment applied only to the federal government, which had limited authority. The Protestant moral establishment ruled on the state level. Using moral laws to uphold religious power, religious partisans enforced a moral and religious orthodoxy against Catholics, Jews, Mormons, agnostics, and others. Not until 1940 did the U.S. Supreme Court extend the First Amendment to the states. As the Supreme Court began to dismantle the connections between religion and government, Sehat argues, religious conservatives mobilized to maintain their power and began the culture wars of the last fifty years. To trace the rise and fall of this Protestant establishment, Sehat focuses on a series of dissenters--abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, socialist Eugene V. Debs, and many others. Shattering myths held by both the left and right, David Sehat forces us to rethink some of our most deeply held beliefs. By showing the bad history used on both sides, he denies partisans a safe refuge with the Founders.

The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion

The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion
Author: S. R. F. Price
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 599
Release: 2004
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780192802897

The Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion offers a fully rounded and highly authoritative point of access to all aspects of ancient religious life and thought. Dr Simon Price and Dr Emily Kearns, area advisers for the third edition of the Oxford Classical Dictionary, have come together to select, revise, edit, and in some cases wholly recast, a large number of key entries from OCD to create this handy, accessible reference work on mythology and religion in the Graeco-Roman world. Bringing to the attention of a wider audience the authority and scholarly rigour of OCD, the Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion provides students, teachers, and general readers with an affordable comprehensive, and wide-ranging A-Z reference source. The Dictionary is unique in that in addition to Greek myths and Roman festivals it covers Greek and Roman religious places, monuments, religious personnel, divination, astrology, and magic, and also contains many entries on Judaism and Christianity in Greek and Roman times.

Myth

Myth
Author: Robert Ellwood
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2008-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1847062350

An accessible introduction to the complex topic of Myth. Ellwood examines theories, meanings and interpretations, all of which are structured around a typical programme of study.

Myth, Religion and Society

Myth, Religion and Society
Author: R. L. Gordon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1982-01-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521296403

The essays in this volume explore different aspects of the relation between Greek myth and Greek thought between the Archaic period (Homer and Hesiod) and the Hellenistic period, highlighting both the continuities and the contrasts in the Greek interpretations and 'uses' of myth. With the exception of the essay by Louis Gernet, all bear traces of the authors; attempts to combine older views stemming essentially from Durkheim and his pupils with Levi-Strauss's version of structuralism. Because the potential field is unmanageably large this selection concentrates on four important areas: the value of Greek myth in revealing the underlying coherence of Greek views of divinity; the manner in which Greek myth constructed meanings for Greek culture as a whole by selecting and combining certain motifs derived from different areas of life; the relationship between myth and delicate areas of social existence such as the nature of the value of certain objects and the passage of individuals from one status to another; and finally, the role of the myth in providing 'forms' for breaking rules - both in order to confirm the norm and to provide symbolic and actuals means of escape from dominant social rules and meanings. This book should be of interest to students in a number of disciplines concerned with myth and ancient society.

A History of God

A History of God
Author: Karen Armstrong
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2011-08-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0307798585

Why does God exist? How have the three dominant monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—shaped and altered the conception of God? How have these religions influenced each other? In this stunningly intelligent book, Karen Armstrong, one of Britain's foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present. The epic story begins with the Jews' gradual transformation of pagan idol worship in Babylon into true monotheism—a concept previously unknown in the world. Christianity and Islam both rose on the foundation of this revolutionary idea, but these religions refashioned 'the One God' to suit the social and political needs of their followers. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, Karen Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one superbly readable volume, destined to take its place as a classic. Praise for History of God “An admirable and impressive work of synthesis that will give insight and satisfaction to thousands of lay readers.”—The Washington Post Book World “A brilliantly lucid, spendidly readable book. [Karen] Armstrong has a dazzling ability: she can take a long and complex subject and reduce it to the fundamentals, without oversimplifying.”—The Sunday Times (London) “Absorbing . . . A lode of learning.”—Time “The most fascinating and learned study of the biggest wild goose chase in history—the quest for God. Karen Armstrong is a genius.”—A.N. Wilson, author of Jesus: A Life

Myth and Religion in Mircea Eliade

Myth and Religion in Mircea Eliade
Author: Douglas Allen
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780415939393

This is an interesting study with a great deal of information on Eliade's main themes and a detailed account of his understanding of myth.

Mircea Eliade

Mircea Eliade
Author: Nicolae Babuts
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2017-07-28
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1351505173

Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) was one of the twentieth century's foremost students of religion and cultural environments. This book examines the emergence, function, and value of religion and myth in his work.Nicolae Babuts, Robert Ellwood, Eric Ziolkowski, John Dadosky, Robert Segal, Mac Linscott Ricketts, Douglas Allen, and Liviu Borda examine Eliade's views on the interaction between the sacred and the profane. Each explores Eliade's phenomenological approach to the study of religion and myth. They show that modern rites of initiation, cultural activities, and spectacles like bullfighting, film, and, perhaps surprisingly, reading and writing, all harken back to the archetypal structures of the mythical imagination. Perhaps the greatest achievement of Eliade's phenomenological approach is that it reveals what we have in common with pre-Socratic man: the mind's structural capacity to endow objects and events with spiritual values and meanings.As a study of Eliade's concept of the mythic imagination, the book posits an analogy between the myths of the past and modern imitations. The authors suggest that in spite of their differences and their separate historical sources, myths represent basic structures of human consciousness. This book is essential reading for all students of religion, philosophy, and literature.

Religion and Myth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Religion and Myth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Author: Michael D. Nichols
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2021-02-22
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476681597

Breaking box office records, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has achieved an unparalleled level of success with fans across the world, raising the films to a higher level of narrative: myth. This is the first book to analyze the Marvel output as modern myth, comparing it to epics, symbols, rituals, and stories from world religious traditions. This book places the exploits of Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther, and the other stars of the Marvel films alongside the legends of Achilles, Gilgamesh, Arjuna, the Buddha, and many others. It examines their origin stories and rites of passage, the monsters, shadow-selves, and familial conflicts they contend with, and the symbols of death and the battle against it that stalk them at every turn. The films deal with timeless human dilemmas and questions, evoking an enduring sense of adventure and wonder common across world mythic traditions.