Christianity And Judaism Versus Mythology

[Socrates]

[quote name='southern california guy' date='25 June 2010 - 10:54 PM' timestamp='1277520873' post='2134390']
Back when I was in grade school I loved mythology. I read every Greek mythology story I could find. The Roman mythology was pretty good too. And the Arabian Nights stories were great. I found the Egyptian mythology less exciting but I still read the stories.

One story, in Egyptian mythology, that atheists like to point to is the story of Osiris. They like to draw parallels between the story of Osiris and Jesus. If I remember the story correctly Osiris was executed, fought his way through the underworld, and on the third day he rose from the dead -- as a god! As I understand it the pyramids and elaborate Egyptian tombs were a preparation for the battle in the underworld after death. They wanted to become gods like Osiris.

Mythology is similar to religion. Some of the stories are similar, but Judaism Christianity in my opinion, differed radically from earlier mythology because it emphasized moral values to live by. Where were the moral values in mythology? Most of the stories were about getting a woman, or appeasing the gods. I can't think of any parallel between the Ten Commandments in Moses and mythology. And then there is the New Testament. The astrology (Jesus born under a star) and the parallels to Egyptian mythology aside the New Testament is full of moral teachings. In some cases they are revisions to the Old Testament. Like "Turn the other cheek", or Jesus arguing that any man who divorces his wife and remarries is committing adultery -- despite what Moses instructed concerning divorce and remarriage. I can't remember anything in mythology that was similar.

But it seems to me that modern Christianity is more like ancient mythology. There aren't any moral teachings anymore. Nobody concerns themselves with what Jesus taught about divorce and remarriage anymore. If they are Christian they simply argue that Jesus is a loving god and all you have to do if pray for forgiveness after divorce -- and then when you remarry it's not adultery. And the Catholics would argue that you just play along with the Catholic games that allow you to get an "annulment" -- and that is "exactly the same as never having been married" (Emperor's Fine Clothes). People don't worry about breaking the Third Commandment "Thou shalt not take the lord thy gods name in vain" -- which is what you do when you take a vow to god that you don't keep.

Instead modern Christianity seems to focus on "worship" on prayer. It reminds me of leaving sacrifices on alters to appease the gods. It seems like prayer is focused on getting on Jesus or Gods graces. People seem to have forgotten about Sodom and Gomorrah and the priesthood -- as well as pastors and ministers in protestant religions -- are full of openly non-repentant homosexuals. They know that the way they can change religion is to get involved and run things. And not surprisingly the gospels are vague -- and don't come close to discussing specific moral principles like Jesus did.

What would happen if more and more Pastors and Priests were to start speaking out against homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, sexual relations out of wedlock, and abortion? (At least some preach against abortion). Would people drop out of the religion? Would the divorcees, and homosexuals, and people living together out of wedlock get angry and throw a fit?

Has modern religion deteriorated into a sort of modern mythology -- lacking the moral basis of Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it??????
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It seems that unfortunately you've to some extent bought into the whole Modernist idea that the Christian religion is essentially merely a moral code and aspects of the Faith such as worship are mere "mythology," and not really important.

I agree with you 100% about the importance of morality in the Catholic Faith, but I 100% disagree that there is today too much of an emphasis on worship and prayer. Worship and prayer and the Sacraments (particularly the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) are not just peripherals to the Christian Faith, but central to it.
The Christian Faith is in fact about worship and sacrifice to God, and it is through God's graces given to us in prayer and the sacraments that we are able to live moral lives and obey God's commandments.

Worship and morality are not opposed to one another nor detract from one another, but compliment and go together.

Where there is an emphasis on prayer and right worship, there will be an emphasis on morality and keeping God's commandments. When people take worship seriously, they take morality seriously. When they stop taking worship seriously, they sooner or later stop taking morality seriously.

This is confirmed by both history and my own experiences. Generally, parishes and priests that are serious about worship, prayer and liturgy are also serious about preaching morality, including unpopular sexual moral teachings.
Where priests and parishioners are not serious about worship, and "do their own thing" liturgically and theologically, and church is essentially reduced to a social club, they usually also do whatever they like in the moral areas, and ignore Church moral teaching that they find inconvenient.

Every good priest has told me that if I want to live a moral life, I must have a good prayer life and worship God.

All the saints, who lived extraordinarily moral lives, had very serious prayer lives, and spent their lives in worship.

Liberal protestant churches that tried to reduce Christianity to a moral or social code, and tried to "de-mythologize" the Christian religion and strip it of supernatural elements all wound up denying all the inconvenient aspects of Christian morality as well. The same with so-called "liberal Catholics" who followed in their footsteps.

There is a problem in the Church, but it's certainly not too much emphasis on worship. We don't need to "de-mythologize" the Catholic Faith, but we need more emphasis on true worship and prayer, as well as morality.

SoCal Guy, you need to stop being so tied up with bad dissident priests and parishes, and maybe start paying attention to what the Church actually teaches on moral matters for a change. Maybe you should try to find a good FSSP parish or something.

Edited June 28, 2010 by Socrates

[Socrates]

[quote name='southern california guy' date='27 June 2010 - 01:27 PM' timestamp='1277659679' post='2134941']
Good question. My convoluted sort of point was that Christianity is becoming more like mythology -- with fewer and looser moral values. It's almost like the "mythology" side of the religion is being emphasized over the moral. You know people worried about the age of the earth, whether dinosaurs were real, whether there is life in outer space or if we are it, worried about creationism versus evolution, upset about Harry Potter movies,[b] worried about whether Jesus was literally god, worried about whether the host is literally the body of Christ..[/b]
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Do regard the divinity of Christ and the Real Presence as trivial or silly issues?

If so, it seems you've lost the whole point of the Catholic Faith (or indeed, of being Christian).

The first issue you need to decide on is whether Jesus Christ really is God become Man, and whether He really did die and resurrect to save us from our sins.
If you don't believe that, or think it's only "mythology," then, pardon my bluntness, you're not Christian, and I don't see why the moral issues should matter so much to you.

If following Jesus won't really get us to heaven, what's the big deal? You can (theoretically, at least) practice sexual abstinence or whatever without believing in Jesus, if that's the only part of the Faith you care about.

I'm not downplaying your concern for sexual morality, but it seems you have some bigger issues at stake. It seems you want to keep Catholic morality, while downplaying anything spiritual, but the truth is it just doesn't work that way.

Also, I think it should be noted that those who strongly defend doctrines such as the divinity of Christ and the Real Presence also tend to strongly defend Catholic moral teachings, while those who contradict or downplay key theological teachings such as the divinity of Christ and the Real Presence also tend to contradict or downplay Catholic morality.

Theological and moral orthodoxy usually go hand-in-hand, as do theological and moral dissent.

Edited June 28, 2010 by Socrates