christian/jewish mythology

[kevinwatkins]

Why isn't the bible called "christian/jewish mythology" when other religions (that christianity plagiarised) are called mythology?

If I'm not mistaken mythology means something science has proven to be false. Jews believe the earth stopped I know, and christianity...... I wont even begin, but on top of it all, the whole concept completely defies logic. I think christianity is more deserving of the title "mythology" than most paganism.

And even worse, I see all the lies on the history channel about how christianity was "accepted" by pagans. Constantine was a dirty bastard who was bribed, the pagans kicked romes ass, and then their blood religion was destroyed through a passive genocide.

[Hare_Geist]

Mythologists treat Christianity and Judaism as myths, but the definition of myth they use in no way implies that all myths have to be true or false. I expect some people wrongly believe it does though, because they assume everyone uses the common everyday definition that means falsehood. This is akin to the common misconception that scientists mean speculative idea when they use the word theory. Now as for why you won't hear layman call Judaism or Christianity a myth (falsehood) in our culture, this is quite simply because they are our myths.

[TheMessiahComplex]

Originally Posted by kevinwatkins

If I'm not mistaken mythology means something science has proven to be false.

That's a pretty awful definition of mythology.
Let's go to the dictionary!
1: an allegorical narrative
2: a body of myths: as a: the myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people b: mythos
3: a branch of knowledge that deals with myth
4: a popular belief or assumption that has grown up around someone or something

It doesn't explicitly deal with science in any way.

But all that aside, I think people stray away from that phrase solely because of the connotative meaning. Specifically, I think when people hear the word 'mythology' they think of Greek or Norse mythology and all the fantastic stories that go along with those (Xena, warrior princess for example) and don't want their religion lumped in with what we now just think of as a bunch of stories and not legitimate religions.
It's more to do with semantics than the religion itself.

[ArmsMerchant]

DEFINING MYTH
From the Greek mythos, myth means story or word. Mythology is the study of myth. As stories (or narratives), myths articulate how characters undergo or enact an ordered sequence of events. The term myth has come to refer to a certain genre (or category) of stories that share characteristics that make this genre distinctly different from other genres of oral narratives, such as legends and folktales. Many definitions of myth repeat similar general aspects of the genre and may be summarized thus: Myths are symbolic tales of the distant past (often primordial times) that concern cosmogony and cosmology (the origin and nature of the universe), may be connected to belief systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values.

I just go the above thanks to the wonders of google. It makes sense to me.

Frankly, it amazes me that intelligent people could take, say, the story of Adam and Eve literally.

Originally Posted by ArmsMerchant

DEFINING MYTH

Frankly, it amazes me that intelligent people could take, say, the story of Adam and Eve literally.

While it is a crazy story, so is believing you evolved from a rock, a rock which has been around forever, kinda like the biblical God.

[BrokeProphet]

Originally Posted by Klobster

While it is a crazy story, so is believing you evolved from a rock, a rock which has been around forever, kinda like the biblical God.

I agree that believing any of that would be equally crazy...

Evolutionists do not believe that.
Evolutionists do not know or claim to know EXACTLY how life began.
Scientists dont suggest rocks have been around forever.

When evolutionists and scientists and skeptics come across things they dont understand like this, they say "I dont know".

That is far from crazy.