Essays in Christian mythology

大阪大学世界言語研究センター論集, 2011

We consider structural the implicit rules of thinking of a given cultural frame, which, following Descola’s theorization efforts, we name «ontology». Philippe Descola built a system of two differentiating axes defining four distinct «ontologies». Here, we describe as part of conjuncture the historical uses of discourses in socially determined conditions. It is generally admitted that internalized ontologies condition social possibilities, but there is also a strong case for saying that social trajectories inform new ontologies, so how do those two factors interact with each other? We will use the particular historical situation of eschatological representations in the Twelfth Century, classified by Descola as a distinctly analogical, slowly evolving toward naturalist ontology, as our case study to investigate this theoretical question. Representation habits about the End of Times during the Twelfth Century stand at a juncture: in the decennials before the Last Judgement becomes the norm of representation for eschatological visions, we can still observe a large spectrum of possibilities and ponder which factors, structural or conjuncture-bound, shaped the soon-to-come establishment of a new norm. In particular, we can explore the iconographic choice of different Apocalyptic stages as in opposed to the Last Judgement, and observe the variations. Many apocalyptic representations, contrary to how we would understand it in a modern sense, can be peaceful contemplations of God at the End of Times understood as End of Hardships. Even when they do involve plagues or general destruction, they are deeply different from a Judgement in as much as they do not entail a differentiated treatment of souls with regard to their previous moral behaviour. We could venture that one of the reasons why the Last Judgement succeeded, was that it was deeply rooted indeed in the analogical thought structure of the time—the same reason, in fact, why it declined from the Sixteenth Century, as this ontology declined. Under this one-sided description lies a multi-faceted reality, where commonly used representations retro-act on the current ontology, to the point of tipping collective Weltanschauungen into another ontology. Here, social competition and situations encountered by the Church as institution must be taken in consideration. We need to assess in which proportions they contributed to the change from one choice of representation to the next, that in its turn took part in the larger momentum toward a new ontology.

Myths of Power, 1996

This is seen at the level of student life in Britain in the Christian Union and Student Christian Movement cells in the universities which are barely on speaking terms. 2 Since "history" can mean a number of things (see below) I allow the ambiguities present to remain here, since they have perhaps contributed to the confusion. 4 This approach emerged in our discussion of CHILDS 1962 above. 5 By "imaginary" I mean using visual images (both iconographically and verbally) to represent something. Thus God in Hebrew thought is always king, shepherd, lord etc., and is never portrayed in an abstract, conceptual form.

Studies in World Christianity, 2010

1. Introduction Myth is an account of a creation. It is the dramatic breakthrough of the supernatural (sacred). It is breakthrough that establishes the world and makes it what it is today. Prehistoric culture attempts to answer certain questions about reality-how did the world come into being? How do we explain man's position in the world? Who is responsible for creation and also why should evil and good both patronize man's way? There is no culture the world over that has not passed through the stage of explaining things mythologically. Before the advent of philosophy, that is, before Milesian philosophers, events were explained from mythologico-theological perspectives. The reasons for rainfall, rainbow, the alternating nature of Day and night, the starry sky etc, were given mythological explanations. Certain gods or other supernatural beings were believed to be behind the happenings and the nature of the universe, and more importantly, mythological stories were coined to make man able to comply with moral laws and live happily with people in the world he has found himself. Even after the Milesian philosophers, myth continues to play a major role in the effort to understand and explain the nature of the universe. Plato's allegory of the cave was a good example of mythological explanation of the nature of reality. The concise Oxford English dictionary defines Myth as a purely fictitious narrative usually involving supernatural persons…….. and embodying popular ideas on natural phenomena i. According to Geertz (1979), myth is conceived to serve as a unifying concept which enables anthropologists to talk about etiological narratives which, for the societies involved, make a body of assumed knowledge about the universe, the natural and supernatural world and man's place in the totality ii. The Yoruba myth of creation which identifies the role of Olodumare, Orisa nla and Ajala in man's creation are regarded as the basic belief of the people about the creation of man. In Yoruba, myth are regarded as history-'itan'. Ifa narratives are regarded as 'itan'. It is myth that gives the Yoruba whatever knowledge they have today of the world. The Ifa corpus serves as a guide in tracing realities from the past through the present into the future. In Yoruba myth of creation for example,' ara' (the human body) is believed to be the handiwork of Orisa nla (or Obatala) the creator divinity, who is responsible for moulding lifeless human form. Olodumare (God) consequently puts 'emi' (breath), regarded as the Deity' breath of life, into the formed body. Before leaving 'orun' (heaven), the human being goes to Ajala's store of heads to chose an 'ori' (head, which symbolizes destiny). It must be noted, however, that this 'ori' (head) refers to the spiritual or metaphysical element in human person and usually feature in discussions of the immaterial aspect of the human person. In Yoruba thought, the human head 'ori' is very important both as a physical and as well as a spiritual element that is regarded as the symbol of the whole person iii This Yoruba myth of creation is peculiar to them. Other cultures all over the world have theirs too. But the main point of the antagonists of African philosophy is that mythological explanations of reality are not tenable because they are characterized with irrationality. The main problem here is that they view this from cross – cultural perspective. This Yoruba creation story, at least, tells

Forum Philosophicum, vol. 25, issue 1, 2020

The aim of my research is to define the religious hermeneutics that can be identified as the specific core of Antaios (1959–71), the German journal directed by the historian of religions Mircea Eliade and by the writer and philosopher Ernst Jünger. Drawing on their insights, we will focus on the philosophical-religious interpretation of Antaios contents: the so-called “mythical-symbolic hermeneutics” is probably the most interesting theoretical theme connected to the Weltanschauung of Antaios. This cultural journal could embody a counter-philosophical perspec­tive that is at the same time intrinsic to Western speculation. This position has repeatedly emerged in many phases of our cultural history. I refer here to mythical-symbolic thought, characterized by an analogical interpretation of the world, whose structure is considered a stratification of truth levels that are complementary ontological levels of reality. This tradition sees reality as a specific kind of totality that allows human perception to take place through the structures of myth and symbols. The theoretical unity of the project is rooted in the mythical-symbolic tradition that, starting from the religious and esoteric pre-philosophical medita­tions, spans Platonic thought, the various neoplatonisms, passes through medieval mysticism and alchemy, reappears in Romanticism and is revealed in the twentieth century by the reflections of the “thinkers of Tradition.” With this paper I would like to highlight the main topics that can be identified from this hermeneutics: speculations about symbol, myth, coincidentia oppositorum (coincidence of opposites), archetypes, and ontological pluralism. These are at the core of this paradigm.

2013

In search of a scientifically useful minimal definition of the term "myth", this article traces the development of the concept from the cultural environment of classical Greece, in which it was born, until its modern use in the framework of socio-anthropological studies. Of all the terms of the vocabulary of religious anthropology "myth'' is certainly the most used one. Unfortunately, its wide-spread use is directly proportional to its indeterminateness. Moreover, it regards not only the everyday lexis (what is exactly intended, when, for instance, people call an actor or a soccer player "mythic"?), but also academic communications: various authors can intend by this concept diametrically opposed things.

History of Religions, 1981

Digital philology, 2019

Value in the Medieval Ethiopian Marian Miracle Tale of "The Cannibal of Qəmər" 4 An important trend in scholarship is attending to the metamorphoses of particular folktales across regions, periods, and religions, tracking what such changes reveal about the direction of cultural transmission. Part of this trend is looking beyond circulation in Europe to circulation across south-south boundaries, or even from south to north, the latter of which I have done much to try to forward. In this essay, however, I consider an instance of ostensible Europe-to-Africa textual transfer: the body of folktales that circulated around the medieval world about miracles performed by Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Ethiopian Marian tales, which appear in a compilation text titled Täˀammərä Maryam (Miracles of Mary), are sometimes mistakenly said to have arisen solely in Europe. To explore the issue of influence, I examine a Marian tale innovated in Ethiopia titled "The Cannibal of Qəmər" (or "The Miracle of the Man-Eater" or "The Story of Belai"). Reading the cannibal tale diachronically, relationally, allegorically, and intertextually reveals much. The Marian tale template first devised in the Levant persists across multiple boundaries yet was radically adapted in Ethiopia, underscoring why care is required when discussing African narrative adaptation of outside texts. M any humanities scholars are now examining the ancient, medieval, and early modern transmission of ideas across the permeable boundaries of language and geography, revealing how our world and its ideas have always been imbricated. 1 Some of the most interesting work has been on the genre of hagiography, as saints' lives have been among the most ubiquitous texts across time (from antiquity through modernity), place (from east to west), and religious traditions (from Christianity and Islam to Hinduism and Buddhism). Scholars have demonstrated that such texts repeatedly metamorphosed as they

Vibrant, 2014

Most studies of religion are founded on the relationship between nature and the supernatural. This dichotomy allows a supposedly mystical dimension to be distinguished from a politically pragmatic dimension of human behaviour. In this view, therefore, religious conduct differs in nature from the political. Taking an opposite tack, this paper proposes to overcome this dichotomy by seeing the connections in this universe as primarily technicalpolitical in kind, a result of the social organization of relations and interactions of individuals, considering religion as an organizational type. Thus, taking as examples the ethnographic Guarani-Kaiowa of Mato Grosso do Sul and Tabajara of Paraíba, I shall try to show how these indigenous people, each in their own way, establish connections in the universe, setting political communities, defining domestic and ethnic identities and drawing traditions of knowledge.