When do "true" Relgions turn into just Myths.?

Question

The reason why I ask is because it is very interesting to note that when I studied Greek Mythology, and Egyptian civilization in 6th and 7th grade, we were taught that the religious believes of those people were myths. When in reality the deities of their time were just as real to them as the god or gods of today are real to the people who believe in them. I'm not asking this on what you believe on personal level but rather when does society decide what is real and what isn't

I didn't have time to edit my question before I left was I was going to bring out was even though, gods of the past and gods of today are/were thought of as real we do not label the religions of today as mythology (at least when it comes to teaching them in school) like we do with the religions of the ancient civilization. Why?

Answer 1

There was a difference between ancient Greek religion and ancient Greek myth -- myths were the stories of the gods and heroes, religion was the practise of religious ceremonies and a belief in the existence and effacy of gods.

Similarly today we speak of the practised Hindu religion and Hindu mythology. The latter are a collection of stories about the gods and heroes, sometimes purely entertaining, and often not meant to be taken seriously.

There is also Christian mythology -- although the Bible is regarded by believers as Gospel, and therefore not to be described as myth, many apocryphal stories are myth -- e.g. the story of Lilith, the first woman who left Adam and became queen of the demons, Dante's fanciful account of a journey to heaven and hell, and fantastical stories of Christian Saints like St George and the Dragon.

Answer 2

Myths are the stories created to answer the unanswerable questions in life. Where do we come from? Why did lightning hit Bob? They are also stories that act as parables... they teach the moral structure of the society that creates the stories. Whenever a body of myths gains broad acceptance within a society they can become a religion.

When a religion ceases to be relevant and loses believers, it devolves back into mere mythology. This can be due to internal changes in a society or by another religion/people conquering the society.

If you are really interested in these things, I strongly urge you to read the books of Joseph Campbell. He was the foremost expert on myths and religions.

Answer 3

Religions turn into just myths when the people forget the old gods to seek out new gods. The old Gods do NOT just go away, though, they sleep until someone comes along and "remembers" them and begins to give them honor and love as in the old days. Even IF the OLD ways are not followed, the old gods still respond to the NEW ways of worship and affectiojn that are shown them. They look kindly and lovingly on their re-awakening and Bless the NEW worshippers just as they had in the past under the OLD ways.

Brightest Blessings, Raji the Green Witch

Answer 4

Ancient religions disappeared when their civilizations declined and eventually ceased to exist. Most of the old religions were not inclined to proselytise. Their gods were primarily for them, not the rest of the world. With the advent of western civilization Christianity and Islam could flourish and spread across national borders. In the east it was Budism. The world had never seen such religious phenomena occur. People became zealots and even suffered death rather than betray their faith. That's powerful stuff. So, in answer to your question, a religion is relegated to the status of myth when no one else believes in it.

Answer 5

Anything is possible... When all aspects have been investigated and found not to be true, the only other aspect as improbable as it seems must be the truth....

Our Christianity is built on assumptions and make belief..... Christ has been given certain super human aspects, that we can safely say, is bunch of hogwash.... The new Pope????? Dabbling in Black Magic, the way things stand.... Look up what Voodoo is.... Many Religions are much the same and leave the path of Nature

Answer 6

A religion can't be a myth, it is a complex web of things, some of which are stories which could be myths. A myth is a story that is usually believed to be untrue and usually happened several thousand years ago.

To relate to the Greek thing:
you wouldn't say Zeus is a myth, Zeus is one of the gods of the Greek religion. We don't know if he really exists, but that's what he is.

Now, a story of Zeus (eg the beginning of the Minotaur), THAT is a myth. It is a story of questionable or impossible origins.

ALL THAT SUMMED UP:
a myth is a story, not a god.

Answer 7

Many myth have truth buried deep within. A lot of writing from ancient times was completely in symbolic terms. If you try to take them at face value, it would be ludicrous. Unravell the myth, and you might be surprized at how close it may track to the truth. I'm still wondering just how long it will be before someone shoots enough electrons into a peice of lead and turns it into gold.

Answer 8

When a new religion grows and takes over, all other religions are considered myths. Pretty much no difference. If there was some big new religion come along that actually toppled Christianity, Christianity would be considered a myth too.

Answer 9

It the stories surrounding the gods that make the myths, not the gods themselves just like the story of the flood or the Tower of Babel. There is Hindu Mythologly and this is a contemporary Religion.

Answer 10

2 Timothy 4:3-5
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

What I'm getting from this is that trying to put your own identity into the mix via teachings from various sources is mythology, whereas putting the "word of life" (Philippians 2:16) forward is the only thing that will defeat mythology.