The Greatest Myth

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The Greatest Myth
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What is a myth?

• Myths are stories that a particular culture
  believes to be true. Myths may use the
  supernatural to interpret natural events, explain
  the nature of the universe, and humanity.

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What is a myth? Continued

• Myths are universal, occurring in almost all
  cultures.
• They typically date from a time before any
  written language.
• They were passed orally from one generation to
  the next.
• Myths deal with basic questions about the nature
  of the world and human experience.

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Examples of Christian Myths (To non-believers of
course)

• Sin
• Demons and Angels
• The Story of Creation
• The Virgin Birth
• Jesus miracles
• Moses parting the red sea

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Examples of Christian Myths (To non-believers of
course)
Continued

• God helps those who help themselves.

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What about legends, and fairy tales (Folklore)?

• Even though a myth can include
• them, they are not the same thing.
• A legend is a fictional story
• associated with a historical person
• or place. An Example of a legend
• would be the story of young
• George Washington and the
• cherry tree.

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What about legends and fairy tales(folklore)?
Continued

• Fairy tales are stories for children about
  fairies or other imaginary beings and events,
  often containing a moral message
• Fairy tales are a third variety of traditional
  tales. They are usually simple narratives of an
  adventure built around elements of a character
  and plot. An example would be Cinderella. ?

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Why is myth important to C.S.Lewis? Quotes taken
from Myth Became Fact

• To be truly Christian we must both assent to the
  historical fact and also receive the myth with
  the same imaginative embrace which we accord to
  all myths.
• If God choose to be mythopoeic shall we refuse
  to be mythopathic?

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Resources

• http//www.biblegateway.com
• http//encarta.msn.com/artcenter_/browse.html
• Myth Became Fact by C.S.Lewis