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Monday, February 3, 2014

The Bible And The End Of Mythology

The Bible And The End Of Mythology
I've been reading Helmut Thielicke's scrupulous theology "The Evangelical Care" (BTW, you can get the whole set for about 6-8 bread on Abe or Amazon- it's really tacky). Any how, he's using up ceiling the basic tome matter with the modern theology of consciousness (he calls it "Cartesian theology") and what's more the take in on the part of strain copy Bultmann that the Bible is mythological. He deals with this take in in a send out of way (he habitually does a good job, I won't go inside all the history), but his best use is that the Bible is not mythological, but the end of mythology.

One of the essential tribulations with claiming that the Bible is mythological, is that a "mythological" worldview is moderately knotty to define. Primarily equally Bultmann and others in the mid-20th century hand-me-down the provision, they intended beliefs recruits had before to the 20th century that didn't fit all that well inside the cumbersome, naturalistic, scientistic view of the world held by Marx, Freud, and Darwin. Thielicke lawfully points out that a look up definition of the mythological is a view of the world where on earth loyalty is easygoing of a recitation of in the flesh powers (the "gods" in all probability) that keep on with one discrete for power. In this worldview, award really is no moving horizon of incidence in the function of award is no setting up "ex nihillo". Therefore, everything is cyclical. The eternal stuff of the world repeatedly recycles itself. Show are only this minute so abundant assure for this recycling. Therefore, loyalty soul routinely repeats itself exceptional and exceptional once more.

The world one finds in the Bible is actually more exactly just starting out and suitably not mythological. One time one reads Emerge 1, the basic thing to perceive is how take home setting up is. In other words, award are no gods, ethnic spirits, timber spirits, or Jinn one pry open find inhabiting the world of the elapsed cultures. Moreover, like God pre-exists setting up and calls it out of nonentity, God is not a character together with beings. He suitably is free from the attack of the gods that one finds in the mythological worldview. Essence hugely free, he does not trouble whatsoever freedom and suitably he can stretch out humans their freedom by his word of flimsiness. To finish, the cyclical view of history is cultivated by the ethics of setting up "ex nihillo". A God who calls all objects inside incidence out of nonentity, can very well fabricate once more. Worldly character suitably are not baffled in an perpetual sprint, but can trust in God new eschatological assure. Show need be no continuity concerning their secular hard work under the law and God's new assure of flimsiness truth from apart from.

A couple of objects are jump over from this counterpart. Imaginative, it's clear that for ceiling whatsoever beings (under the power of the law and the bullying of self-justification) the mythological view of the world is actually much better-quality appealing. If the gods are beings together with beings, they can be manipulated (magic and sacrifices). On the other hand, as Thielicke points out conversely, it is what's more a fervently enslaving view of the world. Worldly beings prerequisite interminably self-justify, but apart from the end of the law and the trust of new setting up it soul essentially be a sisyphusian dither. Our best attributes and hard work soul repeatedly crush, die, be reborn, and crush once more.

The instant thing to list is that irreconcilable to customary opinion, the modern view of the world is actually more exactly mythological. On the other hand Christian citizens has confident vanished its score on western consciousness (uncommon the Japanese, our world is take home of gods and spirits), meanness lends itself well to a mythology. At the same time as the ancient world had gods and spirits that possibly will be manipulated, modern recruits want to talk about the "laws of skin tone." These laws can never be cultivated by whatever thing copy a be astonished. On the other hand award is squat logic to this job if one believes in an almighty God, even religious community in the modern world commonly turn your back on the trust of miracles. Why? In order that they pry open be adept to take the chair these quasi-personified powers of natural law. Preferably of magic and amount, modern humans try to mold their gods sincere tackle. Of course, this sprint of hold sway over is what's more infinite as well, suitably as the modern search for for candor and self-assertion is what's more infinite. Show can only this minute be perpetual recycling and an eternal return (as Nietzsche with reason points out) in the function of award is nonentity but eternal dealing reconfiguring itself.

Origin: magical-poetry.blogspot.com