Myth is only a myth because we deem it so.

I use the term myth in referring to the gods of greek mythology. Why are they called myths and not religions? People who are religious tend to discredit all others as wrong or fake. Why? This makes no sense because when you think about it, if you think about it, all religions cant be true so what makes yours any more true than all others? I mean absolutely no offense to those who are religious! I just wonder this a lot. Why should people be so quick to say everyone else is wrong when yours is equally likely to be wrong. I personally dont have a religion. I do respect all religions though. I simply study reality and know what is real or well...what I see as real. lol

P.S. If this is in the wrong section I apologize I just didnt want to post in the religion one because I knew that most people that would reply to me would be people who would more than likely ridicule me or say believe in god, hes real blah blah blah.

Then that means the truth is only the truth because we deem it so.

reply to post by thesmokingman


Thanks for reading the title and posting a response lol.

reply to post by UnknownKnower
Who is to say that elements of most religions, including the mythology of Greek gods, don't have at least SOME truth to them? Have you ever noticed how the physical descriptions of the Greek god Zeus are extremely similar to physical descriptions in the book of Revelations of Jesus upon his return- even the similar clothing? Similar stories with just a few details and some name and location changes in different mythologies and religions (Gilgamesh and Noah come to mind)? If you start to wrap your head around some of the similarities it starts to make sense that mythology and religion aren't so very different.

reply to post by littled16


In my opinion religion is simply made up by humans as a form of setting morals and rules. But there are many similarities in all religions, I do agree with you. What I like to ask is how does anyone know they are believing the real one? If there is a real one.

reply to post by UnknownKnower

Why are they called myths and not religions? People who are religious tend to discredit all others as wrong or fake.

At the time they were religion.
I'm not religious and I don't think there are flying horses or a that chariot carries the Sun across the sky.

Originally posted by UnknownKnower

What I like to ask is how does anyone know they are believing the real one? If there is a real one.

I guess nobody truly knows until you leave this world. Just pick one, or none, and hope it's the right choice. Maybe there is only one right choice or maybe there are many possible right choices. None of us really knows for certain. One can follow what in his/her heart what feels right, but in the end no one knows until it's too late.

reply to post by littled16


This is the problem I see with most religions. They leave so many questions up to the believer to determine. Or there is a threat to the believer that says either you believe in this one or you are punished. Specifically, Christianity and the bible. In the bible one of the ten commandments says "worship only me" not exactly that but something of that nature and this scares people into believing that one over the rest. I like to lean more toward the accepting religions or philosophies like Taoism and Buddhism..

reply to post by Phage


Yes! thats what I am saying. At the time they were religion. I am glad you said that I was waiting to see if someone would catch what I was getting at. Think about all the religions we have now and think to the future and how in a few hundred years the beliefs that people have now may in fact be seen as myth..

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Matters of faith require faith. When faith is lost, so is its bound religion.

reply to post by DestroyDestroyDestroy


After a few hundred years people will be more than likely looking back at the current religions and thinking they were all made up or myths. Just like we do with the greek mythology.

reply to post by UnknownKnower
Sure, there will always be a small percentage of that will follow particular religions out of fear (you mention Christianity but there are plenty of others that fit the bill) but most choose their religion , or lack thereof, by what feels right in their hearts. It is true that in a few hundred years some religions known today may disappear but there are many that have stood the test of thousands of years and will still be around when we have turned to nothing but dust.

Myth doesn't necessarily mean that the story is untrue. Just that it's ancient and cannot be verified as being true by current means.

Example. In the book of Exodus you have the story of Moses and the forcible removable of the Israelites from the land of Egypt. Can we prove in this day and age that this event really happened? Not really. Did it happen? Depends if you have faith or not. This story is at the root of the religion of Judaism and by extension Christianity and Islam. And it could be argued that it didn't happen. We just don't know at this point in time. It's ancient. And it's possible that there was an actual event that was added to and enhanced in the telling of the story.

Now when it comes to religion there is something I would want to point out here. It's the prophesy of the day of Jezreel in the book of Hosea. According to this prophesy and one of the parables told by Jesus Christ in Matthew 25 we have a interesting problem here.

Per the parable Jesus Christ states that he would be away for a long period of time but would return eventually and demand a reckoning from his servants. But the problem is that Hosea puts a timeframe on that. Here's the verses.

Hosea 6
1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

The problem here is that those days are thousand year periods of time according to 2nd Peter 3-8 and Psalms 90. Literally Jesus Christ is supposed to return after 2000 years.

Now that's crazy.

reply to post by ntech


So, you're saying that the difference between religion and myth is faith? I guess one man's faith is another man's myth.

Hosea 6 1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

That's not about the 2nd coming of the Jesus. That's about OUR resurrection or reincarnation, which ever you prefer.

There's a great quote that says: "A myth is a religion in which no one believes anymore."

A lot of truth in that, of course, just think of all the dead religions that we know about.

Well, I think most Myths have some basis behind them. I don't think people were as full of Sh** back then as they are now, especially the people completely discounting the myths. Most ancient beliefs had some basis, usually the gods were depictions of the forces of the earth. There were some gods that were real people though, but their rein as rulers of societies is long before any evidence we have. I think Apollo was a real person as were lot of the gods. Sure the tales are blown up but not as much as people think. Real people classified as gods lived apart from societies most times, they were knowledgeable of many things. They may have not even been classified as totally modern human by today's standards.

reply to post by UnknownKnower


It's an interesting question. It's a matter of perspective. Hindu religions are fascinating. Ganesh is an elephant head god. So if you are not Hindu, you might consider it a myth but that would be offensive, so its a religion. Nobody is around who believes in the ancient Greek gods, so we can safely call that a mythology.

What distinguishes a cult from a religion? Say Scientology vs Christianity. I consider Scientology a cult and Christianity a religion but I don't know why.

Myths are just stories about regular old folk like you and me, who for some reason were notable somehow.

The story of their notoriety was distorted and embellished over time, and now they are mythical godlike thingamabobs.

Two Letters Cover It : BS

Talk to your grandpa, the embellishments are already being applied to his ancestors 2 generations back.

Generational amnesia is bad enough, but then we get these crazy ass stories about flying people, people who can walk on water, people who can supposedly do all manner of bizarre improbable things.

Your beliefs are used to harvest you, like milk from cows, but harvest your energy and life force.

I don't believe in anything anymore.

I strongly suggest that as "a student of philosophy" that you acquaint yourself with the works of Joseph Campbell. You can find him all over Google and You Tube. That will at least give you a more solid working knowledge of the term "myth" of which you don't seem to have in your possession.

reply to post by Aliensun


When I used to word myth, I was referring to mythology, and of that I do have knowledge