Yep. As Campbell explains it, Jesus is basically a knock-off of Orpheus. I think some christians would try to tell you that the earlier forms of the myth were just a warm up for Jesus, who is the only real hero. This is nonsense, of course. They're all heros. The differences are just a matter of cultural inflection and are relatively trivial. And the hero's journey isn't about some other, extraordinary guy. Its about you and me and everybody else.
Happy trails and bon voyage, dmb ----------------------------------------> Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:34:27 +1000> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [MD] Zeitgeist - The Movie...'the jesus conspiracy'>> ...hiya,> i have seen part 1 of this and am very familiar with this argument, put forward also by david icke.> the argument:> jesus didn't actually exist because the chronology and events of his life are exactly mirrored by dozens of other mythological figures, such figures being merely human canvasses on which to paint the same symbolic picture.... this picture being a coded message, or a dual-layered story (ie myth) that carries down through the ages the same pagan knowledge.>> the other night whilst watching part 1 at a friends i had an a-ha moment which seems to fit.> these stories are the same because it is a good story, because it is a single myth with local variations. this myth is perpetuated down the generations and spreads afar and in doing so it adopts the lofty personages of each era and region such that the tale resonates as strongly as possible with the populace.>> to suggest that jesus disn't exist is to ignore too much evidence, not least of which is the gospel of thomas. this gospel is not of the myth, directly in any case. it is a record of jesus' own words and is more eastern in flavour than anything else. much of what is ascribed to jesus, eg birth and death dates and events, is directly of this 'super-myth' (the dates corresponding to soltices and equinoxes for instance). i think campbell sees this super myth -- which he also sees reflected and inflected down the ages and across the world -- as being best exemplified by the tale of Orpheus.>> to recapitulate: the same 'super-myth' symbology is present in much of the stories surrounding jesus as he was, in his time, a person held in highest esteem. this super-myth is continually revivified (as myth constantly requires) through the local particularities of each age/region. the actual words/teachings of jesus generally stand outside this myth; they are complementary perhaps but are not central to the mythic dynamic/unfolding. perhaps by separating jesus' actual individual existence from his adoption by the super-myth we can better unravel a lot of the confusion that has surrounded christianity for centuries....>>>>>>> ---------------------------------> Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. Get it now.> Moq_Discuss mailing list> Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.> http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org> Archives:> http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/> http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ _________________________________________________________________ Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word scramble challenge with star power. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
