RGST 12 Week 2

Myths are just a type of story that people have, whether it be true or not (although they are generally believed to be false), and they often are used to explain something in the natural world (ex. creation myths). Religion uses myth a lot, and I think I might’ve been in the sixth grade when I first heard about myths, when we studied the Ancient Greek traditions. Christianity also has its own religious myths, although many of its believers would not consider them to be myths at all given the false connotation that myth usually takes. All of the books in the Christian bible are filled with these stories, parables aside, about the past and Jesus and how it all started, including the beginning of  time. The first book in the old testament, the book of Genesis, explains how god created  the world and made humans, etc. As well as the story with Adam and Eve, thus giving us the creation of sin. Again, these stories serve their purpose in religion by bringing meaning to certain things about the world (e.g. how the world and humans came to be, and why we will have to die.)

I’m not really sure what connections to make with the other religions we have discussed except that it seems to me like most religions incorporate myth into their teachings in a similar way. The same way Christianity has its own creation myth, the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Egyptians have their own creation myths which both contain more of a similarity with each other than with the Christian creation myth. The other connection that I can make between most religions in relation to myth is that the people who believe in them take them to be completely true. People feel the need to have a thorough explanation of certain things in their lives sometimes, which is when a lot of them decide to turn to religion.