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Christian mythology is the body ofmyths associated withChristianity. The term encompasses a broad variety oflegends andnarratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythologicalthemes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending a mountain, theaxis mundi, myths of combat,descent into the Underworld, accounts of adying-and-rising god, aflood myth, stories about the founding of a tribe or city, and myths about greatheroes (orsaints) of the past,paradises, andself-sacrifice.
Various authors have also used it to refer to other mythological andallegorical elements found in theBible, such as the story of theLeviathan. The term has been applied to myths and legends from theMiddle Ages, such as the story ofSaint George and the Dragon, the stories ofKing Arthur and hisKnights of the Round Table, and the legends of theParsival. Multiple commentators have classifiedJohn Milton's epic poemParadise Lost as a work of Christian mythology. The term has also been applied to modern stories revolving around Christian themes and motifs, such as the writings ofC. S. Lewis,J. R. R. Tolkien,Madeleine L'Engle, andGeorge MacDonald.
Over the centuries, Christianity has divided into manydenominations. Not all of these denominations hold the same set of sacred traditional narratives. For example, thebooks of the Bible accepted by theRoman Catholic Church and theEastern Orthodox churches include a number of texts and stories (such as those narrated in theBook of Judith andBook of Tobit) that manyProtestant denominations do not accept ascanonical.
Christian theologian and professor ofNew Testament,Rudolf Bultmann wrote that:[1]
The cosmology of the New Testament is essentiallymythical in character. The world is viewed as a three storied structure, with the earth in the center, the heaven above, and the underworld beneath. Heaven is the abode of God and of celestial beings – the angels. The underworld is hell, the place of torment. Even the earth is more than the scene of natural, everyday events, of the trivial round and common task. It is the scene of the supernatural activity of God and his angels on the one hand, and of Satan and his demons on the other. These supernatural forces intervene in the course of nature and in all that men think and will and do. Miracles are by no means rare. Man is not in control of his own life. Evil spirits may take possession of him. Satan may inspire him with evil thoughts. Alternatively, God may inspire his thought and guide his purposes. He may grant him heavenly visions. He may allow him to hear his word of succor or demand. He may give him the supernatural power of his Spirit. History does not follow a smooth unbroken course; it is set in motion and controlled by these supernatural powers. This æon is held in bondage by Satan, sin, and death (for "powers" is precisely what they are), and hastens towards its end. That end will come very soon, and will take the form of a cosmic catastrophe. It will be inaugurated by the "woes" of the last time. Then the Judge will come from heaven, the dead will rise, the last judgment will take place, and men will enter into eternal salvation or damnation.
In its broadest academic sense, the wordmyth simply means a traditional story. However, many scholars restrict the term "myth" to sacred stories.[2]Folklorists often go further, defining myths as "tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters".[3]
Inclassical Greek,muthos, from which the English wordmyth derives, meant "story, narrative." By the time of Christ,muthos had started to take on the connotations of "fable, fiction,"[4] and early Christian writers often avoided calling a story from canonical scripture a "myth".[5]Paul warnedTimothy to have nothing to do with "godless and silly myths" (bebēthous kai graōdeis muthous).[6] This negative meaning of "myth" passed into popular usage.[7] Some modern Christian scholars and writers have attempted to rehabilitate the term "myth" outside academia, describing stories in canonical scripture (especially the Christ story) as "true myth"; examples includeC. S. Lewis andAndrew Greeley.[n 1] Several modern Christian writers, such asC. S. Lewis, have described elements of Christianity, particularly the story of Christ, as "myth" which is also "true" ("true myth").[8][9][10] Others object to associating Christianity with "myth" for a variety of reasons: the association of the term "myth" with polytheism,[11][12][13] the use of the term "myth" to indicate falsehood or non-historicity,[11][12][14][15][16] and the lack of an agreed-upon definition of "myth".[11][12][16] As examples of Biblical myths, Every cites thecreation account in Genesis 1 and 2 and thestory of Eve's temptation.[17]
Christian tradition contains many stories that do not come fromcanonical Christian texts yet still illustrateChristian themes. These non-canonical Christian myths include legends, folktales, and elaborations on canonical Christian mythology. Christian tradition has produced a rich body of legends that were never incorporated into the official scriptures. Legends were a staple of medieval literature.[18] Examples includehagiographies such as the stories ofSaint George orSaint Valentine. A case in point is the historical and canonizedBrendan of Clonfort, a 6th-century Irish churchman and founder of abbeys. Round his authentic figure was woven a tissue that is arguablylegendary rather than historical: theNavigatio or "Journey of Brendan". The legend discusses mythic events in the sense of supernatural encounters. In this narrative, Brendan and his shipmates encounter sea monsters, aparadisal island and a floating ice island and a rock island inhabited by a holy hermit: literal-minded devotés still seek to identify "Brendan's islands" in actual geography. This voyage was recreated byTim Severin, suggesting thatwhales,icebergs andRockall were encountered.[19]
Folktales form a major part of non-canonical Christian tradition. Folklorists define folktales (in contrast to "true" myths) as stories that are considered purely fictitious by their tellers and that often lack a specific setting in space or time.[20] Christian-themed folktales have circulated widely among peasant populations. One widespread folktale genre is that of the Penitent Sinner (classified as Type 756A, B, C, in theAarne-Thompson index of tale types); another popular group of folktales describe a clever mortal who outwits the Devil.[21] Not all scholars accept the folkloristic convention of applying the terms "myth" and "folktale" to different categories of traditional narrative.[22]
Christian tradition produced many popular stories elaborating on canonical scripture. According to an English folk belief, certain herbs gained their current healing power from having been used to healChrist's wounds onMount Calvary. In this case, a non-canonical story has a connection to a non-narrative form offolklore — namely,folk medicine.[23]Arthurian legend contains many elaborations upon canonical mythology. For example,Sir Balin discovers theLance of Longinus, which had pierced the side of Christ.[24] According to a tradition widely attested in early Christian writings,Adam's skull lay buried at Calvary; when Christ was crucified, his blood fell over Adam's skull, symbolizing humanity's redemption from Adam's sin.[25]
Examples of (1) Christian myths not mentioned in canon and (2) literary and traditional elaborations on canonical Christian mythology:
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Some scholars believe that many elements of Christian mythology, particularly its linear portrayal of time, originated with thePersian religion ofZoroastrianism.[28]Mary Boyce, an authority on Zoroastrianism, writes:
Zoroaster was thus the first to teach the doctrines of an individual judgment, Heaven and Hell, the future resurrection of the body, the general Last Judgment, and life everlasting for the reunited soul and body. These doctrines were to become familiar articles of faith to much of mankind, through borrowings by Judaism, Christianity and Islam.[29]
Mircea Eliade believes the Hebrews had a sense of linear time before Zoroastrianism influenced them. However, he argues,"a number of other [Jewish] religious ideas were discovered, revalorized, or systematized in Iran". These ideas include adualism between good and evil, belief in a future savior andresurrection, and "an optimistic eschatology, proclaiming the final triumph of Good".[30]
The Zoroastrian concepts ofAhriman,Amesha Spentas,Yazatas, andDaevas probably gave rise to the Christian understanding of Satan, archangels, angels, and demons.[31]
InBuddhist mythology, the demonMara tries to distract the historical Buddha,Siddhartha Gautama, before he can reach enlightenment.Huston Smith, a professor of philosophy and a writer on comparative religion, notes the similarity between Mara's temptation of the Buddha before his ministry and Satan's temptation of Christ before his ministry.[32]
In theBook of Revelation, the author sees a vision of a pregnant woman in the sky being pursued by a huge red dragon. The dragon tries to devour her child when she gives birth, but the child is "caught up to God and his throne". This appears to be an allegory for the triumph of Christianity: the child presumably represents Christ; the woman may represent God's people of the Old and New Testaments (who produced Christ); and the Dragon symbolizes Satan, who opposes Christ.[33] According to Catholic scholars, the images used in this allegory may have been inspired by pagan mythology:
This corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster.[34]
Academic studies of mythology often define mythology as deeply valued stories that explain a society's existence and world order: those narratives of a society's creation, the society's origins and foundations, their god(s), their original heroes, mankind's connection to the "divine", and their narratives ofeschatology (what happens in the "after-life"). This is a very general outline of some of the basic sacred stories with those themes.
The Christian texts use the samecreation myth asJewish mythology as written in the Old Testament. According to the Book of Genesis, the world was created out of a darkness and water in seven days. (Unlike a Jew, a Christian might include the miracle of Jesus' birth as a sort of second cosmogonic event)[35] Canonical Christian scripture incorporates the two Hebrew cosmogonic myths found in Genesis 1:1—2:2 and Genesis 2:4—3:24.
In the first text on the creation (Genesis 1:1—2:3), the Creator is calledElohim (commonly translated simply as "God"). He creates the universe over a six-day period, creating a new feature each day: first he creates day and night; then he creates the firmament to separate the "waters above" from the "waters below"; then he separates the dry land from the water; then he creates plants on the land; then he places the Sun, Moon, and stars in the sky; then he creates swimming and flying animals; then he creates land animals; and finally he createsman and woman together, "in his own image". On the seventh day, God rests, providing the rationale for the custom of resting onSabbath.[36]
The second creation myth in Genesis differs from the first in a number of important elements. Here the Creator is calledYahweh elohim (commonly translated "Lord God" or "LORD God" (with small caps), althoughYahweh is in fact the personal name of the God of Israel and does not literally mean "Lord").
This myth begins with the words, "When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, and no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth ..." (Genesis 2:4–5 NASB). It then proceeds to describe Yahweh creating a man called Adam out of dust. Yahweh creates theGarden of Eden as a home for Adam, and tells Adam not to eat the fruit of theTree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the center of the Garden (next to theTree of Life).
Yahweh also creates animals, and shows them to man, who names them. Yahweh sees that there is no suitable companion for the man among the beasts, and he subsequently puts Adam to sleep and takes out one of Adam's ribs, creating from it a woman whom Adam namesEve.
A talkingserpent tempts Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and she succumbs, offering the fruit to Adam as well. As a punishment, Yahweh banishes the couple from the Garden and "placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden the cherubim with a fiery revolving sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life".[37] The Lord says he must banish humans from the Garden because they have become like him, knowing good and evil (because of eating theforbidden fruit), and now onlyimmortality (which they could get by eating from the Tree of Life) stands between them and godhood:
"The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever" (Genesis 3:22).
Although the text of Genesis does not identify the tempting serpent withSatan, Christian tradition equates the two. This tradition has made its way into non-canonical Christian "myths" such as John Milton'sParadise Lost.
According to Lorena Laura Stookey, many myths featuresacred mountains as "the sites of revelations": "In myth, the ascent of the holy mountain is a spiritual journey, promising purification, insight, wisdom, or knowledge of the sacred".[38] As examples of this theme, Stookey includes the revelation of the Ten Commandments onMount Sinai, Christ's ascent of a mountain to deliver hisSermon on the Mount, andChrist's ascension intoHeaven from theMount of Olives.[38]
Many mythologies involve a "world center", which is often the sacred place of creation; this center often takes the form of a tree, mountain, or other upright object, which serves as anaxis mundi or axle of the world.[39][40][41] A number of scholars have connected the Christian story of the crucifixion at Golgotha with this theme of a cosmic center. In hisCreation Myths of the World, David Leeming argues that, in the Christian story of the crucifixion, the cross serves as "theaxis mundi, the center of a new creation".[39]
According to a tradition preserved in Eastern Christian folklore, Golgotha was the summit of the cosmic mountain at the center of the world and the location where Adam had been both created and buried. According to this tradition, when Christ is crucified, his blood falls on Adam's skull, buried at the foot of the cross, and redeems him.[41][42] George Every discusses the connection between the cosmic center and Golgotha in his bookChristian Mythology, noting that the image of Adam's skull beneath the cross appears in many medieval representations of the crucifixion.[41]
InCreation Myths of the World, Leeming suggests that the Garden of Eden may also be considered a world center.[39]
Many Near Eastern religions include a story about a battle between a divine being and a dragon or other monster representing chaos—a theme found, for example, in theEnuma Elish. A number of scholars call this story the "combat myth".[43][44][45] A number of scholars have argued that the ancient Israelites incorporated the combat myth into their religious imagery, such as the figures of Leviathan andRahab,[46][47] theSong of the Sea,[46] Isaiah 51:9–10's description of God's deliverance of his people from Babylon,[46] and the portrayals of enemies such as Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar.[48] The idea of Satan as God's opponent may have developed under the influence of the combat myth.[46][49] Scholars have also suggested that the Book of Revelation uses combat myth imagery in its descriptions of cosmic conflict.[45][50]
According to David Leeming, writing inThe Oxford Companion to World Mythology, the harrowing of hell is an example of the motif of the hero'sdescent to the underworld, which is common in many mythologies.[51] According to Christian tradition, Christ descended to hell after his death in order to free the souls there; this event is known as theHarrowing of Hell. This story is narrated in theGospel of Nicodemus and may be the meaning behind 1 Peter 3:18–22.[52][n 2]
Many myths, particularly from the Near East, feature a God who dies and is resurrected; this figure is sometimes called the "dying god".[53][54][55] An important study of this figure isJames George Frazer'sThe Golden Bough, which traces the dying God theme through a large number of myths.[56] The dying God is often associated with fertility.[53][57] A number of scholars, including Frazer,[58] have suggested that the Christ story is an example of the "dying God" theme.[53][59] In the article "Dying God" inThe Oxford Companion to World Mythology, David Leeming notes that Christ can be seen as bringing fertility, though of a spiritual as opposed to physical kind.[53]
In his 2006 homily forCorpus Christi, Pope Benedict XVI noted the similarity between the Christian story of the resurrection and pagan myths of dead and resurrected gods: "In these myths, the soul of the human person, in a certain way, reached out toward that God made man, who, humiliated unto death on a cross, in this way opened the door of life to all of us."[60]
Many cultures have myths about a flood that cleanses the world in preparation for rebirth.[61][62] Such stories appear on every inhabited continent on earth.[62] An example is the biblical story of Noah.[61][63] InThe Oxford Companion to World Mythology, David Leeming notes that, in the Bible story, as in other flood myths, the flood marks a new beginning and a second chance for creation and humanity.[61]
According to Sandra Frankiel, the records of "Jesus' life and death, his acts and words" provide the "founding myths" of Christianity.[64] Frankiel claims that these founding myths are "structurally equivalent" to the creation myths in other religions, because they are "the pivot around which the religion turns to and which it returns", establishing the "meaning" of the religion and the "essential Christian practices and attitudes".[64] Tom Cain uses the expression "founding myths" more broadly, to encompass such stories as those of theWar in Heaven and thefall of man; according to Cain, "the disastrous consequences of disobedience" is a pervasive theme in Christian founding myths.[65]
Christian mythology of their society'sfounding would start with Jesus and his many teachings, and include the stories of Christian disciples starting the Christian Church and congregations in the 1st century. This might be considered the stories in the four canonical gospels and theActs of the Apostles. The heroes of the first Christian society would start with Jesus and those chosen by Jesus, the twelve apostles including Peter, John, James, as well asPaul andMary (mother of Jesus).
In his influential 1909 workThe Myth of the Birth of the Hero,Otto Rank argued that the births of many mythical heroes follow a common pattern. Rank includes the story of Christ's birth as a representative example of this pattern.[66]
According to Mircea Eliade, one pervasive mythical theme associates heroes with the slaying of dragons, a theme which Eliade traces back to "the very ancient cosmogonico-heroic myth" of a battle between a divine hero and a dragon.[67] He cites the Christian legend ofSaint George as an example of this theme.[68] An example from theLate Middle Ages comes fromDieudonné de Gozon, third Grand Master of theKnights of Rhodes, famous for slaying the dragon of Malpasso. Eliade writes:
"Legend, as was natural, bestowed upon him the attributes of St. George, famed for his victorious fight with the monster. [...] In other words, by the simple fact that he was regarded as a hero, de Gozon was identified with a category, anarchetype, which [...] equipped him with a mythical biography from which it wasimpossible to omit combat with a reptilian monster."[68]
In theOxford Companion to World Mythology, David Leeming lists Moses, Jesus, and King Arthur as examples of theheroic monomyth,[69] calling the Christ story "a particularly complete example of the heroic monomyth".[70] Leeming regards resurrection as a common part of the heroic monomyth,[69][71] in which the resurrected heroes often become sources of "material or spiritual food for their people"; in this connection, Leeming notes that Christians regard Jesus as the "bread of life".[69]
In terms of values, Leeming contrasts "the myth of Jesus" with the myths of other "Christian heroes such as St. George,Roland,el Cid, and even King Arthur"; the later hero myths, Leeming argues, reflect the survival of pre-Christian heroic values—"values of military dominance and cultural differentiation and hegemony"—more than the values expressed in the Christ story.[70]
Many religious and mythological systems contain myths about aparadise. Many of these myths involve the loss of a paradise that existed at the beginning of the world. Some scholars have seen in the story of theGarden of Eden an instance of this general motif.[72][73]
Sacrifice is an element in many religious traditions and often represented in myths. InThe Oxford Companion to World Mythology, David Leeming liststhe story of Abraham and Isaac and the story of Christ's death as examples of this theme.[74]Wendy Doniger describes the gospel accounts as a "meta-myth" in which Jesus realizes that he is part of a "new myth [...] of a man who is sacrificed in hate" but "sees the inner myth, the old myth of origins and acceptance, the myth of a god who sacrifices himself in love".[75]
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Related to the doctrine oftranssubstantiation, the Christian practice of eating the flesh and blood ofJesus Christ during theEucharist is an instance oftheophagy.[76]
The theological concept of Jesus being born toatone fororiginal sin is central to the Christian narrative. According to Christian theology, by Adam disobeying God in the Garden of Eden, humanity acquired an ingrained flaw that keeps humans in a state of moral imperfection, generally called "original sin". According to Paul the Apostle, Adam's sin brought sin and death to all humanity: "Through one man, sin entered the world, and through sin, death" (Romans 5:12).
According to the orthodox Christian view, Jesus saved humanity from final death and damnation by dying for them. Most Christians believe that Christ'ssacrifice supernaturally reversed death's power over humanity, proved when he wasresurrected, and abolished the power of sin on humanity. According to Paul, "if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many" (Romans 5:15). For many Christians, atonement doctrine leads naturally into the eschatological narratives of Christian people rising from the dead and living again, or immediately entering heaven to join Jesus.
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Paul's theological writings lay out the basic framework of the atonement doctrine in the New Testament. However, Paul's letters contain relatively little mythology (narrative). The majority of narratives in the New Testament are in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation.
Although the Gospel stories do not lay out the atonement doctrine as fully as does Paul, they do have the story of the Last Supper, crucifixion, death and resurrection. Atonement is also suggested in the parables of Jesus in his final days. According to Matthew's gospel, at theLast Supper, Jesus calls his blood "the blood of the new covenant, which will be poured out for the forgiveness of many" (Matthew 26:28). John's gospel is especially rich in atonement parables and promises: Jesus speaks of himself as "the living bread that came down from heaven"; "and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51); "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24).
The sacrifice and atonement narrative appears explicitly in many non-canonical writings as well. For instance, in Book 3 of Milton'sParadise Lost, theSon of God offers to become a man and die, thereby paying mankind's debt toGod the Father.
TheHarrowing of Hell is a non-canonical myth extrapolated from the atonement doctrine. According to this story, Christ descended into the land of the dead after his crucifixion, rescuing the righteous souls that had been cut off from heaven due to the taint of original sin. The story of the harrowing was popular during the Middle Ages. An Old English poem called "The Harrowing of Hell" describes Christ breaking into Hell and rescuing the Old Testament patriarchs.[77] (The Harrowing is not the only explanation that Christians have put forth for the fate of the righteous who died before Christ accomplished the atonement.)[78]
In modern literature, atonement continues to be theme. In the first of C. S. Lewis'sNarnia novels,The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a boy named Edmund is condemned to death by aWhite Witch, and the magical lion-kingAslan offers to die in Edmund's place, thereby saving him. Aslan's life is sacrificed on an altar, but returns to life again. Aslan's self-sacrifice for Edmund is often interpreted as an allegory for the story of Christ's sacrifice for humanity; although Lewis denied that the novel is a mere allegory.[n 3]
Christian eschatological myths include stories of the afterlife: the narratives of Jesus Christrising from the dead and now acting as asaviour of all generations of Christians, and stories of heaven and hell. Eschatological myths would also include the prophesies ofend of the world and a new millennium in theBook of Revelation, and the story that Jesus will return to earth some day.
The major features of Christian eschatological mythology include afterlife beliefs, the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, and thefinal judgment.
Most Christian denominations hold some belief in an immediate afterlife when people die. Christian scripture gives a few descriptions of an immediate afterlife and a heaven and hell; however, for the most part, both New and Old Testaments focus much more on the myth of a final bodily resurrection than any beliefs about a purely spiritual afterlife away from the body.
Much of the Old Testament does not express a belief in a personal afterlife of reward or punishment:
"All the dead go down to Sheol, and there they lie in sleep together–whether good or evil, rich or poor, slave or free (Job 3:11–19). It is described as a region "dark and deep," "the Pit," and "the land of forgetfulness," cut off from both God and human life above (Psalms 6:5; 88:3–12). Though in some texts Yahweh's power can reach down to Sheol (Psalms 139:8), the dominant idea is that the dead are abandoned forever. This idea of Sheol is negative in contrast to the world of life and light above, but there is no idea of judgment or of reward and punishment."[79]
Later Old Testament writings, particularly the works of the Hebrew prophets, describe a final resurrection of the dead, often accompanied by spiritual rewards and punishments:
"Many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some shall live forever; others shall be in everlasting contempt. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever" (Daniel 12:2).
However, even here, the emphasis is not on an immediate afterlife in heaven or hell, but rather on a future bodily resurrection.
The New Testament also devotes little attention to an immediate afterlife. Its primary focus is the resurrection of the dead. Some New Testament passages seem to mention the (non-resurrected) dead experiencing some sort of afterlife (for example, the parable ofrich man and Lazarus); yet the New Testament includes only a few myths about heaven and hell. Specifically, heaven is a place of peaceful residence, where Jesus goes to "prepare a home" or room for his disciples (John 14:2).[80] Drawing on scriptural imagery (John 10:7, John 10:11–14), many Christian narratives of heaven include a nice green pasture land and a meeting with a benevolent God. Some of the earliest Christian art depicts heaven as a green pasture where people are sheep led by Jesus as "the good shepherd" as in interpretation of heaven.
As thedoctrines of heaven and hell (and also Catholicpurgatory) developed, non-canonical Christian literature began to develop an elaborate mythology about these locations. Dante's three-partDivine Comedy is a prime example of such afterlife mythology, describing Hell (inInferno), Purgatory (inPurgatorio), and Heaven (inParadiso). Nowadays, conceptualizations of hell differ quite widely across various denominations.
TheSecond Coming of Christ holds a central place in Christian mythology. The Second Coming is the return of Christ to Earth during the period of transformation preceding the end of this world and the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. According to Matthew's gospel, when Jesus is on trial before the Roman and Jewish authorities, he claims, "In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."[81] The legend of theWandering Jew concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming.
Christian mythology incorporates the Old Testament's prophecies of a future resurrection of the dead. Like the Hebrew prophet Daniel (e.g., Daniel 12:2), the Christian Book of Revelation (among other New Testament scriptures) describes the resurrection: "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds."[82] The righteous and/or faithful enjoy bliss in the earthly Kingdom of Heaven, but the evil and/or non-Christian are "cast into the lake of fire".[83]
Christian eschatological myths feature a total world renovation after the final judgment. According to the Book of Revelation, God "will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away".[84] According to Old and New Testament passages, a time of perfect peace and happiness is coming:
"They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation will not raise the sword against another; nor will they train for war again."[85]
Certain scriptural passages even suggest that God will abolish the current natural laws in favor of immortality and total peace:
When Christianity was a new and persecuted religion, many Christians believed the end times were imminent.[90] Scholars debate whether Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher;[91] however, his early followers, "the group of Jews who accepted him as messiah in the years immediately after his death, understood him in primarily apocalyptic terms".[92] Prevalent in the early church and especially during periods of persecution,[93] this Christian belief in an imminent end is called "millennialism". (It takes its name from the thousand-year ("millennial") reign of Christ that, according to the Book of Revelation, will precede the final world renovation; similar beliefs in a coming paradise are found in other religions, and these phenomena are often also called "millennialism")[94]
Millennialism comforted Christians during times of persecution, for it predicted an imminent deliverance from suffering.[95] From the perspective of millennialism, human action has little significance: millennialism is comforting precisely because it predicts that happiness is coming no matter what humans do: "The seeming triumph of Evil made up the apocalyptic syndrome which was to precede Christ's return and the millennium."[96]
However, as time went on, millennialism lost its appeal.[97] Christ had not returned immediately, as earlier Christians had predicted. Moreover, many Christians no longer needed the comfort that millennialism provided, for they were no longer persecuted: "With the triumph of the Church, the Kingdom of Heaven was already present on earth, and in a certain sense the old world had already been destroyed."[98] (Millennialism has revived during periods of historical stress,[98] and is currently popular among Evangelical Christians.)[99]
In the Roman Church's condemnation of millennialism, Eliade sees "the first manifestation of the doctrine of [human] progress" in Christianity.[98] According to the amillennial view, Christ will indeed come again, ushering in a perfect Kingdom of Heaven on earth, but "the Kingdom of God is [already] present in the world today through the presence of the heavenly reign of Christ, the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Christianity".[99] Amillennialists do not feel "the eschatological tension" that persecution inspires; therefore, they interpret their eschatological myths either figuratively or as descriptions of far-off events rather than imminent ones.[100] Thus, after taking the amillennial position, the Church not only waited for God to renovate the world (as millennialists had) but also believed itself to be improving the world through human action.[98]
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In theearly modern period, distinguished Christian theologians developed elaborated witch mythologies which contributed to the intensification ofwitch hunts.[101] Major works inChristian demonology, such asMalleus Maleficarum, were dedicated to the implementation ofExodus 22:18 of theOld Testament: "You shall not permit a sorceress to live."[102] The concept ofWitches' Sabbath was well articulated by the 17th century. TheologianMartin Delrio was one of the first to provide a vivid description in his influentialDisquisitiones magicae:[103]
There, on most occasions, once a foul, disgusting fire has been lit, an evil spirit sits on a throne as president of the assembly. His appearance is terrifying, almost always that of a male goat or a dog. The witches come forward to worship him in different ways. Sometimes they supplicate him on bended knee; sometimes they stand with their back turned to him. They offer candles made of pitch or a child's umbilical cord, and kiss him on the anal orifice as a sign of homage. Sometimes they imitate the sacrifice of the Mass (the greatest of all their crimes), as well as purifying with water and similar Catholic ceremonies. After the feast, each evil spirit takes by the hand the disciple of whom he has charge, and so that they may do everything with the most absurd kind of ritual, each person bends over backwards, joins hands in a circle, and tosses his head as frenzied fanatics do. Then they begin to dance. They sing very obscene songs in his [Satan's] honour. They behave ridiculously in every way, and in every way contrary to accepted custom. Then their demon-lovers copulate with them in the most repulsive fashion.
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Numerous legendary creatures are attested in Christian mythology. These include theBehemoth,Leviathan,Angels,Demons,Nephilim,Re'em,Ziz[104] anddragons.
According toMircea Eliade, many traditional societies have a cyclic sense of time, periodically reenacting mythical events.[105] Through this reenactment, these societies achieve an "eternal return" to the mythical age.[106] According to Eliade, Christianity retains a sense of cyclical time, through the ritual commemoration of Christ's life and the imitation of Christ's actions; Eliade calls this sense of cyclical time a "mythical aspect" of Christianity.[107]
However,Judeo-Christian thought also makes an "innovation of the first importance", Eliade says, because it embraces the notion of linear, historical time; in Christianity, "time is no longer [only] the circular Time of the Eternal Return; it has become linear and irreversible Time".[108] Summarizing Eliade's statements on this subject, Eric Rust writes, "A new religious structure became available. In the Judaeo-Christian religions — Judaism, Christianity, Islam — history is taken seriously, and linear time is accepted. [...] The Christian myth gives such time a beginning in creation, a center in the Christ-event, and an end in the final consummation."[109]
In contrast, the myths of many traditional cultures present a cyclic or static view of time. In these cultures, all the "[important] history is limited to a few events that took place in the mythical times".[110] In other words, these cultures place events into two categories, the mythical age and the present, between which there is no continuity. Everything in the present is seen as a direct result of the mythical age:
"Just as modern man considers himself to be constituted by [all of] History, the man of the archaic societies declares that he is the result of [only] a certain number of mythical events."[111]
Because of this view, Eliade argues, members of many traditional societies see their lives as a constant repetition of mythical events, an "eternal return" to the mythical age:
"Inimitating the exemplary acts of a god or of a mythical hero, or simply by recounting their adventures, the man of an archaic society detaches himself from profane time and magically re-enters the Great Time, the sacred time."[112]
According to Eliade, Christianity shares in this cyclic sense of time to an extent. "By the very fact that it is a religion", he argues, Christianity retains at least one "mythical aspect" — the repetition of mythical events through ritual.[113] Eliade gives a typical church service as an example:
"Just as a church constitutes a break in plane in the profane space of a modern city, [so] the service celebrated inside [the church] marks a break in profane temporal duration. It is no longer today's historical time that is present — the time that is experienced, for example, in the adjacent streets — but the time in which the historical existence of Jesus Christ occurred, the time sanctified by his preaching, by his passion, death, and resurrection."[114]
Heinrich Zimmer also notes Christianity's emphasis on linear time; he attributes this emphasis specifically to the influence of Augustine of Hippo's theory of history.[115] Zimmer does not explicitly describe the cyclical conception of time as itself "mythical" per se, although he notes that this conception "underl[ies] Hindu mythology".[116]
Neil Forsyth writes that "what distinguishes both Jewish and Christian religious systems [...] is that they elevate to the sacred status of myth narratives that are situated in historical time".[117]
According toCarl Mitcham, "the Christian mythology of progress toward transcendent salvation" created the conditions for modern ideas of scientific and technological progress.[118]Hayden White describes "the myth of Progress" as the "secular, Enlightenment counterpart" of "Christian myth".[119]Reinhold Niebuhr described the modern idea of ethical and scientific progress as "really a rationalized version of the Christian myth of salvation".[120]
According to Irwin, from the perspective of theHebrew Bible (Old Testament), "history is a tale of progress".[121] Christianity inherited the Hebrew sense of history through the Old Testament. Thus, although most Christians believe that human nature is inherently "fallen" (seeoriginal sin) and cannot become perfected without divine grace, they do believe that the world can and will change for the better, either through human and divine action or through divine action alone.
According to Mircea Eliade, the medieval "Gioacchinian myth [...] of universal renovation in a more or less imminent future" has influenced a number of modern theories of history, such as those of Lessing (who explicitly compares his views to those of medieval "enthusiasts"),Fichte,Hegel, andSchelling; and has also influenced a number of Russian writers.[122]
CallingMarxism "a truly messianic Judaeo-Christian ideology", Eliade writes that Marxism "takes up and carries on one of the great eschatological myths of the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean world, namely: the redemptive part to be played by the Just (the 'elect', the 'anointed', the 'innocent', the 'missioners', in our own days theproletariat), whose sufferings are invoked to change the ontological status of the world".[123]
In his article "The Christian Mythology of Socialism",Will Herberg argues that socialism inherits the structure of its ideology from the influence of Christian mythology upon western thought.[124]
InThe Oxford Companion to World Mythology, David Leeming claims that Judeo-Christian messianic ideas have influenced 20th-century totalitarian systems, citing thestate ideology of the Soviet Union as an example.[125]
According to Hugh S. Pyper, the biblical "founding myths of the Exodus and the exile, read as stories in which a nation is forged by maintaining its ideological and racial purity in the face of an oppressive great power", entered "the rhetoric of nationalism throughout European history", especially in Protestant countries and smaller nations.[126]
Christmas stories have become prevalent inWestern literature and culture.
Mythic patterns such as the primordial struggle between good and evil appear in passages throughout theHebrew Bible, including passages that describe historical events.[127] A distinctive characteristic of the Hebrew Bible is the reinterpretation of myth on the basis of history, as in theBook of Daniel, a record of the experience of the Jews of the Second Temple period under foreign rule, presented as a prophecy of future events and expressed in terms of "mythic structures" with "the Hellenistic kingdom figured as a terrifying monster that cannot but recall [the Near Eastern pagan myth of] the dragon of chaos".[127]
Mircea Eliade argues that the imagery used in some parts of the Hebrew Bible reflects a "transfiguration of history into myth".[128] For example, Eliade says, the portrayal ofNebuchadnezzar as a dragon in Jeremiah 51:34 is a case in which the Hebrews "interpreted contemporary events by means of the very ancient cosmogonico-heroic myth" of a battle between a hero and a dragon.[67]
According to scholars including Neil Forsyth andJohn L. McKenzie, the Old Testament incorporates stories, or fragments of stories, from extra-biblical mythology.[129][130] According to theNew American Bible, a Catholic Bible translation produced by theConfraternity of Christian Doctrine, the story of theNephilim in Genesis 6:1–4 "is apparently a fragment of an old legend that had borrowed much from ancient mythology", and the "sons of God" mentioned in that passage are "celestial beings of mythology".[131] The New American Bible also says that Psalm 93 alludes to "an ancient myth" in which God battles a personified Sea.[132] Some scholars have identified the biblical creatureLeviathan as a monster fromCanaanite mythology.[n 4][n 5] According toHoward Schwartz, "the myth of thefall of Lucifer" existed in fragmentary form in Isaiah 14:12 and other ancient Jewish literature; Schwartz claims that the myth originated from "the ancient Canaanite myth of Athtar, who attempted to rule the throne of Ba'al, but was forced to descend and rule the underworld instead".[133]
Some scholars have argued that the calm, orderly, monotheistic creation story in Genesis 1 can be interpreted as a reaction against the creation myths of other Near Eastern cultures.[n 6][n 7] In connection with this interpretation, David and Margaret Leeming describe Genesis 1 as a "demythologized myth",[134] and John L. McKenzie asserts that the writer of Genesis 1 has "excised the mythical elements" from his creation story.[135]
Perhaps the most famous topic in the Bible that could possibly be connected with mythical origins[136] is the topic ofHeaven (or the sky) as the place where God (or angels, or the saints) resides,[137][138][139][140][141] with stories such as the ascension of Elijah (who disappeared in the sky),[142][143] war of man with an angel, flying angels.[144][145][146][147][148] Even in the New Testament Paul the Apostle is said tohave visited the third heaven,[149][150] andJesus was portrayed in several books as going to return fromHeaven on a cloud, in the same way he ascended thereto.[151][citation needed] The official text repeated by the attendees during Roman Catholic mass (the Apostles' Creed) contains the words "He ascended into Heaven, and is Seated at the Right Hand of God, The Father. From thence He will come again to judge the living and the dead".[152][153]
According to a number of scholars, the Christ story contains mythical themes such asdescent to the underworld, theheroic monomyth, and the "dying god" (see section above on "mythical themes and types").[70][66][53][51]
Some scholars have argued that theBook of Revelation incorporates imagery from ancient mythology. According to theNew American Bible, the image inRevelation 12:1–6 of apregnant woman in the sky, threatened by adragon, "corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster".[154] Bernard McGinn suggests that the image of the two Beasts in Revelation stems from a "mythological background" involving the figures ofLeviathan andBehemoth.[155]
ThePastoral Epistles contain denunciations of "myths" (muthoi). This may indicate thatRabbinic orGnostic mythology was popular among the early Christians to whom the epistles were written and that the epistles' author was attempting to resist that mythology.[n 8][n 9]
TheSibylline oracles contain predictions that the dead Roman EmperorNero, infamous for his persecutions, would return one day as an Antichrist-like figure. According to Bernard McGinn, these parts of the oracles were probably written by a Christian and incorporated "mythological language" in describing Nero's return.[156]
After Christian theology was accepted by the Roman Empire, promoted bySt. Augustine in the 5th century, Christian mythology began to predominate the Roman Empire. Later the theology was carried north byCharlemagne and theFrankish people, and Christian themes began to weave into the framework of Europeanmythologies.[157] The pre-ChristianGermanic andCeltic mythology that were native to the tribes of Northern Europe were denounced and submerged, while saint myths, Mary stories,Crusade myths, and other Christian myths took their place. However, pre-Christian myths never went entirely away, they mingled with the (Roman Catholic) Christian framework to form new stories, like myths of themythological kings andsaints andmiracles, for example (Eliade 1963:162–181). Stories such as that ofBeowulf and Icelandic, Norse, and Germanic sagas were reinterpreted somewhat, and given Christian meanings. The legend ofKing Arthur and the quest for theHoly Grail is a striking example.[158] The thrust of incorporation took on one of two directions. When Christianity was on the advance, pagan myths were Christianized; when it was in retreat, Bible stories and Christian saints lost their mythological importance to the culture.
According to Mircea Eliade, theMiddle Ages witnessed "an upwelling of mythical thought" in which each social group had its own "mythological traditions".[159] Often a profession had its own "origin myth" which established models for members of the profession to imitate; for example, the knights tried to imitateLancelot orParsifal.[159] The medievaltrouveres developed a "mythology of woman and Love" which incorporated Christian elements but, in some cases, ran contrary to official church teaching.[159]
George Every includes a discussion of medieval legends in his bookChristian Mythology. Some medieval legends elaborated upon the lives of Christian figures such as Christ, theVirgin Mary, and the saints. For example, a number of legends describe miraculous events surrounding Mary's birth and her marriage to Joseph.[n 10]
In many cases, medieval mythology appears to have inherited elements from myths of pagan gods and heroes.[160][161] According to Every, one example may be "the myth of St. George" and other stories about saints battling dragons, which were "modelled no doubt in many cases on older representations of the creator and preserver of the world in combat with chaos".[162] Eliade notes that some "mythological traditions" of medieval knights, namely theArthurian cycle and theGrail theme, combine a veneer of Christianity with traditions regarding theCeltic Otherworld.[159] According to Lorena Laura Stookey, "many scholars" see a link between stories in "Irish-Celtic mythology" about journeys to the Otherworld in search of a cauldron of rejuvenation and medieval accounts of the quest for the Holy Grail.[163]
According to Eliade, "eschatological myths" became prominent during the Middle Ages during "certain historical movements".[164] These eschatological myths appeared "in theCrusades, in the movements of aTanchelm and anEudes de l'Etoile, in the elevation ofFredrick II to the rank of Messiah, and in many other collective messianic, utopian, and prerevolutionary phenomena".[164] One significant eschatological myth, introduced byGioacchino da Fiore's theology of history, was the "myth of an imminent third age that will renew and complete history" in a "reign of the Holy Spirit"; this "Gioacchinian myth" influenced a number of messianic movements that arose in the late Middle Ages.[122]
During the Renaissance, there arose a critical attitude that sharply distinguished betweenapostolic tradition and what George Every calls "subsidiary mythology"—popular legends surrounding saints, relics, the cross, etc.—suppressing the latter.[165]
The works of Renaissance writers often included and expanded upon Christian and non-Christian stories such as those of creation and theFall. Rita Oleyar describes these writers as "on the whole, reverent and faithful to the primal myths, but filled with their own insights into the nature of God, man, and the universe".[166] An example isJohn Milton'sParadise Lost, an "epic elaboration of the Judeo-Christian mythology" and also a "veritable encyclopedia of myths from the Greek and Roman tradition".[166]
According to Cynthia Stewart, during the Reformation, the Protestant reformers used "thefounding myths of Christianity" to critique the church of their time.[167]
Every argues that "the disparagement of myth in our own civilization" stems partly from objections to perceived idolatry, objections which intensified in the Reformation, both among Protestants and among Catholics reacting against the classical mythology revived during the Renaissance.[168]
Thephilosophes of the Enlightenment used criticism of myth as a vehicle for veiled criticisms of the Bible and the church.[169] According toBruce Lincoln, the philosophes "made irrationality the hallmark of myth and constituted philosophy—rather than the Christiankerygma—as the antidote for mythic discourse. By implication, Christianity could appear as a more recent, powerful, and dangerous instance of irrational myth".[170]
Since the end of the 18th century, the biblical stories have lost some of their mythological basis to western society, owing to the scepticism of theEnlightenment, 19th-centuryfreethinking, and 20th centurymodernism. Most westerners no longer found Christianity to be their primary imaginative and mythological framework by which they understand the world. However other scholars believe mythology is in our psyche, and that mythical influences of Christianity are in many of our ideals, for example the Judeo-Christian idea of an after-life and heaven.[171] The bookVirtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X byTom Beaudoin explores the premise that Christian mythology is present in the mythologies of pop-culture, such as Madonna'sLike a Prayer or Soundgarden'sBlack Hole Sun. Modern myths are strong in comic book stories (as stories ofculture heroes) and detective novels as myths of good versus evil.[172]
Some commentators have categorized a number of modern fantasy works as "Christian myth" or "Christianmythopoeia". Examples include the fiction ofC. S. Lewis,Madeleine L'Engle,J.R.R. Tolkien, andGeorge MacDonald.[173][n 11]
InThe Eternal Adam and the New World Garden, written in 1968,David W. Noble argued that the Adam figure had been "the central myth in the American novel since 1830".[166][n 12] As examples, he cites the works of Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Hemingway, and Faulkner.[166]
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