Should Myth have its own sub-forum?

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M*W: Isn't it too confusing to combine topics of myth with the Religion Forum? Although I realize there is a strong connection between Myth and Religion, wouldn't it be more exacting to have a sub-forum for Myths?

 

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Good idea M*W... but wouldn't that make the Religion forum a little redundant??

 

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What is the difference?

Seriously, I'm not making a crack at the religious.

What is the difference between a myth and a religion?
Age?
Number of adherents?
Canonized dogma?
Tax status?

 

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M*W: IMO... not much. You do bring up some valid points, though. I was thinking more along the lines of Zeus and the gods of Olympus and the pagan gods, etc. There is a thin line between religion and myth. IMO, it's all myth. Maybe the Religion Forum should have Myths, Legends as sub-titles.

 

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M*W: I think it would be boring without myth. Without myth, there would be no religion.

 

I'm not sure there IS a line.
That's my point.

There are, believe it or not, people who still believe in Zeus.
It is a religion (though many people decide to discount it as myth, while their "religion" is true, but think it is disrespectful for others to call their religion mythical).

If you can't define a line, how can you have sub-forums?

I think you just want a "Myths" forum so you can post about Jesus in there!
Am I right?

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....Which was exactly my point...

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M*W: Actually, no, but I understand your reasoning. I'm also not sure if there is a line nor where it would be drawn. My purpose in asking about a sub-forum for myth would be to discuss the ancient myths of astro-theology, which technically is religion/myth, more so of how religions got started. I'm not even sure if there should be a separate myth forum. It was just an inquiry. Personally, I'd miss the religion forum and I might be all alone in a myth forum. The topics I like to discuss wouldn't fit quite right in the Astronomy forum. I'm not looking to discuss astronomy or the science of the study of the skies. It sounds like there is not a need for a separate myth forum.

 

Myth usually can be put under literature or religion, so I think it'd be a bit redundant.

 

Perhaps there can be a "Comparative Religion" subforum, specifically and exclusively for discussing the histories, origins and interractions of religions from a disinterested, "scholarly" point of view.

That would most certainly cover mythology.

 

Not a bad idea at all.

However, unlike religion per se, myth extends itself beyond its immediate religious implications; myth often intersects with, and indeed serves as a foundation for numerous aspects of culture. Religion 'behaves' in an insular mode, always affirming its boundaries. Whereas myth constantly strives to extend itself beyond its beginnings.

 

Glaucon:

I am not so sure that is so. Think of the impact religion has on culture. Can one imagine Ireland without Catholicism? India without Hinduism? Japan without Shinto?

 

I wasn't referring to impact. Certainly what you've said is true; any ideology has such an affective power.
I was referring to the power that myth enjoys that allows it to not only perpetuate itself, and to insinuate itself into culture, but also transform itself, to adapt itself, while somehow maintaining its identity.

 

Glaucon:

Doesn't religion do the same, though?

Think of the varying expressions of Indo-European religion and how it adapted to the particular cultures which developed from Proto-Indo-European.

Or how modern Shinto works in the hyper-technological wonderland of Japan.

Or Christianity in modern America. JESUSAVES.

Or Judaism post-Holocaust...

 

P_J,

What you say is true, nevertheless, I don't think that this is the same thing as that which happens with myth proper.
At its core, the religion hasn't changed; it is always 'looking backward' to its past. Religion adapts a culture to itself, where myth adapts itself to a culture.

 

What needs to be done is refine the sub-forums to suit different subjects of religion. The IIDB forum covers this pretty well.

1:Existence of God(s)
2:Biblical criticism & History
3:Evolution/Creation
4:Science & Skepticism
5:Moral Foundation & Principles
6:Church/State Separation
7:Non-Abrahamic Religion & Philosophy
8:General Religious Discussions

They also have a formal debate sub-forum. Overall I'd suggest some of our members visit IIDB

http://www.iidb.org/vbb/index.php

BTW I'm also Godless there, however my home is here, so my posts there are very minimal!

 

Godless, you forgot what I consider to be the most significant aspect of religious belief: eschatology.

 

Glaucon:

Why do you think this is so? Because religion necessarily moralizes?

 

glaucon I think perhaps that eschatology could be covered in "Biblical Criticism & History"

 

That Med Woman, always trying to find an angle.