But, of course, stories such as the parting of the Sea of Reeds for the fleeing Hebrews, Muhammad's Night Journey, and the dead Jesus rising from the tomb are just as clearly irrational narratives to which a Hindu or a Buddhist might understandably apply the word "myth".
With time, both terms gained distinctive qualities:[10] In the first place, theology is a spiritual or religious attempt of "believers" to explicate their faith.
The implication derived from the religious approach is that it does not provide a formal and indifferent scheme devoid of presuppositions within which all religions could be subsumed.
Simplification of cultures and time periods by eliminating detailed data remain vulnerable or flimsy in this area of research.
Many mythologies focus on explanations of the universe, natural phenomena, or other themes of human existence, often ascribing agency to one or more deities or other supernatural forces.
For example, in Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, English professor Howard Schwartz writes, "the definition of 'mythology' offered here does not attempt to determine if biblical or subsequent narratives are true or false, i.e., historically accurate or not".
J. J. Altizer, for example, maintained [this] boldly by stating, "Throughout its history Christian theology has been thwarted from reaching its intrinsic goal by its bondage to a transcendent, a sovereign, and an impassive God".
[...] [Dietrich] Bonhoffer called persistently for "Religionless Christianity".In the 20th century, many scholars have resisted this trend, defending myth from modern criticism.
A. T. Robinson were busy with erasing the mythical language of [a] three-storied universe that underlies the early Christian thought and experience.Similarly, Joseph Campbell believed that people could not understand their individual lives without mythology to aid them.
[citation needed] Some religious believers take offense when what they consider to be historical aspects of their faith are labeled as "myth".
Such believers distinguish between religious fables or myths, on one hand, and those sacred narratives which are described by their tradition as being history or revelation, on the other.
[37] Thus, when essential sacred mysteries and teachings are described as myth, in modern English, the word often still implies that it is "idle fancy, fiction, or falsehood".
[36] This description could be taken as a direct attack on religious belief, quite contrary to the meaning ostensibly intended by the academic use of the term.
The original term "mythos" (which has no pejorative connotation in English) may be a better word to distinguish the positive definition from the negative.
[36] Modern day clergy and practitioners within some religious movements have no problem classifying the religion's sacred stories as "myths".
Tolkien's love of myths and devout Catholic faith came together in his assertion that mythology is the divine echo of "the Truth".
[39] He expressed these beliefs in his poem Mythopoeia circa 1931, which describes myth-making as an act of "sub-creation" within God's primary creation.
The Christian would be well advised to get over his fear of the word and appreciate how important a tool it can be for understanding the content of his faith.At a "Consultation on the Relationship Between the Wesleyan Tradition and the Natural Sciences" in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 19, 1991, Dennis Bratcher presented a discussion of the adaptation of Near Eastern mythical thought by the Israelites.
Asatru, a modern-day revival of Germanic Paganism, holds "that the Eddas, Myths and Norse Sagas are the divinely inspired wisdom of [its] religion".
[48] The Dewey Decimal system covers religion in the 200 range, with books on "Religious mythology & social theology", a subset listed under 201.