Thursday 26 December 2013

The Great Myth

It was Christmas Eve, and we were watching the carol service from King's College Chapel, Cambridge (UK). I have lost count of the number of times I have watched this service over the years. Often, I watch with delight, but sometimes out of a sense of duty that I cannot explain. This year the experience was altogether different. It was as if, because of my loss of hearing perhaps (some 30 - 40% has gone), a third eye had opened and I was beginning to 'see' in a new way. Then, on Christmas Day, we once again followed our tradition of listening to the "Messiah." All that I had felt the day before began to wash over me again. If, in the past, I had barely scratched the surface of Christianity (see " L'Abbaye de Boquen ", posted 27.4.2013), now a new experience and understanding was beginning to emerge from the darkness that had obscured it for too many years.

It is difficult to find appropriate words to describe this sense of enlightening, or indeed to know the depth, breadth and height of the experience. Certainly, the experience was very complex, the details of which I have barely begun to understand. Yet I feel that, even if I have misunderstood, even if my words are inadequate for the task I have set myself here, I must at least make some attempt to describe what I 'saw'. It was as if a great light was shining inside me, so brightly that even I could not fail to see how woefully inadequate my assumptions about Christianity have been. What I 'saw' was one of the greatest myths of all times, wonderful in its splendour, yet flawed.

Before going on, let me say that when I use the word myth, I am not using it as it all too often is used nowadays as a synonym for a lie, a falsehood. A myth, as used here, is a story that embodies truth and which is told in a fashion that can be understood by anyone at a superficial level. The truth may well remain hidden until one has experienced that truth, but the myth points the way. A myth does not attempt to deceive, but to preserve a truth. 

In the West we are fortunate in having a great heritage of music and drama which has been put to the service of Christianity. This has helped to construct a mythological edifice of great power that is at the very heart and soul of our culture. But why is this religion so powerful? Why does it seem at times to be all things to all men? Perhaps it is because it tells the story, in symbolic form, of humanity's deepest fears, highest aspirations, its needs and yearnings, its desire to come home to the only home that really matters to sentient creatures. Perhaps it is because it speaks directly to the psychological soul of humanity. All this is projected through the life of one man, Jesus the Christ. The Jesus of the New Testament may well be different from the Nazarene who walked the Earth two millennia ago, but that man, flawed as am I, lived and taught then. Now there exists a mythological system about someone who may represent the psychological solution to all my ills, uncertainties, doubts, searchings and much much more. 

If the myth is flawed, it is because I am flawed. And that is why it is so powerful. A perfect man, a perfect Son of God, was never any use to me, because I am not perfect, whatever perfection means. He could never have been a role model, and that is why he has nothing to teach me;  his way is not my way. Only through the experience of Truth will I ever be able to approach this Great Myth and say that, finally I understand. Only then will I be able to say that I have more than scratched the surface, that I have laid bare the Truth.  

17 comments:

  1. Over my life, this has been the only way I have been able to take Christianity seriously, to see it as a starting point. It is the kernel preserved as it has been surrounded by falsehood. I was certain that in the middle of all of that, I'm sorry, nonsense is the word, there was beauty and truth.
    Others who have done what you are doing, like Robert Graves who then wrote King Jesus or more recently Kathleen McGowan with the series that began with The Expected One have likewise fascinated me.
    I do not mention these books as a sidetrack Tom, for I am sure you will find your own light, but simply as further reading for those who might stop by and wonder what reality might have existed in the ancient time that we might discover, and that might have relevance for us today.

    I feel so fortunate to have been drawn here to follow along! May 2014 be a healthy and happy year for you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Halle; Thank you for your comment. I never see mentions of other people, such as the two that you mention, as a sidetrack. In fact I rather welcome the mentioning of these people. Our time here is limited, and I do not have the time to research everything else that has been written on the subjects I discuss. That would be an impossible task. So keep it coming; there are so many of us seeking truth, each in his and her way.

    The very best for 2014 to you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was entranced by the Jesus story from early childhood seeing his perfection as something that appeared only natural to me. Like you, I particularly loved the music of Christmas because of its transcendent nature. I've always believed that music was our first art as humans and likely developed long before complex speech.

    As I got older I found that Christianity as it was taught was far too personally limiting and so I began searching further afield - like many from my generation. Now, although I can't say I've come full circle, I do believe that Jesus became a fully enlightened being whose teachings were appropriated by a largely political hierarchy. Underneath the cant and dogmas he's still there showing us the way.

    May your enlightenment continue and may it be profound.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Susan; It is because I, like you, believe Jesus was a fully enlightened being, that I want to know - if that is possible - what he truly taught.

    I must confess to having had a difficult night, wrestling with what Christmas has revealed, wondering whether I had 'made my case' clearly enough. Somehow I have come closer to this Christian edifice, without being re-absorbed back into it. Whilst recognising the possibility of error, flaw and even mistakes, I find myself in the odd position of being critical of Christianity but not judgemental.

    Again, I see a myth that reflects my own search for truth. Now, I must continue to delve and seek.

    ReplyDelete
  5. In the same fashion as English offers huge diversity because it incorporates cognates from most every other language, our mythological heritage also borrows freely from any and all traditions. Nowhere is this more evident than in your blog, in which the predominantly Christian themes are tempered with a fair amount of philosophical spice from the far East and Levant. (The "third eye" reference is interesting, to say the least.

    I'm very much enjoying your work here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tom, thank you for this wonderful post. You're hearing and seeing with the ears and eyes of the soul.

    This is all I can say at the moment because I'm on a laptop with unreliable connection since my main computer gave up the ghost on Christmas eve. But I deeply appreciate what you've written in this post and trust you will continue to feel the warmth of the light flooding into your inner space.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The Geezers; Thank you for your comment. I trust you will continue to enjoy. May I wish each of you the very best for 2014.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Natalie; This post was one of those that I did feel rather uncertain about posting. But in the end it just had to speak out. It is with great relief that it has been so well received.

    I trust your computer difficulties will soon be resolved. Here's to 2014!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tom, you should never fear posting your thoughts. They are wonderful to behold, as is the music of The Messiah.

    ReplyDelete
  10. FBT; There was that in your comment that obliged me to linger and mull awhile. The reasons for my fears are various and far from simple. Perhaps now is not the time to get sidetracked into an investigation into those reasons. I shall, therefore, take your comment - and similar comments from others - as an invitation to step into the darkness of uncertainty as an act of faith. It is my hope, and indeed expectation, that a time will come (sooner than later I hope) when I will look back and say that the act of faith was fully justified. Thank you for your support.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've always viewed night and darkness as the holder of both fear and fertility. It's necessary to travel through the night, as you know. Onward and Prost!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a beautiful post, Tom. A gift.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for sharing so much of your thoughts and feelings about your spiritual journey. May the journey continue on a rewarding path!

    Wishing you a Happy New Year, Tom.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Vicki; Thank you, and that the gift of your presence has been returned to us after too long.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Marja-Leena; Thank you, and I wish you a Happy New Year also.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you, Tom, for the warm "welcome back". i so appreciate your good company.

    ReplyDelete