RELS 108 1st Edition GradeBuddy Lecture 6 Outline of Last Lecture I The nature of the sacred II Sacred manifestations Outline of Current Lecture III Language of the sacred IV Functions of Myth Current Lecture V Language of the sacred VI Language is complex VII We often use language that we don t really mean when talking about the sacred VIII Language itself points to the sacred IX The sacred cannot be physically grasped X Types of language a Paradoxical ex God is everything and nothing netineti not this not that expresses sacred in a paradox b Cataphatic attempt to express sacred in terms of positive terminology ex God is love connecting a positive attribute with god c Apaphatic arrives at an understanding of the sacred by negotiation ex God is NOT via negative i Apaphatic statements neither existence nor non existence applies to God God is not conceptually defined in terms of space and location XI Myth doesn t mean not true comes from Greek word mythos speech story thought word of mouth poetic ways of telling great truths and creating sacred narratives XII 4 functions of myth a Metaphysical attempts to awaken a sense of awe before the mythical being b Cosmological explanatory ex seasons life cycles brings physical and metaphysical together c Pedagogical myth is an attempt to validate and support the social order d Pedagogical myth served an educational purpose XIII What myths do we live by today a Superheroes hero s journey RELS 108 1st Edition XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII Allegory stories where various characters and instances represent real people events a Represented in literary musical art form b Conveys simple messages through symbols c AKA an extended metaphor d Plato s allegory of the cave describes people in a cave chained together facing a blank wall watching shadows projected onto the wall shadows are the closest these prisoners get to viewing reality not actually reality one prisoner escapes and sees the real world and comes back to tell the others who do not believe him Parable illustration comparison analogy Illustrates universal truth and absolute truth Concrete narrative normative something that should be true prescribes our actions