“Joseph Campbell, the scholar of mythology, once complained that people don’t know what a metaphor is so, for these people, a myth is a lie.” - Crumb, R. & Peter Poplaski. The R. Crumb Handbook. MQ Publications Ltd: London, 2005 pg 260
I think this might be why organized religion seems to be going through a crisis as of late. Mythical stories are easy to openly challenge. In our scientific world we can disprove some of the religious writings that we have relied on for our spiritual existence for so long. But if we step back and realize the importance of myths, then maybe we can see the truth in the metaphor.
I remember hearing a minister say that we are not meant to understand the holy trinity of Christian faith. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit being one is deliberately confusing to remind us that we can never truly understand God. And maybe we can never fully reach a clear understanding of the world either. At least, we will always have metaphor.
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