True Myth


Book Description

True Myth examines the meaning and significance of myth as understood by C.S. Lewis and Joseph Campbell and its place in the Christian faith in a technological society. C.S. Lewis defined Christianity, and being truly human, as a relationship between thepersonal Creator and his creation mediated through faith in his son, Jesus. The influential writer and mythologist Joseph Campbell had a different perspective, understanding Christianity as composed of mythical themes similar to those in other religious and secular myths. While accepting certain portions of the biblical record as historical, Campbell taught the theological and miraculous aspects as symbolic - as stories in which the reader discovers what it means to be human today. In contrast, Lewis presented the theological and the miraculous in a literal way. Although Lewis understood how one could see symbolism and lessons for life in miraculous events, he believed they were more than symbolic and indeed took place in human history. In True Myth, James W. Menzies skilfully balances the two writers' differing approaches to guide the reader through a complex interaction of myth with philosophy, media, ethics, history, literature, art, music and religion in a contemporary world.




True Myth


Book Description

Why is it that encyclopedias assert the Vikings, or Norsemen, landed in parts of North America, yet the Vikings have never been credited with its discovery? Historians bestow this honor on Christopher Columbus, who ventured here five hundred years after the Vikings, having never set foot on the continent! True Myth: Black Vikings of the Middle Ages takes the reader where he or she has never been before. We have always been told that Vikings, or Norsemen, were tall, blond, white and blue-eyedan image that has been presented to us in books and films. Now comes a book that challenges this centuries-old assertion, presenting evidence that these vaunted warriors were not the people popular historians have told us they were. The author presents evidence that white-skinned peoples in England, Ireland, and Wales referred to Vikings as black pagans and black devils. The extent of their dominance in Europe is examinedin fact, the author presents a reassessment of Europe that some readers will find difficult to believe, beginning with mans migrations into the continent and examining a number of black-skinned peoples who called Europe home from very ancient times almost to the present. The reader has never read a book like thisfilled with quotations from noted historians as well as from several Icelandic sagasthat will take the reader on a journey he or she has never imagined! A more accurate picture of Europe has never been presented before. The writer revisits the last ice age, presents evidence of the heavy presence of blacks in ancient Europe, and revisits ancient Greece, Rome, and areas of Asia, discussing the presence of black-skinned peoples in them before arriving in Viking-age Scandinavia when Norsemen embarked on a three-century-long assault on the continent and began migrating to Iceland and other areas of North America. Once the reader has completed True Myth: Black Vikings of the Middle Ages, he or she will have to question what he or she has been taught, historians once thought to be trustworthy, and the notion that the races were strictly divided and had never intermingled. There has never been a truer picture of Europe written, and the reader now has the opportunity to embark on the most thrilling journey he or she will ever take.




The Word as True Myth


Book Description

Gary Dorrien follows the threads of theology through the twentieth century, examining how Christians have reconciled their myth-filled religious beliefs within a world secularized by Enlightenment criticism and science. To understand how religion keeps its place in Christians' lives, Dorrien writes, we must explore how modern theologians have answered the question of myth in today's Christianity. Dorrien's narrative walks readers through modern theology - stopping with each of the major thinkers along the way to see how they dealt with the issue of modern Christian mythology. Ultimately he offers his own "new neo-orthodoxy", a theology of Word and Spirit that is pluralistic and affirms the mythical character of the gospel while holding fast to the Gospels' myth-negating condemnation of idolatry and their focus on history.




The Truth of Myth


Book Description

The Truth of Myth is a thorough and accessible introduction to the study of myth, surveying the intellectual history of the topic, methods for studying myth cross-culturally, and emerging trends. Readers will encounter insightful commentaries on such questions as: What is the relation of mythology to religion? To science? To popular culture? Did the events recounted in myths actually occur? Why does the term "myth" have so many contradictory definitions and connotations? Offering serious students with an intellectual "toolkit" for launching into this fascinating field, the book is especially useful in conjunction with case studies of individual mythological traditions.




TRUE MYTH


Book Description

Why is it that encyclopedias assert the Vikings, or Norsemen, landed in parts of North America, yet the Vikings have never been credited with its "discovery"? Historians bestow this honor on Christopher Columbus, who ventured here five hundred years after the Vikings, having never set foot on the continent! True Myth: Black Vikings of the Middle Ages takes the reader where he or she has never been before. We have always been told that Vikings, or Norsemen, were tall, blond, white and blue-eyed--an image that has been presented to us in books and films. Now comes a book that challenges this centuries-old assertion, presenting evidence that these vaunted warriors were not the people popular historians have told us they were. The author presents evidence that white-skinned peoples in England, Ireland, and Wales referred to Vikings as black pagans and black devils. The extent of their dominance in Europe is examined--in fact, the author presents a reassessment of Europe that some readers will find difficult to believe, beginning with man's migrations into the continent and examining a number of black-skinned peoples who called Europe home from very ancient times almost to the present. The reader has never read a book like this--filled with quotations from noted historians as well as from several Icelandic sagas--that will take the reader on a journey he or she has never imagined! A more accurate picture of Europe has never been presented before. The writer revisits the last ice age, presents evidence of the heavy presence of blacks in ancient Europe, and revisits ancient Greece, Rome, and areas of Asia, discussing the presence of black-skinned peoples in them before arriving in Viking-age Scandinavia when Norsemen embarked on a three-century-long assault on the continent and began migrating to Iceland and other areas of North America. Once the reader has completed True Myth: Black Vikings of the Middle Ages, he or she will have to question what he or she has been taught, historians once thought to be trustworthy, and the notion that the races were strictly divided and had never intermingled. There has never been a truer picture of Europe written, and the reader now has the opportunity to embark on the most thrilling journey he or she will ever take.




The Tales of True Mythology Discovery


Book Description

Have you ever had moments when you saw something from the corner of your eye, but there was nothing to be found? You may want to look again. Logan has always wanted more adventure in his life. All it takes is an old book in his great-grandmother's house to set him on that journey. The further he delves into the strange myths chronicled in the book, the more those myths come alive before his eyes. Secrets hidden in the town theatre, centaurs in the woods, and a powerful threat at his back send him racing through the forest, running from danger, and searching for truth. For what are myths but things that have yet to be discovered? Now the myths have been found again. These are their tales.




Myth, Truth and Literature


Book Description

Colin Falck's book has had a widespread influence since it first appeared in 1989. Hailed as a work that alters the way we think about literary theory and its institutionalisation in America and Britain, it is a philosophically informed account of the 'paradigm-shift' required to replaced structuralism and post-structuralism as modes of perceiving literature and related culture. Falck now supplements this second paperback edition with an appendix and other new material.




Classical Mythology


Book Description

Classical Mythology, Sixth Edition, continues to build on its best-selling tradition of focusing on the literary tradition of Greek and Roman mythology through extensive translations of original mythological sources. Its coverage of comparative and interpretative approaches as well as evidencefrom art and archeology is expanded in this edition. Morford and Lenardon's insightful and accessible discussion of classical myths in their historical and cultural settings, as well as their survival in literature, art, music, and film, remains unparalleled: This comprehensive introduction toclassical mythology features new translations, expanded critical coverage, an expanded art program, and a new web site.




Dragons: Truth, Myth and Legend


Book Description

In this sumptuous anthology, David Passes invites us inside the mythical and fantastical world of dragons. He has selected a magnificent mixture of heroic myths, stories and folktales from the storytelling traditions of India, Greece, England, Wales, Sweden and China. Marduck and Tiamat - Babylon Indra and Vritia - India Heracles and the Hydra - Greek Cadmus and the Golden Dragon- Greek Beowulf and the Fire Dragon - Scandanavia Saint George - England The Lambton Worm - County Durham The Gaoliang Bridge - China The Chinese Dragon's Pearl - China The Mordiford Wyvern- England




Wizards, Wardrobes and Wookiees


Book Description

Join Neal as she explores how key characters in the Harry Potter books, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Star Wars movies deal with the problem of good and evil as they make choices and face difficulties--and how their choices form their characters.