David Thornton - Mythology

“Modern man is free to despise mythologies and theologies, but that will not prevent his continuing to feed upon decayed myths and degraded images.” (Eliade's Images and Symbols page 19)

-I think it is interesting how the modernization of man has caused such a misunderstanding and apathetic view of the power of mythology and theology. Mythology throughout human history has been of major religious importance for different cultures and has given meaning to many people’s lives. The literature produced in mythological writings and the ideas presented are imperatively significant to modern understanding of the Divine and its possible interactions with humanity. Ancient myths influence religious beginnings like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam because they were the beginnings of how people began to contemplate and try to understand the Sacred in whom they believed in. Whether polytheistic or monotheistic, understanding mythologically where the idea of myth comes from is extremely useful in understanding modern religious and theological ideals. I think is it sweet how Eliade says the modern is free to despise mythologies and theologies because that is what a lot of people choose to do. In contrast, it is almost to the point of hypocrisy though because mythology is basically the foundation of human contrivance in the realm of understanding the Sacred. Also, regardless of the myths being decayed and images being degraded, they still will have an affect on modern man’s understanding of his own religion or communication with the Sacred. Even for someone in our modern time to denounce the presence of an ultimate being, they must have some understanding of past human efforts in trying to understand or communicate with the Sacred before coming to that conclusion themselves.