SpiritWriter Posted December 1, 2013 #1 Share Posted December 1, 2013 (edited) I see a lot of people talking about how Chrisitianity (for example, but this applies to all ancient script/theories/myths/legends etc.) has gained its concepts from other sources, Egyptian gods and and goddesses, Greek, Hebrew etc. etc. blah blah blah. I would like to say that yes they overlap and come from many sources and are melded together. You may read one reference that says the myth originates over here and then another source that says it originates over there. These stories are ancient and I doubt you will get to the bottom of any origination. Except that they exist, except that they are shared and except that they are inspired or borrowed from one another. I have seen people get mad about it. Don't be mad, what is there to be mad about? If the origination of stories/myths of religions are of interest of you, then yes research and become as informed as you can. You won't be the first or the last to make a stab at it and you definitely won't be the final authority. Another thing I would like to mention is that similar myths can exist without them being borrowed. They can exist on their own, because a thing can happen more than once that is similar to another thing as well as a person can think of a similar idea and express it although it has already been expressed somewhere else. This should not take away from its happenstance, nor the idea of the thing. If you believe in the possibility of a spiritual life as expressed through unseen forces, you should consider that this unseen force, or these unseen forces happen across the board and have a multiplex of ways of expressing themselves. Do not be so conserned with the origination of a text or "right and wrong" when dealing with unseen entities, but live in love and experience the spiritual life for yourself. If you are hung up on history, confused, distraught, mad and angry about the origination of what is possible I think its time for you to move on. Consider the stories and contemplate their meanings, listen to your heart and live a life of love. It'll be easier that way. It is not about having it all figured out, or about YOU as an individual having all the answers about exact origination of a story. You yourself are a story. I have found that even through questions you gain understanding. Edited December 1, 2013 by SpiritWriter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted December 1, 2013 #2 Share Posted December 1, 2013 In other words we are all human and we all do similar things, so we tell stories about similar circumstances. I agree with that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSouls7 Posted December 3, 2013 #3 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Yes I think the same. All these legends and myths come from somewhere. I don't know if real gods and demons and monsters and dragons once existed! But as a modern Wizard I would like to think so! We do have giant squids and snakes, so those are kind of like the monsters in old legend. But to have been alive during the flying dragons... now that would have been great ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted December 3, 2013 #4 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I think a lot of the myths about dragons, giants and monsters are from people finding fossils and not knowing what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almagest Posted December 3, 2013 #5 Share Posted December 3, 2013 SpiritWriter; What if it was shown that a certain religious text was a fraud, would it still have value when it comes to experiencing the spiritual life? Say for instance the Book of Mormon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiritWriter Posted December 3, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted December 3, 2013 (edited) SpiritWriter; What if it was shown that a certain religious text was a fraud, would it still have value when it comes to experiencing the spiritual life? Say for instance the Book of Mormon? Probably so.. I dont know much about it. The thing about "proving it as fraud" is that all things in religious and spiritual context have some literature that claims to prove fraud... an individual has to decipher for themselves what they choose to hold on to and how its knowledge is beneficial to them. But I do think its wise to consider ideas of fraud so that there would be no assault on our spirit that would prevent us from thinking for ourself or to grow. Edited December 3, 2013 by SpiritWriter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiritWriter Posted December 3, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I think dragons are real.. they may just be spiritual beast that signify something more powerful, but id like to think they roamed the earth in physical form and that also they may return one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedarcarver1 Posted December 4, 2013 #8 Share Posted December 4, 2013 To me, the idea and belief in something other than physical, seems to satisfy a need for a spiritual dependence - endorsing a type of metaphysical explanation for things beyond your mortal control. Which is not saying I blindly believe in something just because I was raised and taught to believe in a certain way or fashion. I have, as I'm sure most folks here possess, an innate sense of curiosity to either prove or disprove certain beliefs, superstitions, rumors (etc.), that drive us to challenge or reaffirm what satisfies our need for spiritual craving - if indeed you choose to believe that way. I personally have never felt the compulsion to change other peoples' spiritual beliefs, and I do feel some resentment towards those who attempt to prove or disprove other folks' beliefs simply because it's different. I have an association with atheist acquaintances. We know and respect our boundaries and leave it at that. The same also applies to other acquaintances' differing religious preferences. Catholic, Baptist, Church of Christ, Jewish, Native American Church - there are a host of believers and non-traditional believers. Wiccans, Animists; I don't pretend to understand all aspects of most religions I come into contact with, but, for myself, a healthy interest in understanding a little bit about why folks believe the way they do is not counter-productive. Any debate with large differences can be healthy, if the exchanges are logical, well-expressed, and thought-out to reinforce a point of view. I would rather know something about a subject I hadn't known about anything before, rather than to close my mind off and dismiss it, remaining more ignorant than I was prior to then. The major downside that I have with any religion is, of course, hypocrisy; a negative ploy that detracts from the aim of trying to understand the basic belief most of us share about the form of any religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resh Posted December 4, 2013 #9 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I see a lot of people talking about how Chrisitianity (for example, but this applies to all ancient script/theories/myths/legends etc.) has gained its concepts from other sources, Egyptian gods and and goddesses, Greek, Hebrew etc. etc. blah blah blah. I would like to say that yes they overlap and come from many sources and are melded together. You may read one reference that says the myth originates over here and then another source that says it originates over there. These stories are ancient and I doubt you will get to the bottom of any origination. Except that they exist, except that they are shared and except that they are inspired or borrowed from one another. I have seen people get mad about it. Don't be mad, what is there to be mad about? If the origination of stories/myths of religions are of interest of you, then yes research and become as informed as you can. You won't be the first or the last to make a stab at it and you definitely won't be the final authority. Another thing I would like to mention is that similar myths can exist without them being borrowed. They can exist on their own, because a thing can happen more than once that is similar to another thing as well as a person can think of a similar idea and express it although it has already been expressed somewhere else. This should not take away from its happenstance, nor the idea of the thing. If you believe in the possibility of a spiritual life as expressed through unseen forces, you should consider that this unseen force, or these unseen forces happen across the board and have a multiplex of ways of expressing themselves. Do not be so conserned with the origination of a text or "right and wrong" when dealing with unseen entities, but live in love and experience the spiritual life for yourself. If you are hung up on history, confused, distraught, mad and angry about the origination of what is possible I think its time for you to move on. Consider the stories and contemplate their meanings, listen to your heart and live a life of love. It'll be easier that way. It is not about having it all figured out, or about YOU as an individual having all the answers about exact origination of a story. You yourself are a story. I have found that even through questions you gain understanding. I think the similarities, more than being "shared" or "copied" are Archetypal and also symbolic to the forces of nature. Also there is a philosophy that studies this: The Perennial Philosophy. Aldous Huxley wrote a book about it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted December 4, 2013 #10 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I think dragons are real.. they may just be spiritual beast that signify something more powerful, but id like to think they roamed the earth in physical form and that also they may return one day. Actually I would prefer they don't. Same applies to trolls and orks and demons and hobgoblins and assorted baddies. We have enough trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiritWriter Posted December 4, 2013 Author #11 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I think the similarities, more than being "shared" or "copied" are Archetypal and also symbolic to the forces of nature. Also there is a philosophy that studies this: The Perennial Philosophy. Aldous Huxley wrote a book about it. I totally agree. Thanks for the book title, sounds right up my alley. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resh Posted December 6, 2013 #12 Share Posted December 6, 2013 youre welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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