Is Christianity a myth?
Question:
Hey Mr. Jeffrey,
I'm taking a philosophy class, and we are studying how the Greeks used mythology in the past to make sense of their world. I asked the professor to explain what a myth is and he said "a story you don't believe." I knew I could've picked that answer apart, but I let it go. Then he went on to list different myths, to which he included "The Father, the Son, the Spirit. Myth!"
I know he is wrong, but I was thinking about the impressionable students who probably take his word as fact. What approach or questions could I have asked to have him better explain himself? My thoughts were: So if a myth is just what you said it is, then it is purely subjective to the individual. How can you objectively prove something is a myth if it is "merely a story you don't believe?" I don't know if that's a good route or not.
Answer:
It is an excellent route. It would be the one I would pick. What is missing from his definition is whether a story contains facts or not. Facts can be verified, but myths cannot be verified. One aspect of the definition of a myth is: "a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence" [Merriam-Webster Dictionary].
By his definition, people going to the moon is a myth, at least to some, because they don't believe it. Yet, it is never a myth because the facts can be verified.
While he disbelieves Christianity, it too offers facts that be judged and verified. " "Present your case," the LORD says. "Bring forward your strong arguments," The King of Jacob says. Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; as for the former events, declare what they were, that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; declare the things that are going to come afterward, that we may know that you are gods; indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together. Behold, you are of no account, and your work amounts to nothing; he who chooses you is an abomination" (Isaiah 41:21-24). That he personally has a problem with Christianity does not make it a myth.
If you want to have some fun, you could point out that this lecture must be a myth because you don't believe it.
