Apparently, Pascal’s wager doesn’t give us a reason to pick one religion over another, since Christianity and Islam both have the same expected value. We discuss the various mechanisms that may give rise to this phenomenon and offer evidence consistent with the view of Islam as an institutional package appropriate for societies residing along unequally endowed regions in the vicinity of trade opportunities. The earliest records for trade in East Africa indicate Greco-Roman trade down the Red Sea and along the Somali coast to the Tanzanian coast. But, of course, stories such as the parting of the Sea of Reeds for the fleeing Hebrews, Muhammad’s Night Journey, and the dead Jesus rising from the tomb are just as clearly irrational narratives to which a Hindu or a Buddhist might understandably apply the word “myth”. 2004: In religious studies, the word “myth” is usually reserved for stories whose main characters are gods or demigods.

This word is French, French, French! Eventually, their society grew to 20 villages and was called Hindkastan, the Armenian name for India. Parable, Allegory. 2 a: a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially: one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society. Religion is a belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, and institutions associated with such belief, although some scholars, such as Durkheim, would argue that the supernatural and the divine are not aspects of all religions. Religious stories are “holy scripture” to believers-narratives used to support, explain, or justify a particular system’s rituals, theology, and ethics-and are myths to people of other cultures or belief systems. Through the influence of the Holy Spirit God is able to lead you to the principles and illustrations that are applicable to your situation. Food for Russian soldiers includes bread, soup: Red Army rations varied from adequate to nonexistent depending on the supply situation. In the category of “myth”, he includes many legendary accounts that are “secular” for all practical purposes. Dogmatically, theologians must be aware of the mythological elements of theology and of how extensively theology relies on mythical forms and functions, especially in light of our awareness of the ubiquity of myth.

In the second place, theology is influenced by its origins in the Greek and Christian traditions, with the implication that the transmutation of this concept to other religions is endangered by the very circumstances of origination. Grace that throughout my Christian walk I’ve been able to trace. The right approach in this regard is the combination of the law and grace. Allowed to linger below the surface, anger and other ignored emotions can fuel some potentially big problems including depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other chronic psychological and physical disease as well as social and relationship problems. The state participates financially in hospitals and social institutions that are supported by religious communities. Disconnected from its religious system, a myth may lose its immediate relevance to the community and evolve-away from sacred importance-into a legend or folktale. It is difficult to believe that the Buddha was conceived in a dream by a white elephant, so we call that story a myth as well.

However, some religions have very few of this kind of story of cosmic explanation. By the folklorists’ definition, all myths are religious (or “sacred”) stories, but not all religious stories are myths: religious stories that involve the creation of the world (e.g., the stories in the Book of Genesis) are myths; however, some religious stories that don’t explain how things came to be in their present form (e.g., hagiographies of famous saints) are not myths. 2007: According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Myth: “1 a: a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. 2004: The classicist Richard Buxton defines a myth as “a socially powerful traditional story”. In academia, the term “myth” often refers to stories whose culture regards them as true (as opposed to fictitious). The term theology for the first time appears in the writings of the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle.