50 Great Myths About Religions E-Book

John Morreall

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 494

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

50 Great Myths about Religions is an intriguing, informative, and often humorous introduction to some of the long standing myths that surround religious belief. This engaging book will get its readers thinking about how and why certain myths have arisen, and their continuing influence on our personal and collective view of religion. Offers a lively, informative, and thought-provoking introduction to some of the common misbeliefs surrounding religions * Discusses myths about religious belief in general, as well as specific ideas that surround Judaism, Christianity, Islam, atheism, and agnosticism * Covers a wide range of myths, from ancient legends such as the Bible forbidding pork being eaten because it causes illness, to modern urban fables, such as Barack Obama being a Muslim * Unpacks each myth in turn, explaining why it arose, how it spread, and why the beliefs that stem from it are questionable * Includes a fascinating discussion about human nature, and the main characteristics that predispose us to create and circulate myths to begin with * Underpinned by a wide knowledge of academic research, it is written by two respected religion scholars and experienced authors

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

1 Introduction

Two Meanings of “Myth”

Where Do Myths Come From?

2 Myths About Religions in General

Introduction

1. All Societies Have Religions

2. Religion Is about the Spiritual

3. Religion Is about the Supernatural

4. Religion Is about Faith or Belief

5. Worship Is an Essential Part of Religion

6. Religion Is a Personal Matter

7. Science Will Eventually Replace Religion

8. Religion Causes Violence

3 Myths About Judaism, Jews, and Jewish Scripture

Introduction

1. The Ancient Israelites Believed in One God

2. Moses Wrote the First Five Books of the Bible

3. The Book of Genesis Is Incompatible with the Theory of Evolution

4. Jews Believe They Were Chosen by God to Receive Special Privileges

5. The Jews Killed Jesus

6. Blood Libel: Jews Use Christian Blood in Their Rituals

7. Benjamin Franklin Advised the US Government to Expel Jews

8. The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion

: Jewish Leaders Plot Global Takeover

9. Hanukkah Is for Jews What Christmas Is for Christians

4 Myths About Christianity, Christians, and Christian Scripture

Introduction

1. The Four Gospels Are Eyewitnesses’ Accounts of the Life of Jesus

2. The Bible Says that When We Die, Our Souls Go to Heaven or Hell

3. Jesus Was Born on December 25 in a Stable in Bethlehem

4. Jesus Was a Christian

5. Jesus Preached Family Values

6. The Image of the Crucified Jesus Has Always Been Sacred to Christians

7. The Church Suppressed Science in the Middle Ages

8. Catholics Are Not Christians

9. The United States Was Founded as a Christian Country

5 Myths About Islam, Muslims, and the Qur’an

Introduction

1. Most Muslims Are Arabs and All Arabs Are Muslim

2. Muslims Worship a Different God

3. The Qur’an Condemns Judaism and Christianity

4. “Jihad” Means Holy War

5. The Qur’an Encourages Violence

6. The Qur’an Condones Mistreatment of Women

7. The Qur’an Promises Suicide Bombers 72 Heavenly Virgins

8. Muslims Reject Democracy

9. Muslims Fail to Speak Out against Terrorism

10. American Muslims Want to Impose Islamic Law on the United States

6 Myths About Other Western Traditions

Introduction

1. Zoroastrians Worship Fire

2. Voodoo Is Black Magic

3. Witches Worship Satan

4. Rastafarians Are Marijuana Abusers

5. Unitarian Universalists May Believe Whatever They Want

7 Myths About Eastern Traditions

Introduction

1. Hinduism Is a Single Religious Tradition

2. Hinduism Promotes the Caste System

3. Hindus Worship Idols

4. Buddha Is a God for Buddhists

5. The Laughing Buddha (Budai, Ho-Ti) Is Buddha

8 Myths About Nonbelievers

Introduction

1. Nonbelievers Are Ignorant about Religion

2. Nonbelievers Have no Basis for Morality

3. Without Religious Belief, Life Has No Purpose

4. Atheism Is Just as Much a Matter of Faith as Religion Is

Bonus Myths

1. The Bible says, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” “Hate the sin, love the sinner,” “God helps those who help themselves,” “Money is the root of all evil,” “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” “To thine own self be true,” “This too shall pass,” “To err is human, to forgive divine,” and “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.”

2. The Bible Forbids Eating Pork Because It Causes Illness

3. The Apocalypse Is the End of the World Foretold in Scripture

4. Satan and His Devils Torture Humans in Hell

5. Cherubs Are Cute, Childlike Angels

6. Christians Were Systematically Persecuted by the Romans

7. There Was a Female Pope Named Joan

8. Saint Patrick Drove the Snakes out of Ireland

Index

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

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50 Great Myths About Religions

John Morreall and Tamara Sonn

This edition first published 2014© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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1Introduction: Myths and Misbelieving

Might I suggest that [people doubting religious narratives] use the tactic used by many modern Jews dealing with biblical narratives that defy credulity, from a six-day story of creation to Jonah living inside a large fish. We distinguish between left-brain narratives (meant to convey factual truth) and right-brain narratives (meant to make a point through a story; the message will be true even if the story isn’t factually defensible). (Rabbi Harold Kushner (2013))

Two Meanings of “Myth”

This book was inspired by another Wiley Blackwell book, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology by Scott Lilienfeld et al. (2010), in which “myth” means a widespread belief that is not well supported by evidence. Some of our myths are like that, such as the beliefs that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, and that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem on December 25. But we also count as myths common beliefs that are questionable for other reasons, such as that they conflict with the teachings of the religions of the believers. Some Muslims (and countless non-Muslims), for example, believe that the Qur’an promises suicide bombers 72 heavenly virgins. In the Qur’an, however, both suicide and terrorism are condemned as grave sins. Many Christians believe that Satan and his devils torture humans in hell, but that actually conflicts with basic Christian teachings. When we call something a “myth,” then, our meaning is close to the dictionary definition for “misbelief”: a myth is a wrong, false, or unorthodox belief or opinion, especially in religion.

There is a second meaning of “myth” that we should mention, because it is important in the academic field of Religious Studies. When scholars of religion talk about “myths,” they generally mean traditional stories that explain important aspects of life, such as where we came from, why we’re here, who our heroes are and what makes them special, and how we should live. A good example is the story in Genesis about Adam and Eve disobeying God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then being cast out of the Garden by God. This description of the origin of evil, and stories like it, are often characterized by extraordinary and even supernatural events, and some people believe they are literally true – true in the same way that a traffic report or a medical diagnosis is true. They believe the stories are accurate representations of things that really happened. But many scholars believe that such myths are not to be judged on the basis of historic or scientific accuracy. In fact, these stories generally developed before modern criteria of historical and scientific accuracy. They are often about things in the deep recesses of prehistory, and sometimes about things in the far distant future. As such, they are beyond the realms of history and science. But we cherish them anyway because they help us understand who we are and answer some of the most pressing questions in life, including why bad things happen, who can be trusted, and what might happen next.