Mit, który stał się faktem? Chrześcijaństwo a mitologie świata

Abstract

Placing two words – “Christianity” and “myth” – in one sentence usually raises one of two reactions: the accusation of blasphemy or explicit recognition of the Bible as another ancient mythology. Should Christians feel threatened or offended by comparing their religion to ancient myths? The modern philosophy of myth is significantly different from the popular understanding of myth as something false, fairylike, bogus. Currently, the myth is defined primarily as “a sacred story”: the faith of a particular community, expressed in symbolic language. Thus, it is no longer contrasted with the truth, but rather with history and facts. Article aims to show a slightly different perspective than the traditional perception of myth in the Christian theology. The reference point is the thesis of Clive Staples Lewis, who has written that “Christianity is a myth that became a fact.” Its verification requires analyzes of the Bible, contemporary theology and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and comparative mythology. It seems, however, that the recognition of the “a dying-and-rising god myths” as preparatio evangelica or prototeology opens a new, very interesting research perspectives.