I promised earlier that I would say something about my view of the miracle stories. I think I need to begin my making a more general statement. To me, the Christian faith may be described as a rich and complex myth system. In this way it is not unlike Buddhism or Hinduism. Now, before I get shouted down, Id better explain that I do not mean that it is a manufactured faith, or that it is fictional. In fact, unlike the other faiths mentioned, Christianity has a lot invested in history, not least in the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth. But it is part of the nature of faith systems that, though the beginnings may be in actual history, there is an ongoing process of interpretation, reflection, re-imagining, and the use of metaphor and other ideas to try to set out what is believed. Thus, when we turn to the Bible, if we expect anything like straightforward historical accounts of events, we are likely to be disappointed. It is true that the time span between the writing of the New Testament and the events it claims to be based on is quite short, very short in comparison with other faiths. But that time span is long enough for people to have developed their understanding of historical events and characters and to have woven aspects of myth around them; and, by myth, I mean imaginative interpretation that may itself have only tenuous links with facts. And the presentation of miracle stories is caught up in this re-imagining of events. The meaning is of greater importance than historical accuracy. This is very hard for modern people to understand, brought up as we are in an age of instant reporting, and often the instantly available comparison of different accounts of the same event. But, consider: despite all the paraphernalia of news reporting, do we know, will we ever know, the true story of the shooting down of MH17, or of the shelling of the UN compound in Gaza? Far less are we likely to be able to allocate blame with any real accuracy. And these are contemporary events happening in the blaze of worldwide publicity. How much harder then to pierce the mist of events in a land long gone and recorded often in a language different from the original, and without the benefit of instant replays or access to i-player. Phew, thats a long but, I believe necessary, preamble. I think Ill post this now, and let those who will absorb this, before adding something more specific in another post a little later.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 17:59:42 +0000
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