The Five Transformations of Christianity Throughout Recorded History

This article discusses the value and definition of myths within the Christian religion and the role that women play in the stories of our beginnings. It is part of one course on Mystical Christianity.

The Beginning: Tales Of Our Origin and Creation
 
From the dawn of time, cultures will tell stories describing their beginnings as well as of their Gods. The Jewish folks were the same, leaving us the work of these ancient storytellers memorialized in the very first verses from the book named the Torah, which Christians refer to as the Bible (Old Testament). Over the generations, these tales have incited much controversy, which continues to present time
 
A Difficult Challenge
 
For many today, particularly women, the Bible has become a problematic and increasingly pointless challenge. We are without a middle ground - the Bible is either considered the literal in all ways or is disregarded as only a means to keep women down. Another alternative has been desperately needed - one that rests between ignoring the Bible completely and/as well as ignoring the resulting blame game We must step back and acquaint ourselves with these sacred works with a more thoughtful as well as neutral perspective.
 
Myths are considered sacred and the lessons taught within them still continue to resonate with us. Joseph Campbell has shown us that, far from being lies, myths are deeply-rooted truths spun in metaphorical language. They take us past the literal and into the realm of spirit. Throughout time, men and women have looked for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence, and myths are the results of their quests. Myths provide four different functions. Joseph Campbell believes in the sacredness of mythology and often described mythology as having a fourfold use belonging to human societies.: Metaphysical, Cosmological, Sociological as well as Psychological.
 
Campbell stressed that words can‘t fully describe the mysteries of life. Myths are "The only way to get a complete comprehension of a culture is to become part of the mythic rituals of it, some of which can be found inside the Bible. Myths also provide responses to questions not as yet understood by the society at that stage. To keep structure as well as cohesion inside the existing social structure, myths help to describe it and enforce it, often expressing how which order is revealed to us by a God.
 
Finally, myths are used to help people in getting through the different stages of life. For example, most ancient cultures used rites of passage when a youth passed on to the adult stage. As the golden years come upon you, there are other myths that may help prepare a person to die.. So, myths are able to teach us how to embrace all aspects of our lives.
 
Cullen Murphy, in his beautifully written synthesis of women and the Bible, ‘The Word According To Eve‘, proposes that Holy Scripture as we know it has been the catalyst of 4 spiritual transformations, and the 5th is gathering speed. The first dramatic revolution came as a result of the Book of Moses, which introduced the idea of there being merely one God. The Israelites became known by these twin concepts: they were the people of “the Book” who worshiped only a single God. That set them apart from their neighbors.
 
When Christianity had been born and the new book emerged, known as the New Testament, the second revolution exploded into existence. Fifteen hundred years later we have seen a similar shift within Christianity, this time exalting the authority and importance of Scripture along with creating the opportunity for the Bible to be read by the general public, in the vernacular instead of having it read to them by a priest. The fourth distinct change occurred as the advances of science and reason challenge the accuracy of the words and stories of the Bible. In modern times, we are in the middle of the 5th change. Women have become integral parts of the academic circles and are developing new insights using a feminine perspective. The outcome? Murphy, a Roman Catholic man, quotes an article he wrote in 1993 for The Atlantic Monthly that now seems prophetic indeed: “I write these last words on the day of my daughter’s first communion in a denomination which still restricts the role of women, and I write them in the expectation that with regard to the position of women, matters will not remain - will simply not be able to remain - as in some places we see them today; in the expectation, to employ a biblical turn, that the present way’s days are numbered.” Murphy goes on to refer to the handwriting on the wall from the Book of Daniel which, traced by a moving finger along the plaster, becomes a judgment, a sentence, and an imminent and inevitable prophecy of the future. “On a host of matters involving women and the Bible, the writing on the wall is there to be read. And more and more of it shows itself with each passing day.”

This is a small part of one lesson on Mystical Christianity, by Mother Maryesah Karelon, offered through the Universal Life Church Seminary.