for status symbols,
from the right brand of sneakers to pretentious heavily mortgaged
homes, high end leases cars, all of this underlines the illness of our times. We
have become Elliot’s ‘hollow men… headpiece filled with straw’.
The La – Kpa or (La –Shrine) has been the uniting
force for the people of La. Legends have it that the bow and arrow mounted on the
roof of the temple saved a native La person, who was about to beheaded in the forest.
Suddenly, a spirit (susuma) from the temple shot an arrow and killed the attacker.
In the
Ashanti
mythology, Osei Tutu and his priest, Okonfo Anokye, their unity is symbolized by
the Golden Stool (a sacred stool, which had been called down from heaven by Okomfo
Anokye. In some inexplicable way, the vitality of an entire community is thought
to be essentially linked up with these emblems which are supposed by all to contain
the spirit (susuma) of the community. In essence, the role of myth and belief as
a force, in this case a dynamic force is to unite people and shape their consciousness
and sense of direction believing in a higher power.
Contrary to popular thought, myths are not fairytales.
For example, to say that the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve (Awah) by a
serpent in the Garden of Eden is a myth is not to say it isn’t true.
It is a symbolic or mythical way our forefathers states a spiritual
truth that humanity chooses to disobey God. It is an imperfect attempt to explain
the awareness of the human heart that it is often ‘out of touch’ with its creator.
The main function of myth is to explain to us our place
in the universe, our relationship to nature and God.
One of the reasons why the myths of the Judeo–Christian
tradition are losing their power for the masses today is that we have lost the ability
to think symbolically or mythically. Left brain thinking have meant that we approach
all myths from this angle but once you do this, you missed the whole thrust. What’s
more; the myth itself begins to seem ridiculous. The typical attitude is, ‘that
story can’t be scientifically or historically true, therefore it is just a lot of
nonsense’. Tell people that the story of Jonah and the whale or the accounts of
the
Tower of Babel
are myths and they assume they must then be dismissed as meaningless.
The same is true of the creation story in Genesis.
The truth that we came from the ‘hand’ of God and that we are made in God’s image
is of crucial importance for human self – knowledge. Take the details of the story
literally however, and you will end up throwing out baby bath water – everything.
My concern is that the entire Christian myth is fast
reaching this point of unbelievable and thus of irrelevancy as we approach the twenty
first century.
I know there are millions who would be offended to hear
there is anything mythical about their faith. They are not the ones I am addressing.
There is little gained in disturbing those who are ‘at ease in
Zion
’.
What matters is to bridge the gap of understanding for the
many more millions who cannot make any sense of the traditional faith of their forbearers.
For them, at least two things are necessary. The old myths have to be taught and
understood mythically. That is, we need to re-learn how to think in terms of symbols,
parables and other imagery. When one talks about God, one has to speak this way
because you are dealing, by definition, with the indescribable.
Secondly, the old myth has to be re-thought and updated. You
cannot order the unconscious to produce fresh myths on cue but we can lean to listen
and watch. The bible calls it ‘waiting on the lord’.
I believe that behind all the details of the Christian story
lies the most sublime myth in the history of our species. It is larger than Christianity
and it pre-dates it too. It says that God is incarnate and enters the spirit of
everyone ‘coming into the world’. The baby at
Bethlehem
is in a deep sense every baby. His resurrection is the precursor of ours, ‘Heaven
means to be one day face –to-face with the source of our being to come home’.
We are all spiritual beings; this myth maintains the challenge
is then to become what you are. The implication of this for a world of peace and
unity are unlimited.