Christian Mythology and Image Archetypes
Christianity is a culture of diversity. Various ethnicities practice and believe in the Christian mythology and faith. Christianity is deep rooted in love and it has not strayed too far away from the beliefs since the twenty first century. Jesus will and has always been known as the Messiah, who died and resurrected. The Sabbath day is still holy, and prayer is used to communicate to God. The old myths that Jesus was a human of male decent, who walked the earth performing miraculous works still remain. However, Christians today have broken away from what their religion looked like in the earlier days in the twenty-first century compared to the present. The Christian mythology did stay true to the significance
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of their archetype images. Within the Christian faith and beliefs there are various images that hold importance since the beginning. The rainbow, water, blood, and the cross are all archetype images that are strongly linked and tied into Christian mythology. Each of these are different archetypes that withhold power and significance. In the earlier days of Christianity’s mythology money was not worshiped and the profits or gifts that were given by the people were disbursed for its divine purpose. They gave and sacrificed for what they believed in and did what was asked by Jesus and his disciples. Abraham loved Jesus so much that he was going to sacrifice his son “Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you. Do not lay a hand on the boy he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (The Bible). Today, there are pastors, and leadership members who steal from the church for their own personally gain. A mega church Pastor, Creflo Dollar was arrested for stealing funds given by Christians and people of faith to the church. This pastor utilized the funds to purchase a transportation jet for himself stated in an article from CNN “Creflo Dollar's new scheme to raise $60 million to purchase a luxury Gulfstream G650 airplane is the latest chapter in a long and sordid history of televangelists exploiting their churches' tax-exempt status -- and their congregants -- to line their own pockets” (Sarah Posner). Creflo Dollar is not the only pastor known for deceitfulness in the Christian church. There are pastors and preachers who engage in sexual activities with same sex individuals, molest children, and the list goes on. The church is supposed to be a sacred place for Christians, and people of all types are welcome. The church is a place where individuals go to connect and praise their God as a family. Things have geared away from the twenty-first century Christians and their practices. However, archetypes displayed through images have significant meaning and symbolism throughout the world from the beginning until the present time; that have not disappeared within the Christianity mythology. Water is symbolic to Christians because Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John, his disciple.
The Jordan River is a place desired to visit by Christians and people whom practice their faith. A baptism by water signifies purity and regeneration into the Christian church. There are different styles of undergoing a baptism. Some people are submerged under water, while others might only get sprinkled with water on their forehead. Baptisms are celebrated with the church, immediate family and friends. There is not a required age someone must be to get baptized. Water is also referred to Gods word in the Bible. God refers to water as a cleanser “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols” (The Bible). Water is significant because it provides a sense of deliverance to …show more content…
Christians. The rainbow is another significant image archetype in Christian mythology. God made a covenant with Noah, that he would not flood the earth again “And God said, This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth” (The Bible). It is believed that God will destroy the earth with fire instead of water when he returns to earth for the third time “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (The Bible). The Christians believe there will be hell on earth. Blood is also symbolic to the Christian mythology because it signifies Jesus’s blood that he shed on the cross, where he hung his head and died “When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit” (The Bible). The Pass Over is in relevance to the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus broke bread and drank wine “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (The Bible). Christian people participate in Holy Communion either on the third or first Sunday during church. There is a piece of bread (The body) and red grape juice (The Blood) that is shared and taken together as a congregation in remembrance of Jesus. Blood was a sign that God used during the Passover in Egypt “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (The Bible). God saved those who painted their doors with blood and everyone else in Egypt God condemned a plague. The cross is extremely sacred to Christians because it expresses strength, death, honor, life and love. The cross is where Jesus died for the sins of the world. It is the symbol that is used against evil forces and even to perform exorcisms. This symbol is used to cast out demons and dark forces that possess individuals. Christians are not the only religion and culture where a cross image holds importance. The Catholic Church has jointly ties into the cross. Exorcist, Fr Gary Thomas performs exorcisms around the world and he’s utilized a cross to cast out demons “He looks for violent reactions from people when touched with a cross, holy water or his priestly vestments. Some people twitch, moan, can’t control their faces, roll their eyes and in some cases spit, cough, drool and even foam at the mouth. Others may start to speak in a garbled language or in a foreign tongue they’ve never spoken before” (Ginger Adams Otis). The cross is quite significant to not only Christians, but other culture mythologies as well. Christian mythology is sacred and practiced amongst most in the United States.
According to a Gallup poll (77 percent) of people are Christians in America. The Islamic mythologies follows in ranking the second largest practiced religion in the world. Christianity, is the highest estimated practiced religion in the world. Despite the Christianity mythology and their beliefs, it is apparent that they have geared away from the practices from the twenty-first century. Christians do however, continually participate in Holy Communions, believe in the covenant God made with the rainbow, and consider the cross to still be holy. These are all image archetypes that are intertwined into the Christian mythology and faith. Some of the archetypes share relationships because you are not supposed to participate in Holy Communion if you have not been baptized. This is not a set in stone rule, but some Baptist churches do require believers to undergo a baptism before being served communion. The population for Christianity is large, but the worship services are not the same. Baptist churches are more reserved and
structured. Women are frowned upon for wearing long pants. Episcopal churches have the same beliefs as Christians, but are more reserved and structured than Baptist churches. Episcopal churches sing hymns and refer to their pastor as a priest. Despite the variety of worship techniques the sole beliefs are still in synced.
The power of water, a meek and gracious force, as illustrated in the Bible is the source of life and fruitfulness. The prayer has different sections to articulate the overall purpose of baptism, beginning with gratitude and recognition of God’s omnipresence, the prayer then references from the Old Testament, as the church has seen in Noah’s ark a prefiguring of salvation by Baptism. As the water of baptism gives new life, the crossing of the Red Sea, the liberation of Israel from the slavery of Egypt, proclaims the liberation wrought by baptism. The final reference to the Old Testament is prefigured in the crossing of the Jordan River by which the people of God received the gift of the land promised to Abraham’s descendants, an image of eternal life. All the Old Covenants prefiguration’s find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ begins his public life after being baptised by St. John the Baptist in the river of Jordan. After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." To fulfil all righteousness, Jesus’ submissive baptism by John the Baptist, is a gesture of
Williams Paden discusses the world building character of myths and their capacity to shape time and delineate scared and profane space for the communities that believe and transmit them. In William Paden, “Myth,” in Religious Worlds: The Comparative Study of Religion, he explains that within religious worlds, myths set a foundation that advance to shape a person’s way of life. Subsequently, they shape their belief and conscience. His theory relates to an element an indigenous story which is the creation story precisely the story of the turtle island. For the Ojibway and Anishinaabe people, the creation story was used as a grounding prototype to shape their belief and their outlook on how the world was created. The story shows how myth is being
Christianity is one of the most popular religions in the world today. Christianity has the largest amount of followers today. Over time, the religion has developed and change depending on the era. However, most of the traditional values are kept the same since its creation. Throughout many years, there have been numerous ideas originating from Christianity that do not exist today. During the development of the western world, religion played a big role in everyday lives. During the 14th century, an era of change began with the Renaissance as people experienced change and development through the western worlds. In Dante’s Inferno, some of these new beliefs, changes, and different forms of imagery can be noticed throughout the whole poem. Throughout
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Imagine reading a prominent piece of literature that includes a substantial array of archetypes. These archetypes in this piece of literature fabricate the characters in the plot to a great extent and unravel an amazing tale of love and tragedy that appeal to twenty-century Americans. This stunning literary piece, known as Romeo and Juliet, is written by the great mind of Shakespeare. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses numerous conventional archetypes such as, star-crossed lovers, tragic hero, and mentor to create archetypal characters, therefore making Romeo and Juliet important to twenty-first century American readers.
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Archetypes are everywhere, both in real life and in literature around the world, and humans know them all. American Gods is a fantasy novel written by Neil Gaiman in 2001. The book revolves around the premise that every god that has been believed in has manifested into human form and has traveled to America through the minds of immigrants. Shadow Moon is the main character in this novel, which follows his adventure with the American gods. Wednesday, Odin, is Shadow’s boss and also the strongest advocate for fighting the new gods: internet, plastic, and TV. Laura is Shadow’s wife, who died in a car accident at the beginning of the novel, and is staying alive with the help of a magical golden coin. Other characters that
distinguish themselves from those who are not baptized; but is also a signal which points to the act of regeneration encompassing being born anew. In addition, the baptism of children is
These practices vary between the many branches: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican communion and the tens of thousands of Protestant faith groups. Thousands of groups of protestants are divided into Liberal and Conservative wings. Christianity is the religion of 33% of the population, making it the largest religion in the world. Christianity is growing at a rate of 2.3% increase each year. " (Consultants)
Christianity was one of the fastest spreading religions of its time. From the first century, Christians have claimed that the world was uniquely prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity. To be a Christian during the time of the fall of the Roman Empire would not be a delightful time to live. Christians dedicated their lives, minds, hearts and souls to God, and by doing so were often persecuted. After the death of Jesus is when Christianity began to grow rapidly. Christianity was distinguished from other religions because everyone was eligible to be a Christian. Christianity offered a messag...
This is my creation myth motif essay. A motif is something that many things have in common, in this case some theories that quite a few religions have in common. In my essay I will be examining the creation myth motifs that we talked about and worked with during the 3rd quarter, and which ones in my opinion, are the most important. I have picked three motifs that I believe give the people of today, a pretty good idea of how our ancient ancestors viewed the world and what was going on around it. I personally enjoy the theories of all of the motifs that I have chosen to write about but, I also find it strange that so many religions have so many similarities in theories about creation, when many of the religions didn’t even know there were other
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...after death. Note the contrasting between Christian holidays and Pagan ones. Note their wavering loyalty between Almighty God and ‘the old stone gods’ that they sacrificed to and made heathen vows to when things became desolate. In conclusion, Christianity is made up of more than its own traditions and, back then, the transition sometimes faltered. Sometimes, people would fall back to what they knew before: Paganism.
Today’s world revolves around a variety of groups and a mixture of diverse beliefs and faith systems. Christianity is a widely practiced belief that is central to many people’s lives all around the world. Followers of this religion call themselves “Christians”. While there are many kinds of Christians, the primary focus is the belief in Jesus Christ, his teachings, and events around his life and death. Christianity is founded on a set of key ideals, of which a few the stand out are the belief in the existence of God, that He is one and incomprehensible, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and that Jesus Christ is hope.
and a rise to a new life as a Christian. Water is used to cleanse and