We are all fighting the war of myths vs facts. There are 3 interesting facts about mythology that everyone needs to understand. Knowing them will help you win the war in your circle of influence.
Myths are legends and stories that primitive people used to communicate philosophical lessons or explain natural phenomena. They are fictions that become accepted as fact. The message in a myth may be true or false, but they are always memorable and engaging, just like the stories of Harry Potter, the Avatar, Jesus, and Muhammad.
The first major concept to understand is the difference between knowing facts about fiction and believing fiction is true. For example, Harry Potter is a friend of Hermione Granger. We’ve just given you a fact about a fictional character, but knowing this does not make him real. Overcoming this obvious distinction is the crux of religion, which relies on pretending that fiction is true.
Myths Vs Facts
The battle between myth and fact is not one of ideological differences of opinion. You may have a strong conviction that the stories of Harry Potter are real, but that does not change the fact that he is but a fictionalized character.
You can learn many facts about the stories of Hogwarts and Harry Potter, but knowing these facts does not make them real. Yet, the stories about Harry Potter are very entertaining, and they have many messages about good and evil and relationships.
We can apply the same principles we used to dissect the story of Harry Potter to the stories told by religion. This brings us back to the war of myths vs. facts or religion vs. science.
3 Interesting Facts About Mythology
Here’s a synopsis of these three elements, which will be covered in more detail.
1. Myths can contain factual elements and still be false
2. Knowing facts about a myth does not make the myth real
3. Myths contain arguments of persuasion
Many people see religion as mythology presented as fact. Joseph Campbell said one man’s religion is another man’s mythology. What you think is mythology or religion depends on your worldview. One view is based on facts, and the other is not.
1. Myths Can Contain Factual Elements
Many people believe their faith is factual. Their collective voice is still a force in our modern society. They push back against anything that threatens their beliefs. The elevation of superstition to facts is the basis of the ongoing war between science and religion.
The three largest religions by membership (1) are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They have a combined membership of 4 billion followers and some 10,000 variations (2). These systems have the most influence on culture.
These are cash flow systems built on mythology, and they are recession—and war-proof. This model enables them to accumulate more wealth than many countries. For example, the Church-state of the Vatican holds about 400 billion dollars in total assets.
The Abrahamic religions are the first rebranding campaigns. Christianity is a blend of the dying god sects of the Mediterranean region. The Roman army conquered the region in the first century. It acquired these mystery religions. They were excellent cash flow machines that needed little oversight. Later, they added sacred texts, building on the work of their closest competitor, Judaism, to legitimize their mythology.
Judaism is a system built on ethnic lines. It pioneered the assimilation of sacred texts as a basis for Western theology. Islam, the latter of the trio, is also built on ethnic lines with its own holy texts. A shared mythology and indoctrination tactics tie together these three systems.
The first of these 3 interesting facts about mythology explains how myths are still so powerful in the modern world.
Mythology Presented as Fact
How is it possible for these religions to gain such a large amount of control over the cultural narrative? Simple. They use violence to take control of governments directly when possible. They control them indirectly by getting laws passed that favor their theology. This is why science and logic are their adversaries. It is the battle of myths vs facts.
When mythology becomes a part of the cultural norm, it allows the religion to dictate the content of the values. It’s done using a system of indoctrination. It creates a state of mass hallucination.
However, the programming of mythology into the culture is so successful that many people don’t see it. They believe their myths are fact. Those who are a part of this indoctrination are victims of groupthink manipulation. So, they pass along the mythology, assuming it is factual. The best liars believe what they are saying is the truth. People who believe mythology is real are sincere in their beliefs.
2. Knowing Facts About a Myth Does Not Make it Real
Religion maintains a wall between the origins of their mythology and their customers. This is how they reinforce the belief that their mythologies are true. They keep the roots of their religions secret. Instead, they employ several communication devices to override common sense and logic. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. Let’s look at how they use these innocent tools to create customers.
Colorful Tools of Communication
There are four core communication tools: analogy, metaphor, simile, and word pictures. These communication tools are perfect mnemonic memory devices.
You’ll find these tools at the center of many of your most memorable stories. When we use them correctly, they make learning easier.
Unfortunately, these tools can also disguise the underlying message, making them ripe for misuse. Religion uses an effective programming technique known today as groupthink manipulation. Let’s look at how these tools work.
Analogy
Analogies infer that if something is similar in some respects, it probably agrees in others. It’s a way to compare things to show a similarity. It’s the reason it’s such a valuable selling tool.
Analogies play a significant role in communication, and we use them in problem-solving and decision-making. These tools are essential for perception, memory, creativity, and emotion. They are the go-to tool for explaining concepts and ideas. Analogies help us with basic tasks, such as identifying places, objects, and people. Facial recognition even uses them to identify and organize images. Some argue that analogies are at the core of cognition.
An example of an analogy is the way a computer is similar to our brain. We compare the operation of a computer to the functions of the human brain. The image of a laptop becomes a word picture, making the concept easier to remember.
Analogies are not factual. You can’t treat the brain like a computer. You can’t take the brain apart and put it back together again. So, you must understand the limits of the analogy. They are tools to convey a concept or idea through a metaphorical word in place of something else. For example, if I were to say your eyes shine like jewels. It doesn’t mean that your eyes are diamonds, but that they shine with the beauty of gems, but analogies are ripe for confusing myths with facts.
Metaphor
Metaphors are figures of speech that construct a relationship between two or more things or ideas. When we understand a story as a metaphor, it is a helpful tool for comparison. Almost all spiritual stories are symbolic representations. They describe concepts in a way that makes them easy to remember. Metaphors are a way of explaining things that do not have a physical frame of reference.
For example, God is a reference for the transcendent. It enables us to understand the transcendent through various models. The problem arises when people believe myths are factual instead of understood metaphorically. The most popular religions of the Abrahamic traditions are mistaking metaphors for facts.
Simile
Similes are a figure of speech that compares things to infer something. It uses connecting words to infer similarities between things. It’s an indirect way of creating a relationship between things. The terms as and like are clues to its use. However, these aren’t the only words used to use this tool.
For instance, he’s acting like Mr. Know-it-all. Here, we have an ad hominem attack disguised within a simile.
Word Picture
A word picture is a landscape that houses analogies, metaphors, and similes. Word pictures create the main theme, which makes a coherent story. Word pictures are the backbone of many ancient oral traditions. The life stories of Buddha, Mohamed, and Jesus are significant themes. They are stories we picture in our minds with accuracy. So, it’s the perfect vehicle for programming the cultural narrative.
The second of the 3 facts about mythology shows us how “groupthink manipulation tactics” and “propaganda” are the two most effective tools for social programming.
3. Myths Are Arguments of Persuasion
The third of the 3 interesting facts about mythology explains how myths can be hard to resist. They are the ultimate sales pitch. How does it work?
First, an argument is a statement made with premises (data) persuading you to accept a conclusion. It’s a selling tool. Sometimes, it’s hard to spot false premises and claims. That’s because people learn to hide false claims within metaphor, analogy, simile, and word pictures.
In a logically sound argument, the premises are factual or accurate. So, if we learn how to construct an argument properly, we can spot its misuse. That’s why we need to know about the standard errors of propositions and the abuse of logic.
Let’s start by looking at the two types of logical reasoning that you’ll likely encounter in the realm of spirituality: deductive and inductive reasoning. Both inductive and deductive reasoning can construct a valid argument.
There are two significant differences in the way they form conclusions. Inductive reasoning uses data to reach probable conclusions. In contrast, deductive reasoning presupposes the decision by showing data to support a position. There are two other significant distinctions: deductive reasoning gives conclusions as certain proofs, whereas inductive reasoning presents its findings as probabilities. Let’s take a deeper dive into both forms.
Deductive Reasoning
Deductive reasoning (3) uses closed-world assumption theory.
“It is the assumption that the premises of the argument are known or true, and conversely, what is not within the argument is presumed to be false.”
We must assume that what is not known to be true is automatically assumed to be false. In this model, the absence of information is irrelevant. The assumption is that you have all the information.
The proper form of argument for deductive reasoning always includes the answer within the premise arguments. For the conclusion to be valid, all the premises must be true. With this approach, you start with the answer you want and then find data to support your claim.
The Misuse of Deductive Reasoning
Our example goes like this: The argument is that God Odin Exists. Here’s their logic: First, Odin promised to kill all the ice giants—and there aren’t any ice giants. Second, many ancient texts tell the story of Odin. You’ll find him in German folklore and paganism from all parts of Eastern Europe. Slam dunk. We’ve proved Odin exists, right? Not yet.
We find the legends of Odin across many cultures. For instance, he is Wōden in Old English, Wōdan in Old Saxon, and Old High German as Wuotan. So, based on his popularity, these sacred stories, texts, and the absence of ice giants, we must conclude that the God Odin exists.
Odin’s story is an example of a vivid word picture. I’ll bet you can see him killing ice giants right now. This story is a simile inferring Odin exists because we find his legend in the records of several historical writings. This same principle applies to all imaginary friends and enemies.
The above assertion is the correct construction of an argument using deductive reasoning. However, we think most people would disagree with the conclusions. Why? Legends and stories are not evidence.
One must realize that the absence of something cannot be used to prove it existed. The absence of ice giants is not proof Odin vanquished them. The repeating of stories about unproven things is not proof, no matter how popular the stories are. These points apply to all imaginary beings, not just Odin. These are examples of mythology presented as fact. It underscores the ongoing battle of myths vs facts.
Inductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning (4) uses premises to provide a reasonable degree of certainty, that is, the likelihood of something happening. It bases conclusions on the degrees of probability. So, we get answers from a low, almost negligible probability to a high probability approaching near certainty.
Inductive reasoning may appear less accurate because the answers it provides are a range of probabilities. Yet, inductive reasoning is the basis for science and most of what we know. Science seeks the best explanation for the data and then makes predictions based on the facts. You start with the data and find out what conclusion it provides.
For example, we have a high degree of confidence that the sun will rise tomorrow. We base this degree of confidence on the historical evidence of previous sunrises. Inductive reasoning is often necessary because the answer you seek goes beyond the premise statements’ scope. We don’t know for sure that the sun will rise, but evidence supports a high probability of it happening.
Mythology Presented as Fact
Religion is notorious for stating conclusions with absolute certainty. The foundation of Western organized religion is the rebranding of mythology and superstition. But instead of remaining silent in the absence of evidence, they continue to make assertions lacking proof. They use mythology cloaked by metaphor, analogy, simile, and word picture.
Unfortunately, no theologian would state any of their doctrines in this way. Otherwise, most of their myths and superstitions would be less believable if they were honest. However, we know this will not happen. It would expose most religions as baseless assertions, but theologians learn to advertise their mythologies using sleight of hand and circular logic.
“There is a logical form between the statement and the proposition. The proposition exists only where there are facts. Where there are no facts (the mystical, the metaphysical, the ethical), there is no corresponding proposition. If there is no proposition, no statement can be made in regard to these topics (mystical, metaphysical, ethical). So, what should we do where we cannot make any statement? Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.” ― Ludwig Wittgenstein, Proposition 7, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, (5)
Mr. Wittgenstein explains what we should do when we do not have facts to support our proposition. Sadly, many religions present twisted doctrines despite having no credible proof of their outrageous claims. So, mythology presented as facts is a ploy to deceive.
The conclusions of religion go beyond the facts. So, it would be appropriate to state their claims in terms of probabilities. They do not, and we doubt this will happen. Rather than remaining silent on things beyond proof, they will continue presenting mythology as fact. That is how they stay in business.
The last of the 3 facts about myths explains how myths are used to twist the argument and convince people.
Sorting Out the Facts
The battle of myths vs facts is an ongoing conflict in the cultural narrative. t is the battle of science, logic, and evidence against the strength of groupthink manipulation of religion. You win the war one person at a time.
The awakening of the individual is key to bringing them into the light of the fiction that binds them. Many archaeologists and scientists of the 19th century were sure that the facts revealed to the world would be the end of organized religion. However, they underestimated the power of self-hypnosis and group hypnosis programming. Here are the steps for winning the war between myths and facts.
Identify The Vehicles of The Programming
The first thing you need to do is learn to see the metaphors, analogies, or word pictures within your worldview. We’ll describe these in a moment. You can find these vehicles in two ways. If you have religious beliefs, write the core tenets. Describe the word pictures that come to mind and then identify the stories you associate with them. Ask yourself, why do I believe the story to be true? Is there empirical evidence? Does the evidence for this claim come from sources within the paradigm?
Identify Your Programming
When you identify your programming, you will have two lists. One is the programming with a general or popular meaning, and the other is your personal meaning. For example, your programming may include the symbol of the cross. In popular culture, this is a holy symbol. It’s the device on which they sacrifice a dying god. However, the meaning of this symbol could differ significantly for you.
Myths Vs Facts Decision Time
Now you have the facts. You can see the premises of the arguments that are the source of your beliefs. You can see how metaphor, analogy, simile, and word picture communicate these ideas. So you need to decide: Will you believe in mythology presented as fact? Or are you going to give precedence to the evidence of science and logic?
Remember, continue to question the cultural narrative. Always delve into the motives of religious and political leaders and sources. Become a warrior of light, using compassion to spread seeds that bring people out of the Dark Ages mentality. If you remember these three interesting facts about mythology, you will never be a victim of their propaganda.
References
(1) List of World’s Religions by Major Groups: Wikipedia
(2) Abrahamic Religions: Wikipedia
(3) Deductive Reasoning: Wikipedia
(4) Inductive Reasoning: Wikipedia
(5) Ludwig Wittgenstein, Proposition 7, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: Wikipedia