Truth vs Facts

Sly has posted in several threads something to the effect of "The Bible contains truth, but not necessarily fact." While a "non-believer" I find this statement to be both intriguing and true.

It has been quite a while since I've read any Joseph Campbell but this in a nutshell is what he believed most myths and religion do. They lead us to eternal truths about humanity, our world and our place in it.

I find great value in the symbolism and stories in the Bible. Looking at it from a comparative viewpoint we see similarities to older tradtion and archetypes.

In the tale of the Golden Fleece, we have a father preparing to kill his son as a sacrifice to the gods. Just as happens in the Biblical tale of Abraham and Issac, a ram appears as a replacement sacrifice.

We see other similarities in the tales of Oedipus and Moses. Both children deserted in the wilderness to save them from certain death only to be found by royalty and raised as such. Odyseus and the Cyclops echo the tale of David and Goliath.

From Jesus to Osiris and Isis, to Dionysus returning to life each spring, Resurrection and rebirth are almost a universal theme in myths and religions.

Do we sometimes get so caught up in the "facts" of our beliefs that we miss the truths?

 

Yes.........Those that seek the truth will find it. Those that do not, will not. It's really very simple.

 

Fact is verifiable by redundant scientific experiments. Nothing else is fact.

 

But can those truths only be found in one religion or one book? Are there more universal truths that we blind ourselves to because we see things too literally?

Do we truly understand the power of resurrection and rebirth on a personal level if we take the Biblical tale as literal "gospel"? If we view the battle between David and Goliath as a historical fact do we lose the abilty to see the power the story has on a archetypical level?

 

No argument there, but do you find any value in what religions teach us symbolically, MT?

While I do believe very similarly to you, I find there is great wisdom in the teachings of religion and don't wish to discard those truths simply because of the mythology and symbolism used to teach them.

 

How do you explain axioms?

 

1 entry found for axioms.
ax·i·om ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ks-m)
n.
A self-evident or universally recognized truth; a maxim: “It is an economic axiom as old as the hills that goods and services can be paid for only with goods and services” (Albert Jay Nock).
An established rule, principle, or law.
A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument; a postulate.

 

Yet one cannot, for example, verify scientifically that 2 parallel lines will never intersect. You know it's true, yet it doesn't conform to your definition of fact.

 

The choice of "which religion" is a personal one. Mine is The Father, Son and Holy Ghost as taught in the Bible.
Yes we do blind ourselves from truth in that way. We are cut off from hope. We have nothing left to fall back upon but our own ability and reasoning. When that fails us we have nothing left.
I guess you're talking about "down with the old man..up with the new", a personal rebirth of our own spirituality vs. the actual resurection of Jesus.
David and Goliath...I think I know where you're comming from and yes the lesson is bigger than the picture painted.
Good questions Vito. Somebody else may be able to answer you better than I can.

 

So the idea of parallel lines is a truth rather than a fact. No?