I have no idea whether Joseph Smith created a myth or not. We might find arguments either way and I haven't given even a little bit of thought to it.
However, many myths have known origins. The myth of Prometheus or the myth of the Birth of Athena both came from the Greeks.
If we want more modern and specific examples, we can look at something like our own American myths. The myth that America is a blessed country comes from the Puritans, specifically, John Winthrop. The myth that Columbus was sailing around the world to prove that the world was round and that he founded America is easy to trace back to historical beginnings. Hell, we even have a myth that claims George Washington cut down a tree and made an oath to never tell a lie and we know that it came from mid 19th century faux history books.
Myths do not need to have a mysterious author to remain a myth.
Serena was saying in the last thread though that it might be a good thing to redefine the term if only for clarification sake. If that is what you guys are doing, then good on you. Otherwise, I would say your definition is incorrect.
I used the word "redefine" incorrectly. However, I, being a modern woman, use modern terms for things, i.e. gay means homosexual, although it used to and sometimes still means happy, which should be understood from context. I refuse to acknowledge that it means "bad", as so many kids and adults who should know better, say.
Cult may have once been used too describe all religions in general, but is never used nowadays in the way. An uber-controlling, deceptive religion that dupes people into give an inordinate amount of control over people's personal lives is a cult. Also, certain movies are said to have a cult-following, or be a cult movie, but this is not related to the previous way in which I used it earlier in this paragraph.
Gospel, also "the Gospel" is usually understood to mean the first four books of the New Testament, translated as "good news", not the teachings of Joseph Smith.
I could go on, but I don't want to. I want to go wash my hair instead.
... is to discount mormonism as a harmful cult by reclassifying it as a harmless myth.
The motivation is obvious.
Most folks think cults are few and far between and that only crazy people join them. As it turns out, however, there are thousands of cults in the U.S. alone that are actively and successfuly recruiting people of all ages and from all walks of life.
It never bothered me that the cult is bogus or that my time had been wasted there. The fact that I had once belonged to a cult is an altogether different matter. It pains me that some family members remain blinded by the cults so-called "light" but not so much that I try to fool myself and others into thinking its no big deal.
H.L. Mencken wrote:
"Human beings never welcome the news that something they have long cherished is untrue. They almost always reply to that news by reviling its promulgator."
This is true. You can call it what you want, but when it looks like it, acts like it and smells like it, you call it what it is -- A sexist, racist, homophobic religious cult for white boys.
I'd hate to think the people closest to me are of that mind-set.
Timothy
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2012 08:39PM by Timothy.
I'll stick with what Joseph Campbell said about myths, metaphors, symbols, etc.
I like this quote: Joseph Campbell "Mythological symbols touch and exhilarate centers of life beyond the reach of vocabularies of reason and coercion." - Joseph Campbell, The Masks of God, Volume IV: Creative Mythology, p. 4
Our human experience can be understood in archetypes, symbols, metaphors etc.
Call the origin of that kind of thinking myth, if you think it fits.
I've posted this before, but my mythology and legends porfessor explained the best definition for a myth is a "religious story." Legends are based somewhat in true events and can have some mythological elements, folktales are clearly fantasy and more deeply rooted in mythology.