"Augustus came from a miraculous conception by the divine and human conjunction of [the God] Apollo and [his mother] Atia. How does the historian respond to that story? Are there any who take it literally?... That divergence raises an ethical problem for me. Either all such divine conceptions, from Alexander to Augustus and from the Christ to the Buddha, should be accepted literally and miraculously or all of them should be accepted metaphorically and theologically. It is not morally acceptable to say directly and openly that our story is truth but yours is myth; ours is history but yours is a lie. It is even less morally acceptable to say that indirectly and covertly by manufacturing defensive or protective strategies that apply only to one's own story. "
- John Crosssan, The Birth of Christianity, 1998, pg 28 - 29.
2 comments:
Terrifically relevant quote.
Would that the entire world understood what it is saying.
The entire world would be a better world.
I need to study up on these ancient myths and religions more. The more I read of this stuff, the more I am finding that the evidence is shoddy at best. (Not that I don't believe the bible is a myth along with the rest of them).
I would like to do a course in ancient religions to get a better handle on it.
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