For a long time, myths have been used by various communities in various circumstances to address different issues. An example of the functions of myths is giving explanations to a certain phenomenon. A “myth” can be described as a traditional, characteristically primordial tales that deal with ancestors, supernatural beings, or heroes that serves as an explanation of a certain feature of the natural world, or defining the customs, psychology or ideals of a society. To be more precise, it is a traditional sanctified story, which resolves around the gods’ activities as well as heroes, which aim at explaining a natural phenomenon. Among the most common myths include the Biblical and Near Eastern Myths. According to Kirk, G.S., there are five monolithic theories of myth1. In this essay, an attempt will be made to explain the extent to which these five monolithic theories try to give explanations for Near Eastern and Biblical myths. An example of creation myth among most Near Eastern communities and Noah’s Ark will be used in illustrating the connection of these theories and these myths.
As mentioned above, there are five monolithic theories as outlined by Kirk. The first general theory states that all myths are nature myth. According to this theory, they all refer to cosmological and meteorogical or natural phenomena. The second theory is the one limply covered by the phrase aetiological2. This simply means that all myths are used to give an explanation or cause of something in the real world. The third theory is the referred to as the Charter theory. This theory considers myths as being tales that are used to give details of customs that are commonly used during the period when the myth is told. Fourth theory can be said to be a slight expansion of the charter theory, intends to restore in some degree the Creative era. As per this theory, all myths are intended to induce or restore in some sense, the creative era. The last theory of myths is that which argues that all myths have a close link with rituals. This implies that in most cases, myths are actually drawn from rituals3.
There are various myths in the Bible, which were used in different times throughout the history of Christianity. A good example of a Biblical myth is that of the Ark of Noah. This is a story of a vessel that is mostly talked about in the Book of Genesis. The story describes how God instructed Noah to construct an Ark to save himself and his family, as well as the animals of the world from the floods that were to destroy the world. According to this story, God became dissatisfied with the wickedness of man, and intended to cleanse the Earth by sending a great flood4. However, among the entire population of the Earth, God sees Noah as being the only righteous man, and instructs him on how to build an Ark that could save him. At the end of its construction, Noah as well as the animals enters the Ark for safety. God send that Flood which destroys all living things on earth, by covering all the mountains on the Earth. The Ark rests at the top of the mountains, until the end of the flood and dry land reappears. Thus, Noah and the animals started repopulating the Earth5. According to this myth, the rainbow in the sky is s symbol of the covenant that God made to Noah as well as other living things that, the Earth will never be destroyed again by floods. On the other hand, various creation myths have emerged among the Near Eastern communities. One of such myths is the one which states that, the world emerged as dry space in the ancient ocean of chaos, which was very common among the Akkadian Community6. According to this myth, the sun being fundamental for life on earth, Ra signified the emergence of this life. Although there are different versions of this myth, the act of creation signified the preliminary institution of maat as well as the prototype for the consequent cycles of life.
Arguably, all the five monolithic theories as outlined in Kirk’s book apply to the biblical myths, more especially the myth of the Ark of Noah, as well as the creation myths. To begin with, the rationalization of the nature myth is evident in these myths significantly7. According to the Noah’s Ark myth, God became angry with the sinful lifestyles of man on earth and vowed to destroy the earth by flood. This could be seen as an explanation of the beginning of floods that have been experienced in most parts of the world for a long time. Secondly, according to the creation theory, the world emerged as dry space in the ancient ocean of chaos and the sun is the fundamental source of life on other. On the other hand, Noah as well as the animals that were saved, is believed to be the source of life after the flood. This could be a possible explanation for reproduction nature of animals as well as plants. It implies that the process of reproduction is not a supernatural phenomenon, but it is a natural cause of life8.
The second theory is the aetiological theory which states that all myths are used to give an explanation or cause of something in the real world. From my own point of view, this theory will apply in these two cases to a very lesser extent. Thus, there is no a clear explanation of most Biblical theories in general and Noah’s Ark in particular, based on this theory. The third monolithic theory is the charter theory that argues that myths are tales that are used to give details of customs that were commonly used during the period when the myth is told. In the Near East region, more especially among the Mesopotamian people, there were various customs that were practiced9. These customs had some historical significance to these people. As time elapsed, people seemed to forget about these customs and the best way in which they could be passed from one generation to another is through the myths.
Perhaps, this theory can be said to form the major part of the Noah’s Ark myth and the creation theory. Among most of the Near East communities, worshiping while facing the sun in the morning as well as the evening was a common practice. According to me, this could be a sign of appreciation for the sun being a source of life to these communities. It also serves as an explanation as to why people from this region during the ancient times believed the sun to be their god10. On the other hand, the story of the Ark of Noah is used among the Christian community to demonstrate how sinful the world had become during the time of Noah. The destruction of all the living things on the earth during the time of Noah, acts as a teaching on how God can react when people disobeys His teachings. From this myth, we learn that on the entire earth, only Noah and his family pleased God by living a righteous life; which explains why him and his family as well as other animals were chosen to be the source of life after the floods. This served as a lesson among Christians that God will never hesitate to destroy the entire world, but save one individual who He considers to be righteous. Today, the story of Noah is used among Christianity to remind people of what happened during Noah’s era and what might happen in the near future due to the sins of people.
According to the fourth theory, which is a slight development of the charter theory, all myths are intended to induce or restore in some sense, the creative era. From my point of view, this theory tries to restructure the connection between the people and the Divine, in the same manner the original participants were in the tale, in one way or another. As mentioned above, it was part of customs playing while facing the sun, which was considered as being the beginning of life among the Near East communities11. Additionally, among the Christians floods are considered as being a sign of destruction of life. Moreover, after the floods, it is believed that God entered into a covenant with mankind kind that the earth will never be destroyed by the flood again, and this is usually symbolized by the rainbow on the sky. Thus, it can be argued that these myths were used to reconnect the divine as the participants of the myth were, during their time12. The story of the Ark of Noah is used by most Christian leaders to remind their followers of their association with God, and the possible punishment that they may encounter in life, not necessarily floods, if they go against the will of their God. To be more precise, Noah’s Ark myth in specific tries to re-establish the mythical past to aid the contemporary world to sustain the order that was attained initially, as well as enhancing the attribute of sharing divine actions among the humans.
Lastly, is the is the appraisal of Biblical and Near Eastern myths according to the fifth universal theory that argues that argues that all myths have a close link with rituals, which creates the impression that, myths are actually drawn from rituals. According to the perceptions of one of the famous Old Testament scholars, Smith, W.R., myths are derived from rituals which with time become difficult to understand, hence giving rise to aetiological stories that tries to explain them13. This is evident from in most primordial communities in the Near East, more especially among the Akkadian Community. In the context of Mesopotamian people in general, rituals which have been well documented, played a significant role in their lifestyle. However, from my point of view, this theory cannot be clearly used to evaluate the Biblical myths, based on the argument that there is no specific part of the Bible we find a connection between Christian rituals and these myths.
In conclusion, myths are common features of various communities. A “myth” can be described as a traditional, characteristically primordial tales that deal with ancestors, supernatural beings, or heroes that serves as an explanation of a certain feature of the natural world, or defining the customs, psychology or ideals of a society. Kirk, G. S. identified five monolithic theories which can be applied in the analysis of various myths14. The first general theory states that all myths are nature myth. The second theory is the one simply covered by the phrase aetiological. The third theory is referred to as the Charter theory. This theory considers myths as being tales that are used to give details of customs that are commonly used during the period when the myth is told. The fourth theory argues that myths are intended to induce or restore in some sense, the creative era. Lastly, is the theory that argues that argues that all myths have a close link with rituals. Arguably, some of the myths that can be evaluated based on these theories include the Biblical as well as the Near Eastern myths. Both myths tend to be supported by the five theories; however, the second theory has no clear linkage in the Biblical myths, based on the fact scientific theories offer little explanations to Christianity phenomenon. In this easy, two examples have been used, each from the Biblical myth and Near Eastern myths categories, to illustrate how these theories apply to explanation of myth. Nevertheless, of the five theories, the theory of nature tends to elaborate better the nature of these myths.
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