Editing Religion and mythology (section)

====Christianity====
[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s love of myths and devout [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] faith came together in his assertion that [[mythology]] is the divine echo of "the Truth".<ref>Wood</ref> Tolkien wrote that myths held "fundamental things".<ref>Menion, 2003/2004 citing essays by Tolkien using the words "fundamental things".</ref> He expressed these beliefs in his poem ''[[Mythopoeia]]'' circa 1931, which describes myth-making as an act of "sub-creation" within God's primary creation.<ref>Tolkien, ''Mythopoeia'', circa 1931.</ref> The poem in part says creation is "myth-woven and elf-patterned":

{{Blockquote|<poem>... There is no [[firmament]],
only a void, unless a jewelled tent
myth-woven and [[elf]]-patterned; and no earth,
unless the mother's womb whence all have birth.</poem>|JRR Tolkien}}

Tolkien's opinion was adopted by another [[Christianity|Christian]] writer, [[C. S. Lewis]], in their conversations: "Tolkien explained to Lewis that the story of Christ was the true myth at the very heart of history and at the very root of reality."<ref>Pearce</ref> [[C. S. Lewis]] freely called the Christ story a "true myth", and he believed that even pagan myths express spiritual truths. In his opinion, the difference between the Christ story and pagan myths is that the Christ story is historically as well as spiritually true. Lewis writes,<ref>letter to Arthur Greeves, quoted by Brown</ref>
<blockquote>The story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us in the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference that it really happened: and one must be content to accept it in the same way, remembering that it is God's myth where the others are men's myths: i. e. the Pagan stories are God expressing Himself through the minds of poets, using such images as He found there, while Christianity is God expressing Himself through what we call real things.</blockquote>

Another Christian writer, the Catholic priest Father [[Andrew Greeley]], freely applies the term "myth" to Christianity. In his book ''Myths of Religion'', he defends this terminology:<ref>Greeley, ''Myths of Religion''; quoted in Bierlein 1994, pp. 304-5.</ref>
<blockquote>Many Christians have objected to my use of this word [myth] even when I define it specifically. They are terrified by a word which may even have a slight suggestion of fantasy. However, my usage is the one that is common among historians of religion, literary critics, and social scientists. It is a valuable and helpful usage; there is no other word which conveys what these scholarly traditions mean when they refer to myth. The Christian would be well advised to get over his fear of the word and appreciate how important a tool it can be for understanding the content of his faith.</blockquote>

At a "Consultation on the Relationship Between the Wesleyan Tradition
and the Natural Sciences" in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 19, 1991, Dennis Bratcher presented a discussion of the adaptation of Near Eastern mythical thought by the Israelites.<ref name="Bratcher">Bratcher</ref> Bratcher argued that the Old Testament absorbed Near Eastern pagan mythology (although he drew a sharp distinction between the literally-interpreted myths of the Near Eastern pagans and the "mythopoetic" use of imagery from pagan myths by the Hebrews). During this presentation, he gave the following disclaimer:<ref name="Bratcher"/>
<blockquote>the term "myth" as used here does not mean "false" or "fiction". Even in my old and yellowed Webster's, "fiction" is the ''third'' meaning of the word. In its primary and more technical meaning "myth" refers to a story or group of stories that serve to explain how a particular society views their world.</blockquote>