Critically Compare the Use of Myth with the Use of Analogy to Express the Human Understanding of God.

Critically compare the use of myth with the use of analogy to express the human understanding of God. (35 marks)

As the idea of who God is and his nature is subjective, people have relied on many different things to explain God to others and to understand him and his ways themselves. Myths and analogies are among the techniques that people use. Myths are traditional stories that convey the beliefs and values of the communities that tell them. Whereas, analogies are a comparisons between two things to help people visualise and explain the unknown more easily. Myths and analogies used to help understand God are both beneficial and flawed.

One example of myth would be the creation stories in the Bible. These teach believers that God created everything and that he cares for his people. Myths are good for understanding God as they are known to not be wholly true. People can listen to and learn important lessons and beliefs from myths without having to believe every detail. This also means that you can try to explain God to others without having to get caught up and distracted from the main message on small details that, in the bigger picture, are not really important when trying to understand God. Myths can be compared to fabled told to children, there is a main message and as long as that is understood, the rest does not really matter. Rudolf Bultmann also thought this about the Bible. He said the Bible showed little more than the fact that Jesus lived, taught about the kingdom of God and was crucified and that the miracle stories added later on should be regarded as statements of faith which he says are more important than the literal teachings of Jesus. However, some scholars have challenged him by saying that the supernatural elements of the story were not later additions but were part of the original tradition.

On the other hand, there are problems with trying to understand God with myths. Firstly, they are based completely on faith as they cannot be proven....