Do Myths Have Their Place In Modern Society?

I think myths and story telling have their place in conveying deep truths about the universe, our existence and so on. These literary devices have been employed by various societies and cultures since ancient times. I see myths as a finger pointing to the moon, proverbially speaking, especially when they carry certain universal truths, such as hope, courage, unconditional love and friendship.

I also have come to see the bible as a collection of myths. It is perhaps no secret now that modern Christianity has mainly taken these myths as literal events, and propagates the idea of a literal hell, literal devil and literal second coming of a literal Christ. Whether it is out of ignorance, or misplaced faith, or unquestioning attitude, or intellectual dishonesty, or misguided good intentions, or simply religious agenda to control people or build an empire (or a combination of two or more of these factors, given the multidimensional aspects of humanity), one thing we can be sure of is that such literalisation and institutionalisation of myths has resulted in many followers living in unspoken fear and superstition, being afraid of a mythical deity who is schizophrenic. A sense of uncertainty often resides beneath their veneer of certainty - on one hand, the adherents appear to be certain about going to a certain heaven in the afterlife, yet on the other hand, they are uncertain about how their god would treat other people who don't hold a similar set of beliefs as them, and they simply attempt some vague explanations such as the so-called "age of accountability", which varies depending on one's opinions.

One man's orthodoxy is another man's heresy, as the saying goes, and similarly, I would venture to say that one man's mythology is another man's idiocy. If people are willing to see myths as nothing more than myths, I think the world would be a more peaceful and united place where people learn from universal truths and see one another as equal, as brothers and sisters of the same family of the Universe.

God cannot be institutionalised

The problem with the Christian religion is that it tends to institutionalise, literalise and concretise what is meant to be a metaphor. The whole bible can be seen as an allegory, being a collection of myths. The Christ principle revolves around Jesus Christ as a metaphor. 

The moment people literalise Jesus Christ, they idolise him and become attached to their idol. They get emotional and sentimental about their idol. This may appear harmless at first, but this religious mindset may create divisions among people because as long as religion makes Jesus an exclusive historical figure, there will always be an "us versus them" mentality - "Jesus followers" and "non Jesus followers".

But in reality, there is no us or them. Christ as a metaphor unites us all as one. Christ can be seen as a representative of humankind. We are the Christ, and we are the begotten Son of God. As Christ is, so are we in this world. 

Trying to institutionalise God only results in turning religion into a mental institution. People can go crazy when they think god is mad at them or they think they must fight and kill in the name of god. 

There are other metaphors similar to Christ principle, such as Tao, Buddha, Krishna, and Great Spirit. Each is a finger pointing to the moon. Each can be the way to lead us to the universal truth of our oneness with God or higher self, and oneness with one another.