Who Were The First Christians?

The history of early Christianity has been told mostly by Christian writings only. However, newly discovered documents such as the Gnostic manuscripts discovered in Egypt, have expanded the collection of sources. These works, written by Christians who were not part of the mainstream, have given us new insight into the history and character of the early Christian movement. The Gnostic writings, though declared deviant and heretical by the leaders of the Mother Church, were still written by Christians. There is however, another body of material that comes from the observation of pagan observers of Christianity. They were Roman and Greek writers whose works were seldom made available to the public.

The first mention of the Christian movement  was by Pliny, a Roman governor at the beginning of the second century. He called Christianity  a "superstition." Later in the century, Celsus, a Greek philosopher, wrote that Jesus was a magician and sorcerer. 

What do comments of this sort mean in the world in which Christianity was struggling to become noticed? Most of the comments by outsiders about Christianity have come down to us in fragmentary form. They appear in letters, essays, or histories dealing with some other topic. In some cases information came from other books attacking Christianity which were destroyed.

When Christianity gained control of the Roman Empire it suppressed the writings of its critics and cast them into the flames. Yet, the number of fragments that survive were written by Christians. Ironically, they refute Christianity, and they offer a vivid portrait.

The use of the term "superstition" was used to refer to the Christians by a couple of Roman writers who were living in that era.

In the first century C.E., Tacitus, a close friend and colleague of Pliny, mentioned the Christians in his account of the burning of Rome under Nero. Although, the writer had no interest in the new Christian movement, he wanted to make a point about the extent of Nero's vanity and the magnitude of his vices, and to expose the crimes he committed against the Roman people.

Toward the end of the first century of the Common Era, a Greek philosopher, and contemporary of Pliny and Tacitus, wrote a little treatise on superstition. The work is usually attributed to Plutarch (50 - 120 C.E.), a native of Greece. A pious and devote adherent of the ancient religion of Greece, he also served as priest at Delphi, a great religious shrine in central Greece. His book On Superstition, is interesting as a reflection of spirituality, which is sensitive to Greek thinkers on superstition and piety. However, there is no mention of Christianity.
According to Plutarch, superstition sets people off from the rest of society because the superstitious person does not use intelligence.in thinking about the gods. Instead he/she creates fearful images and horrible apparitions that leads to bizarre and extreme behavior. Further, Plutarch states that because superstition leads to irrational ideas about the gods, the inevitable consequence is atheism. "Atheists do not see the gods at all," but the superstitious man "thinks they exist" and conjures up false ideas about them. 

Around the year 170 C.E., a Greek philosopher by the name of Celsus wrote a major book devoted solely to the Christians. He mentions that some Christians were arrogant and contemptuous of the opinions of others, they kept to themselves and appealed to people's fears or ignorance.

Because many people in the churches were uneducated and illiterate, Christians had the reputation of being gullible and credulous. There is a story about the fraudster Peregrinus, who became a member of the church for no other reason than to exploit simple Christians. The authorities finally caught up with him and had him imprisoned.
However, naive Christians still did not see through his deception. While he was in prison, they waited on him hand and foot, bringing him food and money and treating him as a hero. "The poor wretches have convinced themselves ...that they are going to be immortal and live for all time...They despise all things indiscriminately and consider them common property, receiving such doctrines traditionally without any definite evidence. So that any charlatan and trickster, able to profit by occasions, comes among them, he quickly acquires sudden wealth by imposing upon simple folk." Christians were an easy target for the racketeers of the Roman Empire.

Celsus was the first critic to call Jesus a magician and charge the Christian with practicing magic. The practice of magic was a criminal offense in the Roman Empire, and many of the things recorded about Jesus in the Gospels were similar to the things magicians did.

Christians claim that  the miracles that Jesus performed proved that he was the son of God. The question was, by whose power was he able to accomplish such wonders? Celsus knew from his reading of the Gospels that Jesus was reported to have spent some time in Egypt where magic was taught and well known among certain groups. He concluded that Jesus "was brought up in secret and hired himself out as a workman in Egypt. After having tried his hand at certain magical powers he returned from Egypt, and on account of those powers he learned, gave himself the title "Son of God." The point Celsus raised became central to his attack on Christianity. Did Jesus' ability to work wonders mean that he was the son of God, or was he another successful magician like others who could be found in the cities and towns of the Roman Empire? Celsuss' charge that Jesus was a magician was not separate from his overall criticism of the Christian movement. He wanted to show that Christians had no basis for claiming that Jesus was the son of God, because he was not the only one to work wonders; others had similar powers.

One major criticism leveled at the Christian view of God, specifically, the consequences of the worship of Jesus for the idea that God is one. "If the Christians worshiped no other God but one, perhaps they would have had a valid argument against others. But in fact they worship to an extravagant degree this man who appeared recently, and think it does not offend God if they also worship his servant."

Porphyry, a Neoplatonic philosopher  300 C.E., did not accuse Jesus of practicing magic, instead he praised him as a "wise man" and disassociated himself from such criticism so that Jesus could be integrated into his portrait of the traditional religion.

For two centuries Christian intellectuals had been forging a link between Christianity and the classical tradition of Rome. With one swift stroke of the pen, Julian, the Roman emperor, sought to sever the link between the two. Wealthy Christian parents, insisted that their sons receive the rhetorical education, and it now appeared as though Julian was limiting this to pagans.

"So grave was the situation that Christians sought their own way of insuring that their children would be properly educated. A Christian father and son, both named Apollinarius, came up with the idea of rendering the Scriptures in the style and form of Greek literature.

In the summer of 362 C.E., Julian went to northern Syria where the cities were renowned for Greek culture and learning. Many of the inhabitants were Christians, and Julian was disappointed to discover how influential they were. It irritated  him that they (he called them "atheists") had no respect for the "sacred rites which their forefathers observed."

Julian points out that the notion that Jesus is divine was a fabrication of his followers, not the teachings of Jesus himself. The Jewish Scriptures made clear that there is no basis in the writings of Moses for the idea that Jesus is divine. Julians' writings was still being read in the middle of the fifth century. Before he became Emperor of Rome, he was a Christian himself, and had studied the Holy Scriptures. His point was not the only one against Jesus' divinity. It was also disputed within the church. During the struggle to become legally recognized by the state, the General Council of Churches in 325, decided  that decisions made about belief were considered to be infallible, and the Council of Nicaea stated, "The Son is of the same substance as the father and who suffered pain, killed and came back to life.

Julian's feelings were ambivalent toward Judaism and the Jewish Scriptures. He respected Jewish traditions and in observing the ritual requirements of the law - yet he ridiculed the myths and legends of the Jewish Scriptures. His point was not to criticize the Jews but to engage the Christians who had taken over the Jewish conception and still used the Jewish Scriptures.

According to Julian, the God of the Hebrews and Christians was a "sectional god," and the proper way to honor him was to venerate him as a lesser deity subordinate to the one high God. One should not pretend that he was more than he was.

If the proper object of the highest form of worship is the "God of all" and not a tribal God, it follows, says Julian, that this high God is not the property of any particular people, nor can he be known through a particular revelation. The God of all is known to all humankind.

That the human race possesses its knowledge of God by nature and not from teaching is proved to us first by all the universal yearning for the divine that is in all humans whether private persons or communities, whether considered as individuals or as races.  For all of us, without being taught, have attained to a belief in some sort of divinity, though it is not easy for all people to know the precise truth about it, nor is it possible for those who do not know it to tell it to all people.

Julian's view was shared by many philosophers and religious thinkers in his own day and remains one of the philosophical debates and religious discussions in our own time. 










  

The Hijab and Islam

There is much talk about the veil lately that cause fear among non-Islamic people. It led to the conclusion that the Hijab is a symbol of extremism, oppression of women, and a threat to Western culture. But what is the origin of the veil and why the concern? The veil originated as a Persian elitist fashion to distinguish aristocracy from the common masses. The fashion has moved in and out ever since. Early Islamic scholars for example, tried to enforce wearing the veil by declaring that all women were to be shamed. A female specialist in Islamic studies mentioned that in times of national movements against colonial powers, it became a symbol of resistance against alien policies. However, after independence of the Islamic state about twenty years ago, the veil was sanctioned as an emblem of enforced orthodoxy and social control, which became a form of archaic social institution. As Islamic extremism rose, the women once more were to be hidden behind veils. The new law legitimized and institutionalized inequality for women.

In democratic countries women are free to choose whether they want to wear the Hijab or not.

In regards to religion, polygyny was not intended to be an automatic right for Muslim men.  The Prophet Mohammad’s original intention was to provide protection to widows and orphans. The Koranic verses on polygyny were recorded shortly after a major battle, when many Muslim males were killed, and the women would have been left destitute unless the surviving males took additional wives. In the 630s in the pre-Islamic period, both men and women were allowed to have multiple spouses which Islam had condemned for both sexes. The Koran permitted polygyny only in exceptional cases, mostly for war widows, whom the prophet feared would become “unprotected” once their husbands were dead. Later, the wealthy males along with their half - educated religious and political leaders again revised the pre-Islamic forms of polygyny for men only. At the same time, the Koranic preconditions for polygyny in marrying unprotected widows, changed, and instead, became the practice to take young unwed women as their subsequent wives.

According to a female Islam scholar, “Muslim women had no idea of the rights given to them by their religion. Most had relied on the interpretations by men. Islam is a religion that liberated women, and the same religion is being used to oppress them.”

For example, much of the fourteen hundred years the majority of Muslims have believed that in Paradise men will be supplied with beautiful virgin companions. When women ask what happens to them in Paradise, they never receive an answer.  

Further, the Koran in fact, originally stated that both men and women would be granted good companions in Paradise.

The manipulation performed by Arabic grammar in order to mistranslate some key words, is obvious to the eye of an expert. Accordingly, when the masculine gender is used in the Koran for an injunction that it is felt a woman must obey, it is interpreted to indicate the female gender. On the other hand, when the same pronoun is used for something that the male wants to preserve for himself, it is interpreted to mean the male gender.

There are numerous examples of what the Koran intended and how it's teachings have been diverted in meaning to something different today.

What Was The First Gender of God?

The gender of God changed on three occasions; it began with the evolution of humanity followed by multiple stages of religious development. At first, it was believed the creator of the universe was androgynous. In the second stage of evolution, a goddess reigned over the world, and in the third stage there emerged a male deity. Moreover, the connection between humanity, gods, and goddesses is an important concept in the development of thought, religion and mythology.

A large part of our religious doctrine and cultural heritage is formed by beliefs, myths, and practices that have been handed down through generations by oral tradition. Storytellers and minstrel-poets used the spoken word, music, and drama as a tool to teach about our past. These people were regarded as very important on account of their passing down knowledge, skills, and moral codes. Myth, legend, and folklore, are all part of the same oral tradition. They are all intertwined and influence each other. The ancients used mythology as vehicles for expressing profound truths and were often associated with religion. It is concerned with matters that shape the lives of humanity, creation of the world, the relationships between gods and humans, the origin of life, the meaning of death, and the battle between good and evil. This shows that such myths are attempts at explaining the great underlying truths of life. One of the greatest mysteries is how the world began - how the earth, sky, and heavenly bodies were formed, and how humanity was created. There are striking similarities between the creation myths of different lands. The universe was often seen as emerging from chaos, a vast formless ocean without light, or as hatching from an egg which contained the germs of creation.  A supreme-being or a divine couple emerged to bring order out of chaos, and to create light and life. Few myths try to explain the origin of matter itself. Creation was usually seen as a rearrangement of existing matter into the shape of the known world. In most mythologies, the earth and sky were gods, as were the forces of nature, such as the sun and winds, which stirred up creation. 

When did history begin?

Ancient history was often referred to as classical antiquity. It is closely associated with the traditional date of the founding of Rome in 753BC and the beginning of the archaic period in ancient Greece. The ending date of ancient history is disputed by some Western scholars who use the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476AD as a reference point. Other references include the closing of the Platonic Academy in Athens 529AD and the death of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 565AD. Still, other scholars believe the end date of ancient history began with the coming of Islam 1200AD, or the rise of Charlemagne in 768AD. Therefore, the actual account of history is flawed.  The original recording of history can be found in different countries. In Greece and Rome for example, anthropological research discovered that from the sixth century BC onwards Greek cities had used stone and marble to record information which needed to be kept polished and available for reading. In the Hellenistic period 323 BC – 30 BC, with the widespread development of new cities, the areas where the inscription on stones were set up, grew in number and was adopted by continental Greece, Northwest Greece, southeastern Europe, southwest Asia, Syria, the Black Sea coast, Mesopotamia,  and as far east as Northern Afghanistan  and India. The use of inscriptions on stone and marble in these different places is subject to several limitations. First, one cannot always establish the date and proof of an inscription. A stone may have been moved, or its contents may give no indication of its date. As well, the method of lettering may not be understood. Furthermore, inscriptions with same names were sometimes recopied at a later date. Where common names (e.g. that of a king) are mentioned, it may be uncertain as to which of a number of kings it was meant. The purpose of inscriptions was to publicly communicate as a method to promote a belief based on thoughts, political ideals, covert resistance and propaganda. An example of beliefs based on conjecture and myth was written in 1642 when the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, Dr. Lightfoot, proclaimed that the world was created at 9 a.m., on October 23, 4004 BC.  This refined dating was based upon the slightly earlier work of Archbishop Ussher of Armagh, who had already decided upon the year 4004BC, though his studies and calculations were based upon the Old Testament of the Bible. Such authoritarian statements had heralded in the Age of Reason. The urge to reduce an enigma by labelling and filing it from a dogmatic or pre-contrived system, is one of the most dangerous, and inherently, weakening the powers of the intellect.  How creation began is a mystery. Scientists believe life began in water. Perhaps as slime and gradually took on the distinctive qualities of life. Earth today does not have the same conditions that produced life in the beginning, nor is there evidence that show life can be reproduced from inorganic matter. The mystery of creation cannot be solved through dogma or evolutionary systems. It can only be approached through levels found in mythology, which speak directly to the imagination in timeless imagery and narrative. It comes from deep levels of consciousness which is at the heart of our being. If we lose contact with the key images within myth, or with mythic patterns, we will lose contact with a reality that transcends the short-sightedness of civilization. An example of thought is the distinctive characteristics of human social instincts which depend in turn, upon the prolonged association of the child under maternal teaching by the mother. It is also the extended immaturity of the child which exceeds anything found in the animal kingdom. It is possible that the first stages of human development consisted of small isolated groups corresponding in size to that of a family. However, such limited groups would not be able to offer scope for the development of social relations and instincts which are essential to human qualities. It is the communication and association between individuals within a larger community that such progress depends. Various groups probably evolved at the same time in different parts of the world. A reference can also be found in the Book of Geneses about Adam and Eve who gave birth to their sons Cain and Able. Cain, after killing his brother Able, moved away and joined a different family group where he raised his own family. The human mind is a social product, and at the same time, an organ capable of intimate communication. As a result, the culminating factors of language and conceptual thought were developed. Such development could not have taken place in isolated groups consisting of a few individuals only. Social evolution is dependent upon communities with larger groups of people rather than a single family unit. As a rule, larger groups have greater cultural and social development. It is almost impossible to identify human traits from the study of prehistoric records. The original location and date, the place of differentiation and the circumstances under which that transformation occurred requires further investigation. The formation of a larger community from the original family group according to Briffault (1921), might take place in two ways: either a number of neighbouring families might come together; or the mature offspring of the original family, instead of separating from their parents, might remain with them and found secondary families. In this respect, an ever-increasing group consisting of a number of associated families would result. Marriage with members from outside groups as well as within family units appears to have occurred as far back as 700BC.  In ancient Greece intermarriage with non-Greek communities was recorded in the Battle of Selinus 409BC. The Greeks defeated Segesta, a political centre originally occupied by migrants from parts of Asia and Turkey.  Later, Segesta became the political centre of Sicily.  Where the Greeks shared a community with non-Greeks such as in Leontini, the most ancient of Greek colonies, founded by Indo-European people where intermarriage was permitted. However, intermarriage on a much more substantial scale is widely held to have been practiced by Greeks as the rule in their colonization. This history of creating new communities may also serve as a model for other cultures through war and commerce. It had been reported that in Greek colonizing expeditions only the men went, who then took native women as their wives. Herodotus tells us about what happened in the Persian invasion of Miletus, the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities.
 " …these men did not take women to the colony, but married Carian women, whose fathers they killed. Because of this killing the women themselves made a law and imposed an oath on themselves (which they handed down to their daughters), never to eat together with their husbands, not to call their own  husband by his name…"
This passage relates to a foundation of the migratory period in Greece, and is presumably an explanation of a cause rather than historical fact. There is no evidence that show Greek colonists behaved in a way similar to Herodotus’ colonists at Miletus, and there are disagreements among scholars in regards to the belief that such behaviour was normal practice. The names of women and men on grave stones in Greek colonies were clearly Greek with no sign of foreign influence. Some of the graves date to the early days in the colony’s history and there are indications that show Greek women went on colonial expeditions with the men. Women played an important role in religion and politics during matriarchal times. There is evidence that show female prophets permeated every aspect of Greco-Roman social life. Prophetesses provided guidance for governments in the matter of military expeditions, the founding of colonies, advice for individuals in matters of marriage, travel, and the bearing of children.
Alexander the Great consulted the prophetess Sibyl, who provided oracles after his conquest of Egypt, and another woman received prophetic oracles she conveyed to the wife of Garius Marius, a Roman general and statesman who then assigned her as his religious adviser.
The late second century witnessed a revival of prophetic authority within Christianity, and women prophets again became prominent. In Phrygia, an ancient kingdom in Turkey, the prophecy movement was named after one of its founders, Montanus, a prophet who had previously worked closely with the two prophetesses Priscilla and Quintilla. Because their prophecies were received as oracles from God, they were carefully written down and preserved as a second Scripture by early Christians in Montanist communities. Reverence for the oracles of women prophets was chronicled by a bitter rival Hippolytus (170 – 235), a male Christian theologian in Rome, who was outraged by the fact that women were respected above the male apostles and that prophetesses were accepted as equal to that of Scripture.
Women prophets were teaching, baptizing, exorcising, and healing. There is a story about one female theologian who was also a leader of a gnostic congregation. She incensed Tertullian, an early prolific male Christian writer who used the term “Trinity” to promote patriarchal leadership.
The concept of a trinity began with the old sun-gods signifying birth, virility, and death, it was personified in the three individual facets of the one personification.  In Christian theology we can see the remnants of triads in the Holy Trinity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Despite male dominance, the mysterious power of women shown in their ability to reproduce as if by magic, led to women being associated with the gods of fertility.  It was believed that the intercourse between sun and moon caused the moon to scatter prolific principles over the earth creating life. As a result, ancient tribes worshipped the moon as a female principle. She had her temples, priests and priestesses. The goddess was the most important deity and ruler over all things. The creation of this analogous concept of a distinct female reproductive force led to strong dissatisfaction and opposition. In addition, there was visualized a conflict of the male and female deities for supremacy.  
Hesiod (8^th - 7^th century BC) a Greek poet, in his Theogony testifies to the existence of such conflicts. Consequently, Ouranus, the god of fire, was hated by his consort Gaea (earth). He was accused of cruelty to his own progeny.  As well, there is the account of Saturn emasculating the tyrant god, and asserting the female principle. This, in turn, was overwhelmed by the sect of Jupiter establishing the apparent superiority of the male principle, leaving only an optional pre-eminence to the female principle, exhibited in the mysteries associated with the worship of Ceres at Eleusis, an ancient Greek cult with beliefs in immortality.
A myth is a story embodying and declaring a relationship pattern between humanity and the environment. It includes continuity, composition and relationships, which form specific and recognisable patterns. The pattern of relationship in a myth is part of a sequence deriving from traditional roots deep in early human history. It is often a narrative and, more significantly, a visual exposition of specific concepts. These concepts are expressed as tales or verses concerning magic, metaphysics and energies of life and death.  
This shows that the transition of goddesses to the emerging rule of male gods is the most momentous revolutions in the history of humanity.
Nevertheless, in the fifth century BC, the status of women found various expressions in ritual. Women had special goddesses by whom they swear, they had their own festivals at which they may leave their apartments and socialize. The most important of these is Thesmophoria, a festival held in Greek cities, in honour of the goddesses Demeter and her daughter Persephone. The women would live together for three days in temporary barracks electing presidents and forming their own state.  Men were strictly excluded. The cities had its own common hearth, established as a centre for the magistrates and the members of the Council to dine together. There was also a temple of Apollo Patrons which means ‘from the fathers’ and in the market place a temple of the Mothers of the Gods. But the supreme authority rested with Athena, the goddess of the Acropolis. However, over against these female and peaceful aspects, the sixth century had already stressed the warlike features of the goddess. Images showing Athena the goddess striking down a giant, was the recurrent subject woven into body length garments.
Certain shared norms, inherent in shared customs and common values as expressed in a common language, provides a facet of cultural unity. Honour, justice, excellence, obligation, favour and other complex words denote values and expectations constitute a single interlocking system of thought and belief.
In When Sex Was Religion, the goddess changed her gender not because of forces of nature, but, because of common values that began and hinged on the evolution and aggressive nature of the patriarch. – Dr. Larry J. Falls, Ed.D., ACS

What is Love?

Even though it must be said that "love makes the world go round," few sexologists have addressed this subject in any detail. Nevertheless, we have felt love in one way or another. Many of us have dreamed of it, struggled with it, or basked in its pleasures. It is also safe to say that most of us have been confused by it. This article will focus on the complicated relationships between love, sex, and marriage in an effort to reduce at least some of this confusion.
Trying to define love is a difficult task. Besides loving a spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend, people can love their children , parents, siblings, pets, or country, as well as rainbows, chocolates, or a sports team. Although the English language has only one word to apply to each of these situations, there are clearly different meanings involved.
When we talk about person-to-person love, A simple definition is: "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." This is certainly the love that Shakespeare described in Romeo and Juliet, in music that popular singers celebrate, and led Edward VIII, the King of England, to marry the woman in his life.

                                                                      Edward VIII

In any type of love, the element of caring about the loved person is essential. Unless genuine caring is present, what looks like love may be just one form of desire.  For example, a teenage boy may tell his girlfriend "I love you" just to convince her to have sex with her. In other cases, the desire to gain wealth, status, or power may lead to a person to pretend to love someone to reach these goals.
Because sexual desire and love may both be passionate and all-consuming, it may be difficult to distinguish between them in terms of intensity. The key feature is the substance behind the feeling. Generally, sexual desire is narrowly focused and easily discharged. On the other hand, love is a more complex and constant emotion. In pure unadulterated sexual desire, the elements of caring and respect are minimal, perhaps present as an afterthought, but not a central part of the feeling. The desire to know the other person is defined in only a physical or sensual way, not in a spiritual one. The end is easily satisfied. When love may include a passionate yearning for sexual union, respect for the loved one is a primary concern. Without respect and caring, our attraction for another person can only be an imitation of love.  Respect allows us to value a loved one's identity and integrity and thus prevents us from selfishly exploiting them. According to one theory, people can achieve a meaningful type of love only if they have first reached a state of self-realization (being secure in one's own identity). The respect inherent in all love, is that a lover must feel, I want the loved person to grow and unfold for his/her own sake, and in their own ways, and not for the purpose of serving me."
However, love itself, can be a way of attaining self-realization. People have a great capacity to learn about themselves from a love relationship, although love cannot be a substitute for personal identity.
When respect and caring are missing from  a love relationship, the relationship serves the same needs that can lead people to abuse of alcohol. drugs, or addiction. The resulting "love" is really a dependency relationship.
When a person goes to another with the aim of filling a personal void in himself or herself, the relationship quickly becomes the center of his/her life. It offers solace that contrasts sharply with what he/she finds everywhere else, so the individual returns to it more and more until his/her needs are required each day to cope with otherwise a stressful and unpleasant existence.  
When a constant exposure to something is necessary in order to make life bearable, an addiction has been brought about, The ever-present danger of withdrawal creates an ever-present craving.
In reality there is not only one "right" way to love. Nor are all love relationships perfect unions we'd like them to be. Some relationships are exploitive, desperate, or simply unfulfilling. It is often difficult to draw a line between liking and loving. Although various researchers have tried to measure love not everyone agrees on whether love is a distinct separate entity. Some scientists believe that "the only real difference between liking and loving is the depth of our feelings and the degree of our involvement with the other person."  On the other hand, it's been observed that "it seems quite clear that more and more liking for another person does not, in the end, lead to romantic love; more and more liking just leads to a lot of liking. "  Liking and loving, while interrelated, are distinct phenomena.

Myth, and The Mystery of Life and Death

 

An important role of mythology is to help humanity understand the world in which we live, and to come to terms with our own place in the universe. In all cultures there are myths that speak of the powers of the gods over humanity, and of the limitations to which humanity is subject, and of the relationships of humans and animals to each other, and the world they share.
In early societies, storytellers and minstrel-poets used the spoken word, music, and drama, to keep alive and pass on  a society's heritage of oral tradition. They were regarded as very important people, and were responsible for providing the framework for passing down knowledge , skills, and moral codes.

Myth, legend, and folklore, are all part of the same oral tradition. They are all intertwined and influence each other. Themes from mythology sometimes occur in legend, while in less sophisticated cultures myths are difficult to separate from folk tales. Nevertheless, each of the three types does have particular character of its own.

Today, the word "myth" is often used to label any idea considered false. However, the myths of past ages were vehicles for expressing profound truths.

Mythology is closely associated with religion.

Myth is closely bound up with religion. Its concern is with matters that shape the lives of humanity, creation of the world, the relationships between gods and humans, the origin of life, the meaning of death, and the battle between good and evil.

Myths are attempts at explaining the great underlying truths of life. One of the greatest mysteries of all is how the world began -how the earth, sky, and heavenly bodies were formed, and how humanity was created.

There is a striking similarity between the creation myths of different lands. The universe was often seen as emerging from chaos, a vast formless ocean without light, or as hatching from an egg which  contained the germs of creation. A supreme being or divine couple emerged to bring order out of chaos, and to create light and life.

Few myths try to explain the origin of matter itself. Creation was usually seen as a rearrangement of existing matter into the shape of the known world. In most mythologies, the earth and sky were gods, as were the forces of nature, such as the sun and winds, which stirred up creation. 

A Greek vase -painting of a scene from Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus is tempted by the sirens, who tried to lure mariners to their deaths by their singing.

 

 

                                 The Aztecs had no written language; their myths were recorded in pictures.

A painting illustrating the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, composed about 300 BC . The hero, Rama (center) is helped in his struggle against evil by the monkey.

 

                           Thor, the Norse thunder god, in an illustration from an Islandic saga.

 

The more advanced societies, such as those of Greece, India, Persia, and Scandinavia, constructed family relationships and hierarchies among their gods known as pantheons. Often the gods in the pantheons had battles and quarrels among themselves, reflecting the difficulties of earthly governments.

In all cultures there are myths concerning the turning points in the lives of humans births, marriage, child bearing, and death. In ancient times, when myth evolved, there was no medical or psychological knowledge to explain these mysterious events. The myths became a vehicle for expressing the hopes, fears, and bewilderment of humanity confronted by the unknown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The human lifecycle, particularly that of the female, has its parallel in the changing rhythm of the seasons. Hence, myths about human life are closely related to other myths concerning the fertility of the spoil and the seasonal patterns of the growth, death, and regeneration of plant life. A common theme in many of these myths is the essential oneness of death and life: the renewal of fertility is often thought to depend on a prior death, and sometimes by deliberate sacrifice.

All cultures have myths about life after death. Sometimes life in the after-world was seen as a happy place, sometimes as a sort of limbo, and sometimes a place of dread.

The Sumerian underworld, called Irkalla, was situated beyond the mountains at the edge of the earth, and the dead were conveyed there across the water of death by a ferryman named Urshanabi.  Irkalla was a place of no return; its horrors could be lessened only for the brave, who were allowed to have their families join them in death for the journey.

The experiences of the individual after death were believed to depend on behaviour in his/her life, and was rewarded for bravery and  punished for misdeeds.  

The Celts had a special reward for warriors in their "land of the living" - a place of happiness, youth and health, where men and women lived in harmony, where the excitement of battle could still be savoured. Music, feasting, love-making were unlimited. Since all those who dwell in this paradise were immortal, wounds were immediately healed and the dead restored to life.

In Norse mythology, Valhalla was the paradise ordained by the god Odin for slain heroes. Here the warriors deemed worthy by the Valkyries feasted by night and fought by day.

In the mythology of  Zoroastrianism, severe judgement was passed on the souls of the dead. For every person good or bad, the three days after death were a period of danger, the newly dead were under constant attack from demons. After this time of testing, souls were weighed. Those found virtuous were led across the Chinvat Bridge, which joined earth to heaven. There they were accepted into one of four heavens, according to the degree of their good deeds in life. The wicked were unable to cross the bridge and fell into the abyss beneath it. They were punished by ingenious tortures, including wild beasts and cruel monsters representing their evil deeds. However, the Zoroastrian hell was not final - the appropriate punishment for each sin prepared the soul for ultimate redemption at a final resurrection.

 

                                        Souls crossing the Chinvat Bridge in Zoroastianism

 

 

In the Egyptian hall of the dead, the corn-god Osiris became king of the dead when he was killed and resurrected by the arts of embalming practiced by his wife Isis. It was believed that mortals could also achieve life after death if the exact techniques used by the gods were followed. When a man died, his widow impersonated Isis and led the mourners. The body was properly prepared by embalming, and the soul was judged. It was weighed against a feather, representing truth, under the direction of Thoth, the baboon-headed god of wisdom, and Anubis, jackal-headed conductor of dead souls. If the scales balanced, the deceased was brought before Osiris, who judged him to be worthy of an afterlife of eternal bliss. The wicked were devoured by a monster.

 

 

The god Anubis weighs the souls of the dead against a feather , symbolizing Moat, goddess  of truth. The monster Amemait waits below the scales, ready to devour those found unworthy.

 

 

 

Osiris, supreme judge of the dead, seated on his throne. Before him stand the four sons of the god Horus, guardians of the jars in which the intestines of the dead were embalmed.

It's doubtful whether any new myths are being evolved in the modern world. Perhaps because it is too steeped in scientific attitudes. Folk tales have been largely superseded by literature. Legend, however, although stripped of its more fantastic and magical elements, is still a living form, as people always feel the need to invest those they admire  with larger-than-life characteristics.

It has been stated that 'myth is a charter for social action,' meaning that myths were models for acceptable behaviour, or illustrations for sanctions against things not socially acceptable, and therefore, were the basis of ethics.

 

  

 

 

 

 

Aging and Mental Illness

 

Since the time of Hippocrates, physicians included conditions what we now consider mental illnesses in their classifications of disease. These conditions were treated in the  same way as physical disorders, using potions, medicine, and other forms of physical intervention. Nevertheless, the belief that insanity is similar to other diseases met with resistance during two periods in Western history. The first followed Thomas Aquinas, a philosopher and theologian who attributed insanity to supernatural possession. The second occurred late in the eighteenth century, when physicians influenced by René Descartes, considered mental illness a disease of the mind rather than body. The psychoanalytic schools emerging at the end of the 19th century promoted this philosophy, treating mental illnesses as psychiatric disorders. Although, medical opinion continues to be uneasy about this issue.  

The study of the frequency of diseases is called epidemiology. Epidemiological studies provided the first comprehensive survey of mental disorders at different ages.

Depression in later life stands opposite to mental well being on a mental health continuum. The symptoms of depression in older people include

- depressed mood

- loss of pleasure

- sleep disturbance

- appetite disturbance

- loss of energy

- difficulty in concentration

- low self-esteem

- psychomotor agitation

- suicidal thoughts

At least five symptoms must be present almost everyday during a two-week period. The worldwide prevalence of depression indicates higher rates among women than in men, and for unmarried  (e.g., divorced, separated) than for married people. Depression in older people increases the risk of mortality from physical illness and suicide. It also contributes to cognitive decline in the non-demented elderly, and may be an early manifestation (rather than predictor) of dementia. 

 Diseases of Memory and Judgement

 The two main conditions associated with impaired cognitive functions in later life are dementia and delirium. Dementia at this stage in life takes the form  of Alzheimer's disease, and to a lesser extent vascular dementia. Both involve a progressive deterioration in cognitive capability because of changes within the brain, but they have different causes. Alxheimer's disease is associated with plaques and tangles in brain matter. Vascular dementia is caused by stroke or artery disease, which staves the brain of oxygen, and includes signs of focal neurological damage. Delirium is a disturbance of the consciousness and cognition associated with a medical condition. Delirium may also be caused by the use or withdrawal  of drugs, or other conditions.

Risk factors for dementia included family history, low education, and head injury, with low risk associated with arthritis and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.  Recent research on risk factors show that low physical activity in people aged over 65 years may be predictive of the onset of dementia within a six-year period. 

There is a predictable stage-by-stage progression of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. The symptoms include forgetfulness, confusion, failure to recognize familiar people, loss of memory for recent events, disorientation, and the loss of all verbal ability. Other symptoms that accompany cognitive decline include lack of social involvement, behavioural disturbance, and limitations in everyday activity.

Delirium differs from dementia because its (1) onset is abrupt, (2) duration is usually brief, and (3) appearance coincides with that of another ailment.  

Mental health is a continuum  ranging from well-being to distress, and, although older people have rates lower than young people for most diagnosed mental health issues, old people have a higher number for cognitive impairment. Also, the findings on depression may be misleading. Older people often express depression without sadness, but with a loss of pleasure. Depression in elderly people responds well to treatment.

Democracy is More Than A Right

As a scientist, I find it fascinating how science and democracy are defining the values of western society. Although the tension between the two  has long been a critical theme, the two are mutually supportive. Considering that democracy stands for open discussion on the part of all citizens, science has always been the domain of knowledge elites. Whereas  democracy seeks to encourage a wide range  of viewpoints and perspectives, science strives to limit the number of participants in the pursuit of the one correct answer. Reconciling these differences has never proved easy.   It has been argued that democracy can be grounded in the scientific pursuit of truth, however, the most prominent argument, from the social constructionist perspective seeks to understand science in a social-political perspective.

A look at democracy

Citizen participation is the cornerstone of the democratic political process. Government decisions should reflect the consent of those who are governed. Citizens in a democracy have the right and obligation  to participate meaningfully in public decision making and to be informed about the basis of government policies. In this respect, citizen participation in the policy process can contribute to the legitimization of policy development and implementation. It can also be understood as helping to build and preserve present and future decision-making capacities. Based on individual knowledge and use of reasoning, participation prevents the effects of interest groups that often plague the majority of voters.

In this respect, broad public participation makes an effective as well as a normative contribution to democratic policy making. By decreasing conflict and increasing acceptance in decisions made  by government agencies, it can provide citizens with an opportunity to learn about policy problems. Such learning is the only way that can improve the chances that the public will support the resulting decisions. On the other hand, even when it does not increase such support, it offers the possibility of clearing up misunderstandings about the nature of a controversy and the views of various participants. This can also contribute to building trust in the process, with benefits for dealing with similar issues in the future.

In regards to the scientific approach associated with citizen participation, the relevant wisdom is not limited to scientific specialists and public officials. Participation by diverse groups and individuals can provide important information  and insights about policy problems. Non-specialists may contribute substantially to identifying various aspects of problems  that need analysis, by raising important questions of fact that experts have not addressed, and by offering knowledge about specific conditions.  Public participation can also play a significant role in the examination and consideration of social, ethical, and political values that cannot be addressed solely by analytical techniques. Citizen participation plays an important role in politics and the construction of social knowledge.