Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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How Religious Thought is Encapsulated in Martyrdom Myths
How do myths of martyrdom encapsulate religious thought? This was the question that we explored this week within our discussion group, we focused on two main ways that these myths showcase religious thought. The first being how myths of martyrdom serve as an expression of trust and loyalty to one’s religious convictions, and secondly,…
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Hidden Messages in Temptation Myths
As we mentioned in our group discussion this week, Satan’s temptation of Christ represents three different temptation; hedonism, egoism, and materialism, which are the three main temptation for people. In contrast to Satan’s temptation of Christ, The Story of Harut and Marut comes to a different ending. While Jesus maintained his position of being faithful…
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The Miraculous Birth of Christ and Other Similar Narratives
This week our group was tasked with discussing two components from the virgin birth of Christ and relating them the narratives from other religions and myths. An optional discussion was also given regarding what the agency of fantastical beings in religious narratives are according to us. One of the similarities discussed by our group was…
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A look at the Components of Myth: Superhuman Beings, Faith in a Higher Power, and Martyrdom.
Myths have several components embedded in them to allow them to deliver an underlying message. These components vary across religions and cultures, but there are several that remain constant. Two components from the David and Goliath myth that we focused on were the notion that bigger is associated with being stronger and that there is…
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Narrative Parallels Gleaned from Exodus and Perspectives on Martyrdom
During our discussion this week, my group and I focused on determining what narrative parallels we could establish between components of the Book of Exodus and myths of other religious traditions, as well as what the concept of martyrdom meant to each of us personally. Parallels with Exodus For our discussion on narrative parallels that…
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The Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel. The origin myth of the tower of Babel could be seen to reflect on two major components; the diversity of speaking different languages and how humans became scattered all over the world. When we look at the tower of Babel from a different perspective, it could be seen as a story…
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The Power of Mythology
In the discussion this week, my group focused on religious narratives and identified some of overarching themes and components that were common within them. To begin, we analyzed the popular Christian narrative of David and Goliath, as told in the biblical Book of Samuel. David and Goliath tells the story of how the young Israelite…
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Sodom and Gomorrah: The Cities of Sulfur and Fire
You may be wondering what Sodom and Gomorrah are; you might not be familiar with these two names immediately, however, it is most likely that you have heard their story. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is mentioned across several religious texts, from the Bible to The Testament to the Quran. Sodom and Gomorrah are…
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Jinns: Neither Human, Monster, Nor Gods
For this week, our group took a look at mythologies on the Jinns, powerful supernatural beings popular in Arabian folklore, and the similarities we saw with myths from other religions. For those of us that aren’t well versed in Arabian folklore, we commonly think of Jinns, also known as Genies, as these humanoid, supernatural beings…
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Fantastical Beings in Religion: Where Did They Come From and Why Are They Here?
The origin of fantastical beings remain a mystery to this day. Some speculate that they are derived from human imagination and creativity, others believe that the beasts are used as a tool to establish man’s place in the cosmos, or perhaps, these fantastical beasts are another icon devoted to inspiring faith among people. In David…
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