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Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor by Joseph Campbell
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Joseph Campbell Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2001-10-10 ISBN: 1577312023 Number of pages: 192 Publisher: New World Library
Book Reviews of Thou Art That: Transforming Religious MetaphorBook Review: Knowledgeable, but bad hermeneutics, and no exegesis of text Summary: 2 Stars
This book is a collection of unpublished works compiled by the Joseph Campbell Foundation after his death, and represents most of Campbell's ideas on the Judeo-Christian mythological worldview. I have some familiarity with Joseph Campbell's books, and have studied the Hero's Journey and watched the Power of Myth series.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Campbell's distinction between eastern and western mythological views more developed, as he explained the differences in how symbols are interpreted and applied in eastern and western cultures, though he still does not touch the differences in the *relationship* of good and evil in Western vs. Eastern mythologies.
Campbell is a master of myths, and has put a lot of time and research into his ideas, and for this he deserves a lot of respect. Because of his knowledge of various source material, students who are unfamiliar with the Bible may not detect problems with his interpretations. But fallacies arise because he narrowly views the Christian tradition thru the lens of Catholicism, which I believe misrepresents the Bible.
For example, Campbell accuses Christianity of teaching that a relationship with God comes thru the "Institution." Again, that may be what is taught in Catholicism, but not according to many other denominations.
In Thou Art That, Campbell frequently accuses the "Church" of over-emphasizing rituals and symbols, and interpreting the Bible very literally. But, Christians will dismiss that by pointing out that there are many churches out there who delve into the deeply spiritual meanings of the Bible. And many Protestant churches already reject the ritualism and pagan traditions that the Roman church had introduced.
Campbell uses questionable doctrines that are unique to the Roman Catholic tradition to show how they come from eastern mythologies, but these teachings themselves are not to be found anywhere in the Bible! For example, the teaching that the Virgin Mary ascended to heaven, among other things, is not found in the Bible. You cannot use non-Biblical sources to prove that the Bible says something that it doesn't. (Whew) But, he constantly pulls from non-Biblical sources to say that they are a part of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Campbell frequently quotes from the Gospel of Thomas as if it is a part of the Christian "mythological view" even though most Christian churches reject it as being false and uninspired.
Campbell makes some good points in looking at the spiritual meaning of religious texts. But, principles of hermeneutics tells us that the "spiritual interpretation" of something should at least be compatible with the literal interpretation and not say opposite things, otherwise the "spiritual" interpretation may be a misunderstanding. Campbell's spiritual interpretation of Genesis conflicts with the moral of the literal story. Campbell says that God wanted Adam and Eve to sin, but if you read the Bible literally, God did *not* want Adam and Eve to sin. Campbell says that as a result of the Fall, Adam and Eve became more in tune with God/nature, but according to the literal story of the Fall, they fell out of harmony with God and nature. Thus, his spiritual interpretation says the *exact opposite* of the literal interpretation.
Campbell is right in that one tree in the Garden of Eden represents Unity while the other tree represents Duality. Then Campbell theorizes that they are the same tree. But, this contradicts the point of the two trees to begin with. They both represent two different worldviews: the Tree of Life represents the worldview of harmony thru Good (no Evil), while the Tree of Knowledge represents the worldview of harmony thru mingling Good and Evil. It is not Good versus Evil, but rather Good versus Good AND Evil-- that is Unity versus Duality. This would be consistent with lessons from the literal story. But Campbell thinks that in the "spiritual" context, they are really the same tree, essentially interpreting both of them only as Duality, and thus contradicting the meaning derived from the literal interpretation of the story.
In general, Campbell tries to say that an underlying theme in mythology is that harmony is obtained thru going beyond opposites. On the other hand, anybody who reads the Bible in a straight-forward way will see the theme is consistently that harmony is obtained not thru "going beyond" good and evil, but rather thru the *separation* of good and evil--this is the underlying theme in the Judeo-Christian tradition and it stands in stark contrast to the worldview that Campbell attempts to interpret out of the Bible.
Summary of Thou Art That: Transforming Religious MetaphorThou Art That is a compilation of previously uncollected essays and lectures by Joseph Campbell that focus on the Judeo-Christian tradition. Here Campbell explores common religious symbols, reexamining and reinterpreting them in the context of his remarkable knowledge of world mythology. According to Campbell, society often confuses the literal and metaphorical interpretations of religious stories and symbols. In this collection, he eloquently reestablishes these metaphors as a means to enhance spiritual understanding and mystical revelation. With characteristic verve, he ranges from rich storytelling to insightful comparative scholarship. Included is editor Eugene Kennedy?s classic interview with Campbell in The New York Times Magazine, which brought the scholar to the public?s attention for the first time.
Theology Books
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