LL: I grew up Catholic. I was really religious; I even wanted to be a nun when I grew up. When I got older I learned more about other religions and found some of the ideas interesting. It started with the comparative mythology studies of Joseph Campbell; for the first time, I saw parallels in different religions and thought that they were all aiming toward deeper truths, each in its own way. I couldn't join a single religion myself now because I would find its dogma and world view too limiting.

Having previously known nothing about other religions, I didn't know there were many ancient flood stories. I learned about the epic of Gilgamesh. That was one of the points where I began to question the Bible's monopoly on the truth. I saw the flood story as a myth that had been shared by other cultures, probably as a way of documenting a real event -- a local flood -- that had happened in the past. I saw the myth of the hero, and the the typical conventions of that (such as the descent to the underworld and rebirth in the world above) enacted in many religious stories. Campbell was particularly intrigued by the hero-myth and I can see why: it's very powerful, and it says something about what it is to be a human being. I don't use the term "myth" lightly, as a synonym with "lie"; myths are wonderful ways of getting to deeper truths through resonating with the collective unconscious and human experience.


Jeanie: Not sure if you've caught what I've said, but I didn't grow up any certain way so was exposed to more earlier although was too young to really care much about particular doctrines till after my dad had died. Personally, though, I see the fact that so many people's had known about a world wide flood as evidence to the fact that it happened rather than a psychological insight. I can see what you mean, too, about myths, but the concept of a God had to come from somewhere, too. We all look up to our parents as children. It's not so far fetched. I worry you're losing faith altogether to be honest.