***ERIN: Nargess I think you are interpreting my use
of the word myth in saying that base of religion is
false. Religions are passed on generation to
generation through stories. I am not sure of your
religion but I am having trouble imaginging a religion
with no stories to explain it. The best stories seem
to register because of the truth in them. (the stories
don't have to be a part of religion for example Pirsig
but they can be too) Myths allow people to communicate
their beliefs but that doesn't mean their beliefs are
delusions it just means religions are transmitted
through them (partly at least).***
***RAYMOND: Okay, I would think it's important to
remember that the religion in discussion is Western
religion.
***ERIN: I was not limiting it to Western religion. I
really cannot think of any religion that doesn't use
stories--if you know of any I would be interested in
hearing about them.***
***RAYMOND: I understand that myths are a way of
passing on the moral (social) values of any religion
through the generations, but in the case of Western
religion, these are designed to preserve the religion
itself. Within the Metaphysics of Quality, religious
practice is a static social pattern, and has the
tendency to prevent Dynamic intellectual Quality.***
***ERIN: The religious practice may be a static social
pattern but I think the creating of myths is a dynamic
intellectual process.***
***RAYMOND: This should be considered as one of the
major reasons Western religion is fading away. I
would think that the MoQ would recognize the "need for
religion" but not as a prefered way of living. Keep
in mind, the man who lives by myths alone, is arguably
not living at all; the myths are living for him. Long
live Dynamic Quality! (which is an interesting
thought, in-and-of itself...)***
***ERIN: If I asked you to tell me who you are, you
would give me a STORY. If I asked you to tell me how
humans came to exist you would give me an evolutionary
STORY. You think your intellectual status prevents
you from living by myths you are mistaken. Intellect
helps you to live by choosing better stories to live
by. Your interest in dynamic quality means that you
are using Pirsig's STORY to help create your own
STORY. The cry for myth is NOT a cry to go to mass on
Sunday it is need to make your life coherent and your
response makes me think that I should send a shipload
of kleenex because you are sobbing for it.***
Erin, your points are well taken and I thank you for
making them. Please understand that this is very new
to me, and I'm doing my best to understand it; I'm
bound to stumble along the way. I also don't want to
give the impression that I'm trying to achieve some
form of myth-free existence through my own intellect,
or that I think it's a desired state. I'm really
trying to get this all in... but no kleenex, yet.
My comments that divided Eastern and Western religions
were not made trying to prove that one has myths and
the other doesn't, although I can see how I left
myself open for that. I do, however, think that in
many cases, Western myth plays a much more active role
in its religions. I know that without myth, most
societies would never last long. But it is also my
opinion (just an opinion) that in recent history, some
of the morals these myths have provided are beginning
to run into problems with the situations our world has
run into. Now that I think of it, this point has
already been made in ZAMM (ch. 14.)
I'd be interested if anyone would shed some light on
this without telling me to go blow my nose (just
joking, Erin.)
Raymond
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