Chapter 4: The Language of the Sacred
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Exam Review Items
Terms: myth, parable, canon, scripture, theology, tradition
● 4 functions of Sacred Stories: connect with sacred, order cosmos, traditio, and ethical
Reading/Reflection Questions
1. What is the difference between an empirical truth and an ultimate truth?
2. Give an example of myth that has a powerful influence upon all of the students in this
classroom.
3. What is an example of mythic element in the story of Buddha? (Elephant impregnates
Buddha’s mother.)
4. In light of the lecture materials, explain why persons committed to religious myths would
endorse the following: “Never let what actually happened get in the way of the truth.” What
kind of truth is “what actually happened” and what kind of truth is the meaning and purpose of
our existence?
5. What is the relationship between myth and cosmology? Can you have one without the
other?
6. What is an example of a parable from Thich Nhat Hahn?
Reading and Lecture
Religious language is most often poetic in the sense that, like poetry, it seeks to use ordinary words to
convey extraordinary meanings.
Religious Myth:
A story that sets up a world by describing ultimate reality and its relationship to humanity.
Myths seek to explain the ultimate meaning of the universe (cosmos) and our existence, its ultimate
origins, destiny, order (or disorder) and relationships. Purpose = revelation of the nature of the sacred,
the universe, and human nature. In short, “How does reality makes sense in light of the sacred?”
Myths seek to narrate or reveal a transcendent reality and its relation to ordinary reality.
Mythic time transcends ordinary time. Mythic events transcend “empirically observable” events.
They do not seek to record simply what happened in ordinary reality. They do not aim at
empirical or scientific truth (that can be tested via experiments).
Rather myths represent the collective experience and wisdom of a community over time
concerning the deepest meaning of reality and the ultimate frame of reference for understanding it
expressed in the most powerful and fundamental forms of human language—stories conveyed via
imaginative, poetic language (exaggeration = frequent vehicle because ordinary language
inadequate). A myth is like a pair of glasses or framework through which people “image” or see the
world.
For one who believes that there is no ultimate meaning to our world, no transcendent reality, or
that there is only our immediate experience as known empirically, myth are false or do not exist.
Examples of contemporary myths: Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Star Wars, Western Movies,
Rags to Riches stories, Joe Millionaire (or the one for Mary Millionaire), Extreme Makeover,
Desperate Housewives, Car commercials—if you drive this car you will have friends, lovers, wealth,
etc. . . .
Chapter 4: The Language of the Sacred
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Parable:
A story that upsets an existing world or turns it upside down; makes a point by violating our
expectations and calling into questions our assumptions. It seeks to shock the hearer into seeing
ordinary things in a new way, i.e., in light of the sacred reality which is totally “other” than the
ordinary and customary. A parable seeks to move people into a deeper engagement with sacred
reality. Sacred figures often perform “parabolic actions” or actions that upset the way things are and
open our eyes to a new reality.
Examples of Parables/Parabolic Actions
1. Zen koan: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
2. CK, p. 65: A seeker to the Buddha “Are you a god or a magician?”
Buddha: “I am not a god or a magician. I am awake.”
Awake seems ordinary but it is not. Greatness can’t lie in it.
3. Jesus seeks to open people’s eyes to the kingdom of God when he reads from Isaiah 61:1-2 in
Luke “The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let
the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year of favor from Yahweh [a jubilee year]” . . . and a
day of vengeance for our God . . Luke 4:18-19
4. Good Samaritan = like the good Al Qaeda terrorist. Our social status does not determine our
holiness; but our compassion—even a compassion that violates social customs re: ritual purity.
That is what God wants.
5. Matthew 25: Whenever you did it to the least of my brothers and sisters you did it to me—Christ is
encountered in the needy.
6. Prodigal Son or Workers in the Vineyard—those who worked a little get paid the same as those
who worked a lot; or Unforgiving debtor.
Canon:
A measuring reed or stick, ruler, standard; list of authoritative texts/scriptures in a tradition
Scriptures:
Literally “writings” (scripture—“that which is written”), writings considered sacred and
authoritative in a particular community.
Example: The “sutra” (or Pali “sutta”), i.e., a short exposition on a particular teaching of the
Buddha, is the basic form of the scriptures in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism (Ex. Chapter 2 of
Thich Nhat Hahn is his interpretation of and reflection on the “Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra.”)
Theology:
Understanding of/reflection on God/sacred/faith;
“faith seeking understanding”
Systematic explanation of the meaning of sacred stories and their conceptual relations as well
as translation of this meaning in contemporary language. Transform story into doctrine that speaks to
today’s world.
Chapter 4: The Language of the Sacred
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● 4 functions of Sacred Stories (including scriptures):
1. Connect us to the sacred: reveal the sacred and provide a vehicle for (or mediate) encounter
with the sacred through the imaginative experience and ritual re-enacting of the story; reveal a
path to the sacred (ex. Buddha’s journey to enlightenment); provide insight/wisdom re:
ultimate truth.
2. Order the cosmos: give an account of the nature, purpose, order, and destiny of the universe,
explain how things are related, where things belong, what they mean, how it all fits together
ultimately; relate the transcendent reality to the ordinary reality.
3. Traditio: “hand over” a way of life, worldview, set of practices, values, and stories that
constitute a community over time from one generation to the next. Remember truth handed on
from the past and bring it to life in the present by helping people to apply it and live it out
today. Continue a way of life and teach it to the next generation. Tradition—an extended
conversation about the meaning of life of a community over time.
4. Convey an Ethic: present patterns, models (saints, prophets), and standards of behavior for
living in harmony with the sacred order. Ex. Sunna = the beaten path of the prophet
Mohammed.