Tonight’s lecture was about myth, symbols, and the theology of sacrament. Symbols are signs that are visible and tangible that also point to some reality, but they are more than simple signs, like EXIT or STOP, because they also participate in the reality to which they point. A ring on a finger is often the symbol of marriage and it points to another person. Symbols have power like words have power, and in fact words can be symbols. Christ as Sacrament precedes our understanding of Church as Sacrament. The handbook called Enchiridion Symbolism is the Church's notebook of symbols. It is a very complete list of statements that embody faith but are not equal to faith. Symbols move us through levels of reality, like gifts or poems or music. There are universal symbols like jewelry, circles, and blue jeans, and religious symbols, like the cross, or bells, or incense.
Symbols come from a collective subconscious, and they grow and die naturally; they cannot be legislated. For instance even though Latin was not in general use people were upset when our liturgy was "switched" to the vernacular. Even when symbols change form they maintain their power, and although they both reveal and conceal, balance is critical. Symbols embody signs at one extreme and reality at the other. When signs and reality come too close together it results it idolatry. The signs and reality of symbols must not be too far apart either, because that results in emptiness. Teachings evolve and change the same as symbols evolve and change. The Eucharist is a symbol and a sacrament, because in some cases sacrament and symbol are almost interchangeable.
Calvin was unable to find the presence of God in and through ritual, which is why he said, "The finite cannot embody the infinite". Obviously, myth is not equal to fairy tale; it is a story line that points to some reality beyond itself while participating in that reality. Myth must be broken through (not destroyed) like opening a window, because it must be opened for understanding. A symbol embodies signs that point us to a reality which in turn points us back to the signs. Just as the the story points us to meaning and the meaning points us back to the story, myth points us to meaning which in turn points us back to the myth. Breaking open the myth leads to an understanding of the meaning of the myth, and in turn it deepens the power of the myth such that more of the story is revealed.
Catholics should not be anxious about the Protestant movement. Luther wasn't trying to create a new church, he was trying to improve his (our) church. The very real danger seen by Martin Luther was taking visible signs of the infinite and equating them as equal with the infinite. Because the Catholic Church didn't respond ... appropriately ... others like Calvin moved beyond Luther which has resulted in the disconnected Church we see today. Catholics still make God present through community and through symbols that are visible, tangible, signs (called Catholic substance) that point to a deeper relationship with God. The Protestant Principle is "Only God is God". For instance the Bible is the Word of God and signs are symbols of God's presence but they are not God. We agree with and accept the Protestant Principle that nothing finite must be made infinite. The most important myth that should be broken to be understood, is theology, as we endeavor to understand where we come from (Protology) and where we are going to (Eschatology).
Obviously some things are not myth, such as things that do not have meaning for our lives. Myths are something we participate in and science is something we understand. Originally myths were self contained, like the idea that the world was flat. The discovery of the Americas proved the world was round but presented a problem, because the New World was "in the way" of trade. As the flat earth myth was broken a new deeper understanding of the world developed. Unfortunately, the theology of some like Calvin condemned all of the new world inhabitants as lost sinners, while Catholic theology didn't believe that God would condemn the inhabitants of the New World.
Myths that are strongly set up become paradigms, but nevertheless, myths are always evolving and changing which might be referred to as a continued loss of innocence. Just like discovering that there is no Santa Claus, the myth is only deepened as we discover the true nature of Santa Claus. This is true of Anselm's Satisfaction Theory as well, which was the Catholic teaching that the cross saved us from our sins because it satisfied God's sense of judgment for sin. It had to change because it does not make sense of our belief in God, and it has done more harm than good over the years. Biblical stories like the Prodigal Son do not support the Theory of Satisfaction, and in breaking that myth our understanding of who God is has deepened. We know that God loves us and is waiting for us.
We cannot live without myth, and it's important to realize that we can only understand the myth if we don't reject it. Myth is not equal to untruth, "The empirical scientific verifiable truth of the myth is immaterial to the meaning the myth is trying to portray." Jesus was breaking myths when he said, "It's not what goes into your mouth but what comes out of it", and when He said, "I came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it". An example of a myth that I don't accept is, "We no longer have any need for myth because now we have science and knowledge". An example of a myth that I do accept is, "God acted in Jesus' life in such a way that it has meaning for my life". My life has meaning because Jesus is within.
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