Joseph Cambpell

Wow! What a discovery.

As I mentioned in my initial post, I am an atheist. Up until this point, I couldn't put my finger on what impact this had on my life as opposed to others who believe in a god or gods. Some would say that I lack a meaning to my life; but that isn't it. I don't ask myself the meaning of life.

I am only beginning to read this book, The Importance of Mythology. The ideas are sinking in, the light is going off in my head, I see the importance of his message. I just haven't been able to bring it home yet. I want to bring it home.

An important aspect he brings out, at least that I am picking up, is hero worship. This is something Ayn Rand touched on as well. We need and love hero's and they don't have to be real life heros. Even a real life "hero" becomes agrandized (is that a word?) to become more than the heroic person they really are. They give us something to aspire to become. They add color and excitement to our lives. If I am an atheist, who is my hero? To a Christian, the hero is Christ, To Muslims....Muhammad......The Jews, well they're still waiting for theirs to arrive. Who becomes an atheist's hero?

Something else he touches on is how outdated the mythology is. The bible dates back for centuries and doesn't even belong to the west. How do we take so much of today's technology and discoveries and establish a new myth to generate our imaginations. Perhaps he answers this question later in the book. ... or in another book. I'm only just beginning to grasp his ideas.

I'm inspired.