From: kambizm@fidibus.uio.no 
Subject: Religion and mythology
Reply-To: kambizm@fidibus.uio.no 
Organization: University of Oslo, Norway
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 18:04:11 GMT


Some cultural historical droppings (fazle):

There is little activity on the net and I have much time
so I thought I may induldge in a task a technocrat should 
avoid! And it is  history. But since there is ghahtolrejal of 
social scientists and as the saying goes that: Do chiz azad
ast, laf dar ghorbato, gooz dar bazare mesgari;I shall proceed:


I should not go in to the burning discussion of the common
origin of mythology and religion but a short history may
suffice. Many antropologists attribute the rise of mysticism
to the dreaming of the primitive humans. They thought and many 
think yet that dreams are but a soul wandering. In dreams every
thing becomes vivid and everything acquires a soul. Pantheistic 
religions are originated from this so called natural perception
of dreams. As the time passed an abstraction  of 
these primitive religious and mythical notion happenned.
An abstraction from pantheism to multitheical religion of greeks
and persians to dualism of Zaratostianism and monotheism of 
Judeo-christianity. In the Pelican history of world the role of
Zaratostianism on forming some central notions of Judeo
_christianity. The role of fire in Zaratostianism as something
that clean (like a strong detergent!!) has adapted by the Judaistic
religions as the notion of hell fire. Also the notion of angels are
borrowed from Zaratostianism. Manistic religion has had a special
influence on the post Christ christianity. Mani supporters who fled 
from the prosecution in the hand of Zaratostians influenced very much
religious movements in the region. They went far to east and west,
to India, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. So even if Nitchze attacked 
Christianity as an Anti Aryan religion and indian and persian 
religions as the pure Aryan ones (refere to his Anti christ or 
thus spoke Zarathostra) christianity in itself was very much 
influenced  by persian religions (Nitchze meant that christianity 
is too giving and a semitic religion).
Religious text have many older or contemporary mythical events.
I remember to read a greek myth very near to bibelical story of
Abraham offering Esmayil (or Isac!). The story was this:
Zeus asks one of his subjects to offer his son to try him and
as he tries, Zeus sends a ship with golden fleece for him to 
sacrifice in place of the son. The golden fleece skin takes a central
place in Jason's adventures later on as it could do many miracles.
It is perhaps a digression but ofcourse mythologies are very mixed
too. I have read some  same stories in
Odysse of Homer happenning to Olyss while the same happens to Sandbad in 
one thousand and one night (Originally comming from india to persia
with the name hezar afsane, Take the story of the cyclope eating 
Olysse's friends). Also misunderstandings have had funny effects. When
the Old Testament (Torat) was translated to latin, a mistake was made.
The word light and horn was the same in Hebraic. So the expression that
Moses face lighted when god appeared to him became to he grew a horn.
It is why Michealangoes Moses sculpture has got a horn.
 


Now a joke:

Yek rooz Gebreil be Hazrate adam mikhande va mige:
To toye hameye donya hamin ye bargo dari. Hazrate adam
javab mide ke na, ye koobide o do ta goje ham ziresh 
daram.


                                  Shad bashid    Kambiz