1. The Greatest Myth

2. What is a myth? Myths are stories that a particular culture believes to be true. Myths may use the supernatural to interpret natural events, explain the nature of the universe, and humanity.

3. What is a myth? Continued Myths are universal, occurring in almost all cultures. They typically date from a time before any written language. They were passed orally from one generation to the next. Myths deal with basic questions about the nature of the world and human experience.

4. Examples of Christian Myths (To non-believers of course…) Sin Demons and Angels The Story of Creation The Virgin Birth Jesus’ miracles Moses parting the red sea

5. Examples of Christian Myths (To non-believers of course…) Continued “God helps those who help themselves.”

6. What about legends, and fairy tales (Folklore)? Even though a myth can include them, they are not the same thing. A legend is a fictional story associated with a historical person or place. An Example of a legend would be the story of young George Washington and the cherry tree.

7. What about legends and fairy tales(folklore)? Continued Fairy tales are stories for children about fairies or other imaginary beings and events, often containing a moral message Fairy tales are a third variety of traditional tales. They are usually simple narratives of an adventure built around elements of a character and plot. An example would be Cinderella.

8. Why is myth important to C.S.Lewis? Quotes taken from “Myth Became Fact” “To be truly Christian we must both assent to the historical fact and also receive the myth with the same imaginative embrace which we accord to all myths.” “If God choose to be mythopoeic– shall we refuse to be mythopathic?”

9. Resources http://www.biblegateway.com http://encarta.msn.com/artcenter_/browse.h tml http://encarta.msn.com/artcenter_/browse.h tml “Myth Became Fact” by C.S.Lewis