Behind the curtain

Published: Wed, 04/22/20

What is true in religious mythology? If discussing mythology, is asking if something is literally true even a valid question? As a preacher in a church context the truth of the Bible is an issue which needed to be handled sensitively. Within the Christian community there are many different points of view on biblical truth and all I can do is work out how to walk a delicate line. One of the things I really liked about Norse Mythology when I got involved in Stav was that I wasn’t expected to believe that any of it was literally true. There may well be some basis in fact behind the stories of Odin, Thor and Tyr etc but we have no certain idea what it might be, so I don’t have to worry about it. However, in a Christian context we have four Gospels which tell roughly the same story but also have major differences between them. Why four different accounts? Why didn’t the early church just edit the four accounts into one coherent
narrative about the life of Jesus and tell future generations that this was the accurate history and could be believed in absolutely? It might have saved a lot of arguments over the centuries if they had done. On the other hand I think Christians were meant to realise that historical truth is combined with symbolic mythology and the two cannot be untangled, not then and not now.

My rule of thumb? If all four Gospels agree on an incident or teaching then I think it is may be true, or was considered true by enough people at the time of writing. If only a single Gospel carries a story which seems improbable then it may not be ‘true’ in the factual sense. I admit that this is a crude and simplistic approach but it serves as an introduction to my theme.

In Matthew’s gospel we are told that at the moment that Jesus died on the cross the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, (Matthew 27 v 51). The author of this Gospel gets a bit carried away and also writes of many people coming back from the dead. So, did it happen? None of the other Gospels mention these events and, since the curtain referred to was in the most restricted part of the temple, who would have known anyway? As a symbolic event the tearing of the curtain has enormous significance which is why the writer of Matthew’s Gospel includes the story.

The temple at the time of Jesus was by all accounts a magnificent building with many different areas. There were outer courts where gentiles could enter, areas which were accessible only to Jews, further areas which women could not enter, only Jewish men. Further areas reserved for priests only and finally the Holy of Holies where God was believed to reside behind a sacred curtain. Once a year a priest was chosen by drawing lots to enter behind the curtain and burn incense. There is a description of this ritual at the start of Luke’s gospel when Zechariah was chosen and discovered that he was going to be the father of John the Baptist. (Luke 1 v 5 to 25).

Religion works on many different levels. There are the priests who have managed to create and maintain belief that truth resides behind a curtain and only they are allowed to go behind the curtain. There are true believers who are convinced that the truth is behind the curtain and they trust the priests to report honestly what they discover there. There are many who don’t really know what to make of the whole business but find it is easier to go along with the general culture of accepting a belief structure. Every now and again someone comes along who attempts to shake up the whole nonsense but belief is a powerful thing which many people are unwilling to actually think about. The priests do not really want their authority challenged, true believers get very angry with ‘blasphemers and heritics’, and the gently skeptical don’t want their quiet lives disrupted. Jesus said that all that was needed was a willingness to love God
wholeheartedly and one’s neighbour as you love yourself. (Matthew 22 v 37). There was no need to send a priest behind a curtain to engage with God, he is accessible to anyone willing to engage with him. No wonder Jesus got himself crucified

At what level of thinking do we engage with the dominant religion of our time? Even if you think of yourself as an atheist, religion never goes away because life is still dominated by what we believe and who we trust to plant, maintain, and interpret those beliefs. These days we may give our priests the title of ‘scientist’ but the principle is the same. The wise people are always happy to show us the curtain and tell us that they are the only ones who can go behind and bring back the ‘truth’. How do I know this? I have been studying religion in various forms all my life (I do have a degree in Religious Studies) and am a priest myself in a minor way, but you don’t need me to go behind the curtain for you. In fact all I really want to tell people is that the curtain hiding the truth exists only in your mind and you can tear it in two any time you want to.

I sometimes get asked how can I be a Christian and do Stav? Or the other way around. Which is really just another way of asking me which side of the curtain do I belong on? The author of Matthew’s Gospel was telling his Jewish readers that there was no longer a curtain separating them from God. His description was symbolic but the experience is real. Personally I have never believed in curtains and every time I discover one I will always want to know what is behind it. Usually it is nothing of any consequence. Which curtain is hiding the truth from you right now? Go on, give it a pull! The fabric might be a lot easier to tear down than you imagine.

Regards

Graham

PS I am still hoping we can go ahead with the midsummer Rune Retreat but I can’t say for sure yet. However, in the meantime we do have some interesting ebooks available from https://iceandfire.org.uk/elit.html