|
Author
|
Topic: Virgin Birth: Legend, Archetype, Truth?
|
proxieme
Knowflake Posts: 4217
From: Southern 'Bama
Registered: Aug 2002
|
posted November 20, 2004 11:08 AM
 
I was flipping through the channels while feeding Meg this morning and saw that "500 Nations" is playing on the base channel. Figuring it was as good as anything else, I started watching the episode. Afterwards, intrigued by the Peacemaker and the Great Law of Peace of the Iroquois, I looked some stuff up on 'em.
A bit of the first summary caught my attention:
Growth of the Peacemaker -
A boy is born to the virgin daughter of a Huron woman. Ashamed and depressed, the grandmother tries to destroy the baby three times, until she is told in a dream that the boy is destined to bring forth a good message from the Creator. He grows rapidly and is honest, generous and peaceful. http://sixnations.buffnet.net/Great_Law_of_Peace/ Do you think that the stories of "Virgin Birth", persistent throughout a number of cultures, may hold more of a kernel of truth than most would believe?
Or, perhaps, do you think that the concept of Virgin Birth symbolizes at some deep level "purity of Spirit"?
Both or neither, maybe? I would write more in depth, but Meg's begun to suck her thumb and look up forlornly at me. IP: Logged |
Kat
Knowflake Posts: 227
From: Cleveland, Ohio
Registered: Jan 2003
|
posted November 20, 2004 01:18 PM
Great question!
I don't think truth has to be literal. Sometimes a tall tale holds more truth than a point by point sterile account of what happened. Perhaps the virgin birth is symbolic, or an archetypal story. Maybe it stems for the idea of original sin because if the birth was by a virgin, the child would not have the "mark" of original sin and would then be pure or special. Yet, since this story is present in many non-Christian cultures this may not be so, but may still have the concept of purity in some way.IP: Logged | |
Lindaland
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
