Today's Myths

I know I have not posted recently- life gets in the way- but now it is summer and with my time off, I thought to give time to something that I have tried conceptualizing for years. Every single generation in our history has had more than its share of myths. In the 1800s one of the more famous ones was phrenology, where doctors could supposedly tell someone’s character from the bumps on his head. Then it was very common to find true believers in phrenology, something that most of us laugh at today.

Another myth was the use of leeches to suck the “bad” blood out. They were used on Lincoln and according to articles I have read may have actually contributed to his death. All people knew leeches were good for you. Doctors were frequently given the nickname “Leech”. All people were wrong and we laugh at their folly today.

Yet we do not laugh at our own myths for we do not usually see them. Sometimes part of our society is skeptical about certain myths as some were skeptical about phrenology; other times most of society accepts its myths as a truism such as the myth of leeches.

What are the myths of our present generation? They can be difficult for those who are caught in their snare to see, and as I say, I have been trying to figure them out for years. This summer I propose to write on some of the following (my thanks to my wife, who helped me enlarge the list considerably):

1. Global warming is caused by human activity.

2. Public education works.

3. Islam and Christianity can peacefully coexist.

4. Our generation is smarter than any before.

5. Christians cannot think and are delusional.

6. Clinton was a great president if you ignore his personal life.

7. Meaning comes from the reader or the listener, not the writer or the speaker.

8. The needs we have today are different than past generations.

9. Christ really was a good teacher, but we really cannot trust what the Bible says about Him.

10. Cleaning up the outside of our lives will automatically clean up the inside.

11. Government is good; more government is better.

12. Integrity, whatever it is, does not matter anymore.

13. There is neither good nor evil- more commonly expressed as denial of evil.

14. Life begins at birth, not conception.

15. Fairness equals sameness.

16. Toleration of others means embracing their lifestyles.

17. Death is oblivion.
Stay posted! I will try to cover at least a couple a week.