A myth is not an untruth or a lie. The word ‘myth’ has been hijacked to convey the meaning of falsity in recent decades, but this hijacking has done great disservice to the concept of myth. Myth, rather, is a package, in which deeper truths are contained. Edward Walker argues here that we should recover the value of myth.
The author draws upon insights from psychoanalysis – Carl Jung is frequently mentioned – before proceeding to examine the gospels’ accounts of the teaching and place of Jesus. Uses of myth in other religious traditions are treated respectfully. Walker offers a rich collage drawn from the experience of a lifetime and large span of reading. After a degree in Classics and Theology and two years at a theological college, the author served as an Anglican priest for 18 years. Five of these years he spent in South Africa during the apartheid era, most of them as Rector of the Soutpansberg, a vast area at the extreme north of the country, including the “Bantustan” of Vendaland and the copper mine of Messina. Facing the daily tensions imposed by the Nationalist government, he enlisted the support of Dr. Beyers Naude, and with a courageous Afrikaans minister established a feeding scheme to address the huge problem of malnutrition. Eight years after returning to the UK he resigned his ministry and completed a PGCE at Birmingham University. This led to fourteen years as assistant and then head of a large Religious Education department at a state comprehensive school. During his six years of semi-retirement he served as external tutor for RE students at Westminster Teacher Training College, as A level Religious Studies teacher for students in Oxford and Henley, as a volunteer at a night shelter for homeless young people, and for ten years as a member of a team of volunteers helping to maintain the Ridgeway and Thames Path National Trails.
This book is evidently the fruit of a considerable period of reading and reflection. It is a gift to anyone who cares to review their own relationship to myth, truth and spirituality. It offers a modern theological perspective. I commend it to you.
Enquire at your local library or consult http://www.amazon.co.uk/Treasure-Beneath-Hearth-Gospel-Spirituality/dp/1782796797/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450000977&sr=8-1&keywords=edward+walker+myth for full bibliographic detail.
148 pages in Christian Alternative
First published 2015
ISBN 978-1782796794