Reading Time: 6 minutes We’ve explored the idea that the gospel story is a legend. Let’s now look at some modern legends to see how easily they develop, even in our science-saturated age.
Legend
Posted inCulture, General, Myth & Folklore
Folklore, Pandemic, and You
Reading Time: 4 minutes Being a folklorist in a time of global pandemic is interesting, and our discipline’s insights aren’t as useless as one might think. Here, I go into some of what we bring to the (socially isolated) party.
Posted inHistory
Test Drive a Foolproof Method for Separating History From Legend
Reading Time: 5 minutes A Christian author proposes four simple rules for winnowing historical truth from legend that I’d like to try out. He concludes with a bizarre standard for knowing truth.
Posted inGeneral, Myth & Folklore
Snake Spouses and Feminine Symbols in Japanese Folktales Part 4
Reading Time: 3 minutes When we talk about snakes and feminine sexuality, there’s more to it than the dreaded vagina dentata! Cultural context and cyclical fertility matter too.
Posted inGeneral, Myth & Folklore
Snake Spouses and Feminine Symbols in Japanese Folktales Part 3
Reading Time: 6 minutes Snake husbands are bad news in Japanese folktales. REALLY bad news. Don’t ever marry a dude who turns out to be a snake, if you can help it.
Posted inGeneral, Myth & Folklore
Snake Spouses and Feminine Symbols in Japanese Folktales Part 1
Reading Time: 2 minutes Why do snakes appear as potential spouses in Japanese folktales, and what do they mean? This paper attempts to explain this phenomenon.
Posted inGeneral, Myth & Folklore
#FolkloreThursday: Holiday
Reading Time: 4 minutes Whether sacred or secular, holidays inform our sense of the cycle of the year, and bring us closer to our various communities.
Posted inUncategorized
Disambiguation: Legend, Myth, and More
Reading Time: 3 minutes How are legend and myth different? Doctrine and dogma? Religion and superstition? Let’s clarify some of these fundamental terms.
Posted inHistory
Oral Tradition and the Game of Telephone: A.N. Sherwin-White’s Famous Quote
Reading Time: 5 minutes The Jesus story spread widely in the decades after his death, and only then was it written down. How much was it changed by the accretion of legend? William Lane Craig assures us that this is not a problem, but his bold claim that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
Posted inUncategorized
Jesus a Legend: A Dozen Reasons (Part 2)
Reading Time: 4 minutes Is the Jesus story a legend? Christians don’t think so. Here are some reasons they give for rejecting the legend hypothesis, with rebuttals. (Part 2 of 2)