The Problem

The term ‘myth’ has endured a confused perception in recent years. On the one hand, there has been a long tradition of hostile intent towards it, typical for the most part, curiously, among biblical scholars and systematic theologians. Many have been at pains to distance themselves and the biblical literature from any association with it. I. Strenski, writing in a different context, even felt compelled to remark sardonically on its altogether false status:

He was here playing on the sheer elusive nature of the concept to deny it any real ontological or even conceptual validity. On the other hand, an increasing number of studies has brought about a process of rehabilitation, bringing a prodigal son back into the fold, and enriching the discipline with the insights he had gained while out in the cold, among alien peoples such as anthropologists and psychologists. While there is undoubtedly a positive reception in many quarters, even among some biblical scholars, of such a revisionist view of a category long held in deep hostility within this discipline, some elements of that hostility remain, and are still vocal.