J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Birdland · 12-09-2002, 08:43 AM

Child, when I was a kid one of my favorite books was an old collection of Japanese fairy tales. If you read these stories you can find most of the 10 Commandments covered in these fables, (As well as a good dose of "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"). Don't lie. Don't be greedy. Don't steal. Honor your parents. If a monkey asks to share your food, you better do it. (OK, maybe this last one wasn't in the Bible.)

I suppose if you read that the warrior Momotaro was found as a baby in the river, you could cry "Shades of Moses!", but since this folk tale is hundreds, if not a thousand years old, long before Christian missionaries made it to Japan, it would be hard to say that the story of Momotaro was inspired by Exodus.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you can find references from Scripture in most of the old myths and folk tales throughout the world. But it isn't because these stories were based on Scripture. It's because Scripture is based on the people who have been writing these stories since the beginning of time. Amazing how similar we really all are, isn't it?

12-09-2002, 08:43 AM	#8
Birdland Ghastly Neekerbreeker Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the banks of the mighty Scioto Posts: 1,751	Child, when I was a kid one of my favorite books was an old collection of Japanese fairy tales. If you read these stories you can find most of the 10 Commandments covered in these fables, (As well as a good dose of "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"). Don't lie. Don't be greedy. Don't steal. Honor your parents. If a monkey asks to share your food, you better do it. (OK, maybe this last one wasn't in the Bible.) I suppose if you read that the warrior Momotaro was found as a baby in the river, you could cry "Shades of Moses!", but since this folk tale is hundreds, if not a thousand years old, long before Christian missionaries made it to Japan, it would be hard to say that the story of Momotaro was inspired by Exodus. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you can find references from Scripture in most of the old myths and folk tales throughout the world. But it isn't because these stories were based on Scripture. It's because Scripture is based on the people who have been writing these stories since the beginning of time. Amazing how similar we really all are, isn't it?