Chapter 3: Myths, Magic, Mysticism, and Make-Believe

Forgetting food for a moment, we stopped to gaze at the fascinating display in the Earth Visions window. The four foot figure of the Deer Maiden looked like a contemporary blend of goddess and shaman. Clothed in layers of fur, feathers, velvet, and lace, she smiled seductively at us. Sprigs of dried flowers and herbs adorned her hair, filled her hands, and flowed down on a little sign by her bare, bejeweled feet The sign said,

I looked around the spacious pastel room. Gorgeous crystals of every shape and color bore testimony to God’s creative artistry - and to the human craving for empowerment. But when I glimpsed the painting across from me -- a lovely woman gazing into a lake and seeing her image reflected as a wolf -- I prayed for guidance. Moments later, sensing God's protection and confirmation, I began to examine the bookshelves. Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth caught my eye. I opened it and read:

"What is a myth? The dictionary definition of a myth would be stories about gods .... What is a god? A god is a personification of a motivating power or value system that functions in human life and in the universe -- the powers of your own body and of nature. The myths are metaphorical of spiritual potentiality in the human being, and the same powers that animate our life animate the life of the world ...

"We need myths that will identify the individual not with his local group but with his planet.^"3

Myths as a Guiding Force

Webster defines myth as a "traditional story or legend ... concerning supernatural beings ... often serving to explain natural phenomena or the origins of a people.⁴ To primitive people, myths served as their basic body of truth. These myths shaped and sustained their culture. Contemporary myths which influence our culture today may not include supernatural beings or the occult. But if they are based on wrong premises, pseudo-science, or false hopes, they will breed defeat, disharmony, and disillusionment.

God wants to shape and sustain our culture with truth. That means that we need to know and follow His wisdom (including the whole body of scientific or natural facts which He designed), not "turn aside to myths" (2 Timothy 4.4).

Since pagan societies sought secret wisdom through magic and spiritism, they drew inspiration from the same occult source. It is not surprising that many myths from around the world simulate biblical history and resemble one another. Satan’s army of demons, hiding behind the diverse masks of man-made deities,⁵ happily supplied pagan priests with counterfeit versions of God’s revealed truth. Thus, man-made myths blended occult revelations with human imagination. Notice how this is happening all around us today.

Why are myths so important to Deep Ecology? Because, explains Thomas Berry in The Dream of the Earth, myths and their symbols "provide not only the understanding and the sense of direction that we need, they also evoke the energy …”⁶"The traditional story is dysfunctional … We need a story that will educate us ... heal, guide, and discipline us.”⁷

The "traditional story" from the Bible denounces paganism as a cruel counterfeit of God’s promises. No wonder Deep Ecologists despise "the powerful myth of fundamentalists" and are determined to replace it with one that matches their visions.

Presently we are entering another historical period ... the ecological age ... an indication of the interdependence of all living and nonliving systems of the earth.… These transformations require the assistance of the entire planet... not merely adaptation to a reduced supply of fuels.... What is happening is something of a far greater magnitude. It is a radical change in our mode of consciousness. Our challenge is to create a new language, even a new sense of what it is to be human…⁸ (Thomas Berry)

Now, say Deep Ecologists, it's up to the human species to reverse the process by creating a new picture of reality -- one more powerful than the obsolete but tenacious myth of Christianity.

I heard an alarming bit of myth-making last fall at a teachers' workshop on global education. Demonstrating a lesson in world cultures, the master teacher asked, "Are you familiar with the story about Israel’s sudden departure from Egypt?"

"But have you heard the other side? [Pause] The Jews had become so obnoxious that the Pharaoh had to get rid of them. So he sent his army to chase them out!”

After the workshop, I asked the instructor where he found that interesting bit of information. He laughed. "I just made it up," he answered, as if rewriting history made perfect sense.

Myth making makes sense to those who would save the earth by slandering Christianity and reviving pantheism - the belief that the divine life force is in everything. The objective is to communicate mystical myths and pagan powers in contemporary and pleasing terms, so that even children will accept them. Therefore, they will usually contain a measure of truth -- enough to sound right. But distorted truth is always a lie -- a deception that fits the plan of "the father of lies," Satan himself (John 8.44).

These myths may change to fit the "politically correct thinking of the day. For example, some years ago, children were taught that the pilgrims thanked the Indians, not God, for their first successful harvest.⁹ The following 1990 version of the Thanksgiving myth was circulated to about half of all our nation’s elementary schools by Scholastic News:

The first Thanksgiving feasts were harvest festivals. People gathered to celebrate successful harvests and to thank the Earth for its fruits. You can celebrate the earth every day by always taking care of the environment.¹⁰

Myths That Transform

"The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her. Hayonna, Ho-yonna, Ha-nana... "The fourth-graders happily chanted the repetitive words along with the teacher. Some shook Indian rattles. Others drummed out the beat with elderberry clacking sticks. "I am the forest, I am the trees ... Ha-yonna, Ho-yanna." It was fun. A few Girl Scouts already knew the song and accompanying movements.

Moments later, the children learned to play Native American games. Two teams took turns throwing Indian dice (painted black walnut halves filled with pitch). The team throwing the dice chanted to invoke the helpful presence of “good spirits." The opposing team tapped the ground, inviting interference from "distracting spirits."

Did the spirits accept the invitation? Maybe. Together, pagan beliefs and repetitive chants can awaken occult power. Yet, contrary to popular myths -- demonic forces will not necessarily be manipulated by human formulas. Remember, "the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19), not subject to incantations of magicians.

Learning about mythology is not the problem -- as long it's not promoted as reality. Unembellished earth-centered myths can provide valuable insights into world cultures. But when schools replace facts with fantasy and emphasize subjective experience rather than objective knowledge, they produce cultural illiterates - children who will believe anything. Then, when myths are presented to students who have not built a mental framework based on a historical perspective --and when these mythical beliefs are reinforced with "fun” pagan practices -- they can serve as alluring bait for occult spirituality.

This is happening today. While factual knowledge is diminishing in the classroom, myths are fast multiplying. Look at these examples:

Each book in a classroom ecology series opens with a full page picture of a god or goddess -- one that could be copied and used to "make attractive covers" for the students' personalized notebooks. Floods and Droughts, begins with a look at the fierce-looking Chinese weather god, Lei Chen Tzu. Along with useful facts on climate, the book introduces flood myths from around the world and tells the student to write his "own Indian legend.¹¹

Natural Wonders, a creative play book for kindergarten and preschool, suggests a Rain Dance as part of its demonstration of how rain forms - a typical example of myth riding on the back of solid, helpful facts. After introducing the myth (“If they danced and chanted to the gods of nature, rain would pour..."), the book presented two activities, one good, one deceptive:

Among the most popular books in nationwide school and public libraries are the scary, mystical stories that blur the line between reality and fantasy, and, like pagan myths, breathe supernatural ideas into everyday existence. Yes, they differentiate between good and evil characters, but both sides use occult formulas to manipulate "cosmic" forces. Ponder the last two sentences in this statement from the brochure for the Literature Docent Program in our local Los Altos Schools:

Beyond Reality

A cheery little book from the Midwest titled Twelve guides teachers and students alike on an enticing search for "light in dark places." Like many other fantasies based on the myth of spiritual oneness, it makes the darkness seem bright indeed. Dedicated to Madeleine L'Engle, Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan, and the "Caretakers of Mankind," it first found a place in special education and is now spreading into programs for gifted children.

Author Elaine Kittredge, a kind sincere mother who told me that she trusts God, believes in all religions, and follows her inner voice, wrote a fantasy about preteen Jimmy who enters a dreamlike state one moonlit night to the sound of faraway music. He floats through the air, slides through a spectrum of colors, soars to the stars, and meets a happy elf who blends with the plants and teaches Jimmy telepathic communication through mental projection -– “focus all my thoughts into a point and shoot it to him.”¹³

Soon Jimmy can alter his consciousness at will and enjoy his unity with other species. He moves back and forth between the ordinary world and that dreamy realm where trees talk, stars sing, faeries explain psychic-seeing, and all the plants have their own spirit entities called devas. Since trees become his best friends, Jimmy sobs at the sight of a log burning in the fireplace. After all, the "trees on the planet hold it together [by] pulling energy from the sky and putting it into the ground with their roots.¹⁴

The book's endorsements suggest an amazing acceptance of occult adventure: "A wonderful book for the young and the old... " says Gerald Jampolsky, M.D., author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear. "I hope it will have all the success it deserves," adds Madeleine L'Engle. "A lovely, sensitive tale of a child's awareness of two realities," agrees Michael Herner, author of The Way of the Shaman.

When mythical images emphasize environmental goals and universal oneness, they become all the more appealing. Just look at Jimmy. Could children identify with his commission? Would they want to come along on his journey? Those who imitate his occult formulas may experience an illusion of a spiritual reality that usually appears beautiful for a season -- before the oppression begins.

"The tree was moving gently behind my back. I could feel the water seeping up slightly underneath the bark. The bark felt like the skin of big quiet animal...

"You have been chosen to be a tree and plant friend. Your job is to find a way to bring humans back to tree entities so that we may share our wisdom and love of the planet. We don't have a lot of time, Jimmy. Can you work with us?"¹⁵

Jimmy's story provides exactly what deep ecologists and ecotheologians seek: A "new story" that will counter the “dualism” that separates fantasy from reality and paganism from truth. But other kinds of stories also accomplish this goal. "Tales of mythological gods and their involvement with men are not far removed from modern science fiction stories of encounters with alien beings on far planets,"¹⁶ writes Michael Banks in Understanding Science Fiction.

Banks is right. Both pagan myths and science fiction cause us to imagine a world that doesn’t exist. The insights and images of science fiction can benefit those readers who draw a clear line between reality and fiction. But when science fiction (like myths) become, as Banks recommends, “useful as [science] course supplements,"¹⁷ there is need for caution. Unless children are equipped to resist, the mystical/mythical delights students feast on these days will strip them of the very tools that could help them make wise evaluations: factual knowledge and a clear view of reality.

Never before have I seen such a direct, purposeful and successful attempt at destroying the rational thinking of children as there is today. Strangely enough, this destruction is coming through the very institutions in which we have placed our greatest trust -- our educational system.¹⁸ (Richard B. Bliss, Ed.D.)

WHAT CAN FAMILIES DO?

1. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIBLICAL TRUTH AND PAGAN MYTH. Most of those who wrote the truths of the Bible were eyewitnesses to the events they described (2 Peter 1:16). They heard God’s voice, saw His miracles, followed His guidelines, acted by the power of His Spirit, and experienced His triumph. The prophecies they communicated came true -- miraculously, amazingly, consistently. That Isaiah 53 foretold Christ’s crucifixion in detail 700 years before it happened has baffled His opponents and caused countless attempts to shuffle, divide, and redate Old Testament books.

In contrast, false prophets claim to hear and see divine manifestations, but the fruit of their lives exposes the source of their revelation. God's prophecies spoken through His servants always come true. False prophets can boast no such record (Deuteronomy 18.22).

Myths don't claim to be true; therefore, they escape rational scrutiny. Their power to persuade comes not from reliability but from desirability. The promiscuous and violent gods and goddesses in pagan myths model a lifestyle that matches nature's cravings and models the lie: sin is fun; therefore, it is good.

Today, as back in Old and New Testament days, myths which oppose God’s truth are endowed with power to teach us about ourselves and the earth. That's why Deep Ecologists promote them. Paul’s warning fits our times: "Have nothing to do with godless myths" (I Timothy 4:7). Instead, know truth!

Discuss these passages: Isaiah 5:20; 1 Timothy 1:3-7, 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 1:16.

Truths that counter myths
Popular myths	Truths that counter the lies
Prehistoric cultures, inspired by a "Mother Goddess," enjoyed perfect harmony. (See Al Gore)	"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become...." Genesis 6:5
Male god(s) brought war, exploitation....	"All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." Colossians 1:16-17
A spiritual evolution will save the earth and restore peace and harmony.	“For behold, I create fnew heavens and a new earth." Isaiah 65:17
Children must be socialized (conformed to society's global values).	"...do not be conformed to this world..." Romans 12:2
Rewrite earth's story based on wisdom from primal societies.	"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." 1 Corinthians 3:19

2. GOD'S PLAN FOR THE CARE OF HIS CREATION. God's prescription for a healthy earth opposes pagan myths and pantheistic beliefs on every point. First, He made people, not animals, in His image, so that our actions would reflect His divine love. (See Galatians 2:20; Genesis 1.26-27.) Second, He wants us to guard the earth according to His wisdom, not the spirit of Gaia. He told us,

To Noah, God said, "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you” (Genesis 9.3). But there was a condition added to the provision. God’s command -– to “subdue” and “rule” the earth and its creatures -– implied caring responsibility, not license to pollute and misuse. Our Creator intended to demonstrate His compassionate character through us, not give free reign to an undisciplined animal like nature in us.

The "image of God" in which man was created must entail those aspects of human nature which are not shared by animals -- attributes such as moral consciousness, the ability to think abstractly, an understanding of beauty and emotion, and above all, the capacity for worshiping and loving God. This eternal and divine dimension of man's being must be the essence of what is involved in the likeness of God.¹⁹ (Dr. Henry Morris in Genesis Record)

Throughout the Bible, God shows us that people are more precious to Him than all the other marvelous parts of His creation. He made us to be His own sons and daughters, friends with whom He could share His heart, disciples who would communicate His eternal purpose, and servants who would carry out His plan here on earth. Listen to what He told His loyal servant and friend, Moses:

Even before He created the earth, our Father longed to communicate His love and values to His yet-to-be-born people. He wanted us to grow up to be mature in character, trained for responsibility, equipped to care for His family business -- the rest of His creation. Looking forward to intimate friendship with adult sons and daughters, He offered us His name, His honor, His riches, and His life.

But from the beginning, His people chose their own ways. As the result, they gradually aligned themselves more with the animals than with the Creator who offered them an intimate and unending love-relationship. "Man was intended to replenish the earth by looking after it," said Oswald Chambers, "[but] sin has made man its tyrant." The Prophet Isaiah understood the tragedy and shared God’s sadness:

We are His vineyard. We are also His stewards -- the guardians of His trees, flowers, rivers, and animals. If we are willing to follow truth, He will bless the land and show us how to care for it.

Discuss these passages: Genesis 1:28-30, 2:8, 9:3; Proverbs 12:10; 1 Corinthians 10:23-26, 31.

3. GOD'S INTENDED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS. Granting certain rights to animals, God said, "And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground -- everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food” (Genesis 1:30).

While God makes a clear distinction between humans and animals, we live together in this world. He wants us to care for His creatures. We may also use them -- according to His kind wisdom. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” asks Jesus... yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father... So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29, 31).

Since God cares for sparrows, so should we. But how? The dilemmas of stewardship challenge us to continually hear and heed the mind of the Creator. What did He mean when He said: "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you ... And to all the beasts of the earth ... I give every green plant for food"? (Genesis 9:3; 1.30)

The questions surrounding man’s responsibilities to animals are complex and controversial. Myths that teach the sanctity of the wolf suggest that wolves must be allowed to multiply freely. But should they be given freedom to multiply near Wyoming's ranches where they feed on domestic sheep, at a great loss to local farmers? Should Montana farmers be allowed to shoot diseased and contagious bison who wander into their flocks and infect grazing cattle? Who has first rights to the Oregon forests -- the endangered spotted owl or the thousands of employees whose jobs depend on the logging industry?

To the animal-rights activists who have traded truth for myth, kindness is not enough. As Tim Stafford reported in Christianity Today:

Medical research is no excuse. "I don’t believe it is morally permissible to exploit weaker beings, even if we derive benefits,"²¹ says law professor Gary Francione.

When this question was raised in a Harper's forum on the morality of animal experimentation, one animal-rights activist demanded that the baby's mother must be taught to show concern for the pig.

This position makes sense to those who reverse God's order, placing animals on a spiritual pedestal. They argue that Earth has more than enough humans but far too few spotted owls and wolves to balance its psychic energies. The human animal, they say, is the least desirable and most dispensable of Earth's species.

That argument pales in the light of truth. For example, when Israel settled in the Promised Land, God told His people that He would not drive out all the pagan inhabitants immediately "because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you." In other words, God would maintain a human population, large enough to keep predators from invading human territories, not vice versa (Exodus 23.29).

God sets boundaries for animals and us. His kindness reaches out to all His creatures. To help us treat them as He would, He has instructed us to ...

In an ideal agricultural setting, humans and domestic animals work together and fit into each others' lives in both personal and practical ways. Thus, a sheep may be a muchloved pet as well as future food and clothing.

In a more artificial setting, we can easily view God’s creatures from a narrow, selfcentered perspective. I recall one day blurting out a wishful, thoughtless kind of statement like, "I would love to have a pet lamb." My boys heard it, did some research, found a sheep farm, and almost bought me a live lamb for Mother's Day. At the last moment (God must have nudged them), they decided to make sure I really did want a lamb that would transform into a sheep.

We discussed the probable needs of a lamb/sheep and my responsibilities as its shepherdess. "Would it be fair," I asked, "to bring it here just to satisfy my whimsical desire to love a lamb and to experience all the wonderful spiritual truths shepherd-author Phillip Keller communicates in his book?” We agreed it was not. My sons decided to settle for a low maintenance toy lamb.

4. THE USE OF FACTS TO IDENTIFY MYTHS. Since environmental literature tends to encourage students to imitate the beliefs and lifestyles of primitive people, we need to recognize the underlying myths. Behind the beautiful side of paganism -– the illusions of oneness, lie the same human tendencies that bring pain and destruction to all parts of the world: greed, violence, competition, and war.

The late Dr. Clark Wissler, Curator Emeritus of the Department of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, was recognized as a world authority on Native Americans. In Indians of the United States, he describes all the admirable aspects of their culture: their love for their children, their hospitality, their belief in the power of the peace pipe to establish bonds of friendship.

Then, exposing the sad facts along with the good, Dr. Wissler strips away the popular myth of perfect harmony. In the end, we see that Native Americans struggle with the same human nature we do. Look at the popular myths in the light of additional facts.

Harmony with nature? To stampede a herd of buffalo, hunters might set the grass on fire behind the flock. The escaping herd would “flounder into a swamp or tumble over a cliff.”²³“Near Folsom, New Mexico, in 1926 excavators uncovered the skeletons of a small herd of the now extinct Bison taylori… Most tail bones were missing, hinting at the world of human hands that cut away the tails with the skins.”²⁴

Preserver of life? “The early Indian hunted the wild horse for food, which may be one of the reasons why they became extinct long before white men came to America.”²⁵

Peace with each other? “The elders of neighboring tribes talked peace and at times sincerely sought it, but the marauding traditions were so carefully fostered that raiding for blood, captives, and plunder was on the level of second nature.” “Great social acclaim went to the man returning with both scalps and horses.”²⁶

Respect for all life? The Iroquois, noted for democratic self-government, “now planned to destroy the Huron. It was not to be a war of subjugation; they hated the Huron intensely, like brother against brother. After taking the first town, they massacred its entire population… It is believed that more than 10,000 Huron were killed.”²⁷

Destroyed by white man’s aggression? The Iroquois destroyed other tribes, “only at last to waste away itself in an effort to control the Algonquin. It was not the white man who destroyed the Iroquois Family, though he dealt harshly with a few surviving remnants, but a case of brother against brother…”²⁸

I don’t want to diminish the wrongs committed against Native Americans: killing, introducing new diseases, selling alcohol, taking their land, ignoring treaty obligations… Yet our children need to see these tragic violations in the light of the whole truth. Apart from our Creator and Shepherd, human nature everywhere will express its selfishness and violence. To dismiss uncomfortable facts in order to prove a false ideal perpetuates the lies. It also hides the only solution that works –- knowing and trusting God.

There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery… Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying… my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…. Come let us return to the Lord (Hosea 4:1-3, 6; 6:1).

1. Bill Devall and George Session, Deep Ecology (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1985), ix.