Psychology
The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Part I, Chapter 4: The Keys)
# Part I: The Adventure of the Hero *The Baptism of Christ* ### Chapter 4: The Keys “The Keys” was a commentary on how myths have become watered down in many different traditions today.
Part I: The Adventure of the Hero
The Baptism of Christ
Chapter 4: The Keys
“The Keys” was a commentary on how myths have become watered down in many different traditions today. But the poetry of mythology is ruined when one considers these texts as scientific or historical – as it is easy to invalidate mythology under those frameworks. The rites and symbolism that exist shouldn’t be regarded as mere superfluous detail, but of primary importance.
The key images in mythology are often hidden and considered secondary because of society’s transition from the mythological to the secular perspective. This is a mistake as the potency of the older images is compromised, the life is taken out of the mythology, and “temples become museums.”
Campbell shows that baptism in Christianity carries a deeper meaning that how it is remembered today. Jesus’ words illustrate the importance of baptism spiritually.
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Baptism is popularly interpreted as “washing away original sin.” However, the idea of cleansing should be considered as being of secondary importance. The main consideration is symbolic, and marks the beginning of the spiritual journey – which properly begins when all of implications of the symbolism is followed through.
“The female water spiritually fructified with the male fire of the Holy Ghost is the Christian counterpart of the water of transformation known to all systems of mythological imagery. This rite is a variant of the sacred marriage, which is the source-moment that generates and regenerates the world and man…”
If you are interested in reading books about unmasking human nature, consider reading The Dichotomy of the Self, a book that explores the great psychoanalytic and philosophical ideas of our time, and what they can reveal to us about the nature of the self.
YARPP List
Related posts:
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Part I, Chapter 3: Return)
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Part II, Chapter 1: Emanations)
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Part II, Chapter 2: The Virgin Birth)
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Part II, Chapter 3: The Transformations of the Hero)
Keep Reading
Related Articles
Psychology
Rule 9: Assume that the Person You Are Listening to Might Know Something You Don’t(12 RFL)
Peterson recalls an encounter with a client who claimed to be raped five times. She was confused and traumatized, but something was deeply wrong with the way she operated in the world.
Psychology
The Hero With A Thousand Faces: Prologue
### Summary *The Heroes Journey* [The Hero with a Thousand Faces](https://www.amazon.
Psychology
Law 31: Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal (The 48 Laws of Power)
### Law 31: Control the options: get others to play with the cards you deal *Ivan the Terrible* > For the wounds and every other evil that men inflict upon themselves spontaneously, and of their own choice, are in the long run less painful than those inflicted by others.
Psychology
Strategy 2: Do Not Fight The Last War (The 33 Strategies of War)
## The Guerrilla-War-of-the-Mind Strategy Tradition, tired formulas, and attachments to the past will trap you. You must wage war against your past victories and defeats and react to the present moment.