Now, I have to confess that I am more-or-less a literalist when I teach Hebrew and Christian scriptures. I believe that when you teach scripture, you have to respect the integrity of the story - so I do not dwell on the question of whether or not this or that is historically factual. I make it clear from time to time that historicity is not the issue, that what we're looking for is the profound meaning behind the stories in the scriptures. But I talk of the stories of Jesus and the Old Testament stories as if they were factual, rather than constantly reminding my hearers that "this is only a myth." It is not only a myth - it is a profound truth that has been expressed in many different ways through many different myths. And if my hearers have different views of the historicity of what they're reading, that's generally OK with me - as look as they're willing to go with me and explore the deeper meaning of the stories. Myths have a way of communicating with people who are at a wide spectrum of levels of sophistication. Poetry and fiction do that also, but without the aspect of the sacredness of tradition.

-Joe-