Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor

by Joseph Campbell, Eugene Kennedy (Editor)

Overview

Thou Art That is a compilation of previously uncollected essays and lectures by Joseph Campbell that focus on the Judeo-Christian tradition. Here Campbell explores common religious symbols, reexamining and reinterpreting them in the context of his remarkable knowledge of world mythology. According to Campbell, society often confuses the literal and metaphorical interpretations of religious stories and symbols. In this collection, he eloquently reestablishes these metaphors as a means to enhance spiritual understanding and mystical revelation. With characteristic verve, he ranges from rich storytelling to insightful comparative scholarship. Included is editor Eugene Kennedy’s classic interview with Campbell in The New York Times Magazine, which brought the scholar to the public’s attention for the first time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608681877
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	265,040
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) wrote classics including The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the four-volume The Masks of God, and Myths to Live By. His televised interview with Bill Moyers introduced his views to millions. Campbell’s interest in mythology was sparked by his love of reading about American Indians and visits to New York City’s American Museum of Natural History.

Table of Contents

About the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell ix

Editor's Foreword Eugene Kennedy xi

Chapter I Metaphor and Religious Mystery 1

The Meaning of Myth 1

What Myths Do 2

Metaphor, the Native Tongue of Myth 6

Metaphor and Mystery 8

Chapter II The Experience of Religious Mystery 11

Symbolism and Religious Experience 11

Experiencing Mystery 12

Chapter III Our Notions of God 17

Elements of Our Experience of the Mystery of God 24

Symbols: Out of Time and Place 28

Chapter IV The Religious Imagination and the Rules of Traditional Theology 33

Imagination and Its Relation to Theological Inquiry 37

Chapter V Symbols of the Judeo-Christian Tradition 43

What Kinds of Gods Have We? 43

Genesis 49

Abraham, Father of the Jewish People 53

Chapter VI Understanding the Symbols of Judeo-Christian Spirituality 61

The Virgin Birth 62

The Cave 65

The Infant 66

Flight into Egypt 68

The Child as Teacher 68

The Messiah 70

Miracles 72

The Last Supper 73

Judas 75

Crucifixion 76

The Cross 76

The End of the World 83

Chapter VII Question Period 85

Appendix: A Discussion 101

Introductory Note 101

Earthrise-The Dawning of a New Spiritual Awareness 102

Chapter Notes 115

A Joseph Campbell Bibliography 121

Index 125

About the Author 133

About the Joseph Campbell Foundation 135

Editorial Reviews

“[A] romp through the Judeo-Christian tradition — a lightning-paced tour with an extremely knowledgeable and provocative guide to illuminate some intriguing, untrammeled paths.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“It is Campbell the armchair speaker who shines through, buoyant with life and with comments that are eerily relevant to current times.”
— Parabola

“The work confirms the commonality of the human experience. A much-needed prescription in today’s world.”
— San Francisco Chronicle

From the Publisher

This collection of essays, lectures and discussions will delight both avid Campbell disciples eager for more of his thoughts and newcomers to his work on comparative mythology and religion. It is also a quick refresher course on some of Campbell's ideas about the Judeo-Christian tradition for those who have encountered him in his well-known Hero with a Thousand Faces or in his popular television series on the power of myth with Bill Moyers. This is not the polished writing of a scholar systematically presenting an argument. Rather, editor Kennedy urges the reader to approach this collection "as one would the classroom, or the study" in order to better enjoy the more energetic and spontaneous "master teacher" side of Campbell. The effect is to take the reader on a romp through the Judeo-Christian tradition a lightning-paced tour with an extremely knowledgeable and provocative guide to illuminate some intriguing, untrammeled paths. The most abiding theme of this collection is that Western religious traditions have suffered from taking their stories and symbols literally instead of metaphorically. Some chapters are dense with ideas and call for careful reading, while other sections are breathtakingly clear in describing mind-opening concepts. In either case, this is a book that will stretch readers to reconsider their interpretation of the stories and symbols of faith and the relationship between personal spirituality and institutional religion. (Oct. 15) Forecast: Although Campbell died in 1987, there is still tremendous interest in his work, which bodes well for this title, the first in New World Library's Collected Works of Joseph Campbell series. The book will have a 25,000-copy firstprinting and will be advertised in Utne Reader, New Age, Tricycle, Shambhala Sun and elsewhere. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Any book by Campbell must attract the attention of a broad public, given not only the continued success of his Hero with a Thousand Faces but also his series of televised interviews with Bill Moyers. This volume has been rather carefully assembled from his notes and concludes with a brief interview with Eugene Kennedy. While there are no revelations here, Campbell continues his forays into archetypal and Jungian readings of the motifs of world religions. For most collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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