Bibliofreakblog

Thou Art That by Joseph Campbell

I really try to use the tag, “must read” sparingly.  Of the over forty reviews I have written as of this one, I have only used the tag three times.  I used it on White Teeth, because it is probably my favorite favorite  favorite book; it on Three Cups of Tea, because it offers a different perspective on the war on terror, particularly in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and thus is relevant to our political climate; and I used in The Ancestor’s Tale, because of it is a comprehensive, easy to read guide to evolution.  I now use it again, for Joseph Campbell’s posthumously published Thou Art That.

Simply put, anyone of a Judeo-Christian persuasion (and to some extent, a Islamic one as well), or anyone who is or is considering giving up such a persuasion must read this book.  

Let me quickly explain, I do not expect someone who is an atheist, or has gone to another religion, to come back to Christianity upon reading this book.  However, I think that it does give an interesting perspective that should be considered.  Therein, I am also not saying that anyone who has gone to a different religion or given up religion all together should come back to whatever they gave up.  Just that people should be informed.

There is probably only one thing in this whole book that Campbell and I disagree on.  He says that the Catholic Mass lost some of its power when it switched to the vernacular, and likens it to a Julia Child show.  Having been born two decades after Vatican II, I am in no position to really criticize the Latin Mass itself, having never been to one, but I do believe that people want to hear what being said in a language they understand, even though I am convinced of the necessity of ritual and the power of myth (to steal one of ol’ Joe’s titles).

Other than that, we totally agree.  Here are some things that we agree upon:

•  The story is what is more important.  Whether it happened or not doesn’t matter.  The story takes on a power of religiosity greater than historical truths.
• Ritual is a way to connect abstract ideas to physical enactment, which enables the participant to fully realize beliefs.  Campbell writes, ” A ritual allows us to participate in the enactment of myth.  One prepares internally to move with the image and the transcendent comes through.”  He also talks about how ritual is not always religious, and many secular activities, such as strikes and picket lines, are rituals.
• A Myth is not a lie. It is a metaphor.  A lot of people disenfranchised with religion believe that myths are lies, and thus cannot find purpose in religion.
• Many symbols found in Christianity, such as the Virgin birth, the cave (manger), the child teacher, fish/fishing, the betrayer, etc., have been repeated time and time again, in all sorts of times and cultures–both before and after the time of Jesus.  This is because they are motifs that speak to us and the human experience.  This is not a bad thing.

In this day of science and skepticism, it is refreshing to find a way of marrying belief and science, that isn’t a scapegoat.  Campbell never ever dismisses the myths as just stories, or just pertaining to the time in which they were written, a time practically devoid of rationality and scientific discovery.  It almost feels like cheating–like having your cake and eating it, too, or whatever.  Actually, that’s a dumb idiom.  What does that even mean?

Point is, though, it’s not cheating.  Not if you can experience transcendence, real belief, and still be a rational thinking person.  And reading this book, is an experience in transcendence in and of itself.
Buy Thou Art That on Amazon

If you like this book/author, you might like:

(my reviews in blue)

The Portable Jung by Carl Jung
Living Buddha, Living Christ  by Thich Nhat Hanh
Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions by Karen Armstrong
The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong
Traveling Mercies  by Anne Lamott
Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan
The Book of Q by Jonathan Rabb
Deep River by Shusaku Endo
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
A Theory of Semiotics by Umberto Eco
The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts by Umberto Eco
Belief or Nonbelief? : A Dialogue by Umberto Eco and Carlo Maria Martini
The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra
Dakota: A Spiritual Geography  by Kathleen Norris 
History of Religious Ideas, Vol. 2 From Gautama Budda to the Triumph of Christianity by Mircea Eliade
The Gospels with Salt: Jesus Wildman-Jesus Woman: Meditations on the Gospels by Francis Gross
The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion by Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell
Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation by Joseph Campbell
The Masks of God, Vol. 3: Occidental Mythology by Joseph Campbell
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers 
Spiritual but not Religious by Robert C Fuller
After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s by Robert Wuthnow

Other works by Joseph Campbell*:

Myths to Live by
The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion
The Hero with a Thousand Faces 
Transformations of Myth Through Time
Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion 
Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation 
The Mythic Dimension: Selected Essays 1959-1987 
Mythic Worlds, Modern Words: On the Art of James Joyce 
The Mythic Image
Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal 
The Masks of God, Vol. 1: Primitive Mythology
The Masks of God, Vol. 2: Oriental Mythology
The Masks of God, Vol. 3: Occidental Mythology
The Masks of God, Vol. 4: Creative Mythology
Sake and Satori: Asian Journals — Japan 
Baksheesh and Brahman: Indian Journal 1954-1955
Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension: Select Essays, 1944-1968
A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake: Unlocking James Joyce’s Masterwork 

With Bill Moyers:

The Power of Myth

*Note: This is not an exhaustive list.  For the most part in only includes works still in print, though you can still find many of his other works used.

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