Myths (3454) (muthos from mueo = to initiate into the mysteries from muô = close eyes or mouth. mu- = to close, keep secret, be dumb. English = myth, mythic, mythology) refers to a story or account. Every NT use of muthos is in a negative sense and refers to legend, fable, fiction. Thayer notes that "the fictions of the Jewish theosophists and Gnostics, especially concerning the emanations and orders of the aeons, are called mythoi (muthos)." Muthos is used 5 times in the NT in the NASB (1 Tim 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Pet 1:16) and is translated: fables, 1; myths, 3; tales, 1. In the LXX muthos is found only in the apocryphal passage Sirach 20:19. 1 Timothy 1:4 nor to pay attention to myths (muthos) and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 1 Timothy 4:7 (note) But have nothing to do with worldly fables (muthos) fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; Titus 1:14 not paying attention to Jewish myths (an amalgamation of pagan myths and Jewish extra-Biblical traditions, superimposed on the Old Testament Scriptures) and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. (Even some of the Jews had abandoned their sacred Scriptures and accepted man-made substitutes - see discussion) 2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales (muthos) when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. (The gospel narratives are not fictional tales, but actual eyewitness reports. Peter testified that he and the other apostles, James and John, witnessed the transfiguration - see discussion) Muthos refers to tales (a tale is a usually imaginative narrative of an event that often contains imagined or exaggerated elements) or fables (a fable can refer to a short fictitious story which teaches a moral lesson but in the NT fable is used only in a negative sense as something to be avoided because it is false and unreal) fabricated by the mind in contrast to reality. Muthos therefore refers to fictional tales in contrast to true accounts and represents manufactured stories that have no basis in fact. The Greek and Roman world abounded in stories about so-called "gods" which were nothing more than human speculations that in vain (and in error) tried to explain the world's origin and life's purpose and end! J C Ryle wrote that "Ignorance of the Scriptures is the root of all error." What is not clear is whether any of the references in Paul's and Peter's epistles have in mind the ancient legends of the gods that we commonly think of in reference to the term “myth.” One fact that seems incontrovertible is that the Scriptural uses of muthos focus chiefly on the contrast of God's Truth and the world's error/falsehood/lies. It follows that in the NT muthos always conveys an unfavorable or negative connotation. As noted in the passages above each of the NT uses of muthos describe something that is contrary to the truth, whether that truth be the doctrines relating to Christian behavior or the accounts of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. The Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies defines myth as "A story, usually relating the actions of supernatural beings, that serves to explain why the world is as it is and to establish the rationale for the rules by which people live in a given society. In classical Greek, myths were simply stories or plots, whether true or false; in modern popular usage, myths are fanciful at best and generally understood as false. Myth has become a prominent term for scholars, but it is used in a variety of ways, so care should be taken to understand what sense is being advocated (myths can be, among other things, literary archetypes, widely held fallacies or even realistic, though imagined worlds)...Myth may or may not be a derogatory term when used by scholars, but one should be alert to the meaning a particular scholar gives to the term." (Patzia, A. G., & Petrotta, A. J. Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies. Page 82. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press) Trench - Logos (Strong's #3056) Word, Discourse; mythos (Strong's #3454) Account, Fable. Logos means sermo (discourse) as much as verbum (a connected discourse in a single word), and there has been much discussion concerning which of these words best translates the highest application of logos (John 1:1). We will not dwell on this exceptional and purely theological employment of logos. In the New Testament logos frequently is used to refer to that word which eminently deserves the name "the word of God" (Acts 4:13) and "the word of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:15; cf. Luke 1:2; Acts 6:4; James 1:22). In this regard, we may discuss the similarities and dissimilarities between logos and mythos. Once there was only a slight difference between these two words, but the meaning of mythos grew so that eventually a great gulf separated it from logos. Mythos passed through three distinct stages of meaning, though it never completely lost its first meaning. Initially, mythos did not refer at all to fables and still less to that which is false. During this period of its use, mythos stood on equal footing with rhema (Strong's #4487), epos (Strong's #2031), and logos. The relationship between mythos and myo, myeo (Strong's #3453), and myzo shows that mythos originally must have signified the word within the mind or the word muttered on the lips, though there are no actual examples of such a usage. Already in Homer, mythos was used to refer to the spoken word. The tragic poets and others who were dependent on Homer continued to use mythos in this way, even at a time in Attic prose when mythos almost had exchanged this meaning for another. In the second stage of the development of mythos's meaning, it was used in antithesis to logos, though in a respectful and often honorable sense. Mythos was used to refer to that which is conceived by the mind as contrasted with that which actually is true. It did not refer to a literal fact but to something that was "truer," to something that involves a higher teaching, to "an unreal account [logos] symbolizing the truth," as Suidas said. According to Plutarch: "Mythos is an image and likeness of logou." There is "an account [logos] in myth [mytho]" that may have infinitely more value than many actual facts. According to Schiller, it frequently is true that "a deeper import lurks in the legend told our infant years than lies upon the truth we live to learn." By the time of Herodotus and Pindar, mythos was being used in this sense. As we have observed, in Attic prose mythos rarely has any other meaning. But in a world like ours, a fable easily degenerates into a falsehood. "Tradition, time's suspected register that wears out truth's best stories into tales," always works to bring about such a result. Story, tale, and many other words attest to this fact. In the third stage of the development of mythos's meaning, it came to refer to a fable in the more modern sense of that word, to a fable that is not the vehicle for some lofty truth. During this stage of its development, mythos refers to a lying fable with all its falsehood and pretenses. Thus Eustathius wrote: "Mythos in Homer is the simple account [logos], but in later writers it is unreal and fabricated, having an appearance of truth." This is the only sense of mythos in the New Testament. Thus we have "profane and old wives' fables" (1 Timothy 4:7), "Jewish fables" (Titus 1:14), and "cunningly devised fables." The other two occasions of the word's use (1 Timothy 1:4; 2 Timothy 4:4) are just as contemptuous. Initially, legend was an honorable word that referred to that which is worthy to be read, but it came to designate "a heap of frivolous and scandalous vanities" (Hooker). Legend has had much the same history as mythos, since similar influences were at work to degrade both. J. H. H. Schmidt said: Mythos came to denote a fictitious story because the naive faith in the ancient traditions, which had retained their transmitted titles, was gradually lost. Thus mythos like logos implies antithesis to reality, however in such a way as simultaneously pointing out the silly and improbable character of fiction. Although logos and mythos began their journey together, they gradually parted company. The antagonism between these words grew stronger and stronger until they finally stood in open opposition. This is true of words as well as of people, when one comes to belong to the kingdom of light and truth and the other to the kingdom of darkness and lies. Joseph Campbell's popular book and PBS documentary in the late 1980's entitled "The Power of Myth" was an unapologetic apologetic seeking to convince the spiritually seeking listener to believe that life could be expressed only in terms of myth. Yet no matter how intriguing and enticing myths may appear on the surface, the Christian is not to "pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. (1Timothy 1:4). The Greek word muthos gives us our English “mythology” which the 1828 Webster defines as "A system of fables or fabulous opinions and doctrines respecting the deities which heathen nations have supposed to preside over the world or to influence the affairs of it." Here in second Timothy we see that there will be those who are not content with the truth of God, and consequently will turn to lies and fiction which is embellished for easier swallowing. When one begins to loathe God's gift of manna (cf Dt 8:3 Mt 4:4), he will soon find himself desiring "the leeks and the onions and the garlic" of "Egypt" (Nu 11:5; 11:6). Mark it down: When individuals tire of the God's truth, this is an ominous, sure sign that they are ripe prey for deception and introduction of deadly error. Our greatest protection against error is always the truth of God's Word. To jettison truth is to invite error! Geoffrey Wilson reminds us that false teachers will reap what they sow "Anyone who burdens the church with false teaching shall not escape being burdened with a crushing judgment." As Warren Wiersbe astutely observes "It is not likely that man-made fables will convict them of sin or make them want to repent! The result is a congregation of comfortable, professing Christians, listening to a comfortable, religious talk that contains no Bible doctrine. These people become the prey of every false cult because their lives lack a foundation in the Word of God. It is a recognized fact that most cultists were formerly members of churches. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament. Victor) Take for example the "myths" propagated by Joseph Smith the founder of Mormonism who taught that our destiny when we die is to traverse a series of heavens and afterlifes, eventually attaining to the status of a god and ruler over one's own planet even as Elohim is "god" over earth, living on a planet named Kolob. Then as god over our own planet, we spend eternity having celestial relations with a harem of goddess wives, producing spirit babies to populate the planet we are god over! Remember when you refuse to stand for something true, you are wide open to fall for anything false. And as ridiculous as this fable is, the tragedy is that one of the major "sources" of new Mormon converts are individuals who formerly were members of Baptist churches! Such is the price for actively shutting one's ears to the truth. Other "myths" are less sensational and far more subtle. Do you know someone who has fallen into one of the modern myths like "I can pray a prayer to be saved from hell and exhibit no change in my behavior and have no hunger for God's holy word and for a life of godliness?" If you have believed these "myths" you are deceived and you don't even know it and you are destined to spend eternity away from the presence of God because you have never truly been born again (hold your pointer over the following references to see Jesus' stern but loving warning against this lie = Mt7:21-note Mt 7:22, 23-note). The following excerpt is taken from the Baptist Standard and is a sad example of those who "turn aside to myths" - "Most teenagers today who make professions of faith in Christ still do not believe that Christianity is the one true religion, according to an international Christian apologist and youth ministry expert. "75% of all kids coming to Christ today are not coming to Jesus because He is the way, the truth and the life," said Josh McDowell. "They are "coming to Christ" because He is the best thing that’s come along so far, that they’ve filtered through their experience. And as soon as something that seems better to them comes along, they’re gone." Citing a 1999 survey showing that 65% of evangelical teenagers believe there is no way to determine which religion is true, McDowell said the prevailing cultural mindset defines truth according to "personal perspective" and "personal experience." McDowell described a cultural viewpoint in vogue today that "truth is not there to be discovered, truth is there to be created...." Eg, McDowell said, many evangelical teenagers today say the Bible is true and historically accurate because they believe it—but this belief system is based on their personal opinion, not the concept that there is an objective standard of truth outside of one’s self. Today’s generation, he asserted, has replaced Jn3:16 as the most-quoted Bible verse with Mt 7:1 a verse, that actually teaches one to judge according to God’s standard as evidenced by His character and nature. He said a 1999 survey which showed that 52% of "evangelical church kids say the only intellectual way to live is to make the best decisions you can based on your feelings at the moment," John MacArthur summarizes modern application of this section "Many churches today are filled to overflowing with those who want their ears tickled with the myths of easy believism and the many variations of selfism and so called positive thinking. They come to have their egos fed and their sins approved, not to have their hearts cleansed and their souls saved. They want only to feel good, not to be made good. Tragically, such myths serve to religiously insulate people from the true gospel and drive them still further from the Lord. (MacArthur, J. 2 Timothy. Chicago: Moody Press) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/2_timothy_43-4.htm#myth