Our Theologian in Residence, the Rev. Dr. Luigi Gioia, continues a year-long course to dive into all the main areas of theology: Faith, Scripture, Tradition, God, Christ, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, and the Church – always with an eye to their relevance for spirituality and for everyday life.
A sterile approach to the Gospels consists in trying to determine what are the ‘facts’ and discard everything else as ‘legend’ or ‘myth’. The question is though whether ‘myths’ are necessarily untrue, misleading, or simply naïve and hence to be discarded. How much of the way we perceive the figure of George Washington, for example, is a ‘myth’? Why is this perception of America’s founding father so enduring? In her essay A Short History of Myth, Karen Armstrong argues that “Mythology is an art form that points beyond history to what is timeless in human existence, helping us to get beyond the chaotic flux of random events, and glimpse the core of reality”. In other words, not only myths are not lies, but they might give us access to a level or reality much deeper than what ‘facts’ are able to capture. This applies to the way the historical identity and message of Jesus has been handed over to us too.
The Adult Education program at Saint Thomas Church offers sound Christian teaching presented with intellectual vigor, teaching that is grounded in Holy Scripture, mediated by the catholic tradition that is the inheritance of Anglicanism and set forth in the Book of Common Prayer. For more information about our theology program, please contact Fr. Luigi Gioia, Theologian in Residence.
