GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
Colleagues List Web Site
http//colleagueslist2.bogspot.com
*****
Dear Colleagues:
I return to one of my favourite authors in this issue of
Colleagues List. My Special Item introduces a reprint
of one of Joseph Campbell's more interesting and important
writings - The Mythic Dimension. It is a collection of many
of his integrative essays on the meaning of global mythology.
I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks to contributing colleagues who have added to this
issue. I hope you find that my Net Notes and Wisdom of the
Week notes keep you connected to developing events and
ideas.
Spring is unfolding nicely here in Alberta. I hope that the
weather is agreeable to you, wherever you live in the world.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice:
THE MYTHIC DIMENSION
Selected Essays 1959-1987
by Joseph Campbell
Collected Works
New World Library, 2017
Hardcover. 348 pages. $18.35CAD
Paperback. 348 pages. $24.26CAD
ISBN#978-1-57731-594-0
(second paperback edition just released, March, 2017)
Publisher's Promo:
These 12 eclectic essays explore myth and its fascinating context
in the human imagination - in the arts, literature, and culture, as
well as in everyday life.
The most recent title in New World Library's Collected Works of
Joseph Campbell 11-volume series, this new paperback edition
features pieces that exhibit Campbell's trademark thoughtfulness
and intelligence. These essays explore the topic for which Campbell
was best known: the many connections between myth and history, psychology, and the daily world. Drawing from such varied sources
as Thomas Mann, the occult, Jungian and Freudian theory, and the
Grateful Dead, these dynamic writings elucidate the many ways in
which myth touches our lives, our psyches, and our relationship to
the world.
This second volume of Campbell's essays (followingThe Flight of the
Wild Gander) brings together his uncollected writings from 1959 to 1987. Written at the height of Campbell's career - and showcasing
the lively intelligence that made him the twentieth century's premier
writer on mythology - these essays investigate the profound links
between myth, the individual, and societies ancient and contemporary.
--
Endorsements
“Campbell has become one of the rarest of intellectuals in American
life: a serious thinker who has been embraced by the popular culture.”
— Newsweek
“No one in our century—not Freud, not Thomas Mann, not Lévi-Strauss—has so brought the mythical sense of the world and its eternal figures back into our everyday consciousness.”
— James Hillman
“In our generation the mythographer who has had the fullest command of the huge scholarly literature, the analytic ability, the lucid prose, and the needed staying power has been Joseph Campbell.”
— Commentary
— Newsweek
“No one in our century—not Freud, not Thomas Mann, not Lévi-Strauss—has so brought the mythical sense of the world and its eternal figures back into our everyday consciousness.”
— James Hillman
“In our generation the mythographer who has had the fullest command of the huge scholarly literature, the analytic ability, the lucid prose, and the needed staying power has been Joseph Campbell.”
— Commentary
--
Joseph Campbell's Words:
“Accordingly the vision and the visionary, though apparently separate, are one; and all the heavens, all the hells, all the gods and demons, all the figures of the mythic worlds, are within us as portions of ourselves - portions, that is to say, that are of our deepest, primary nature, and thus of our share in nature. They are out there as well as in here, yet,
in this field of consciousness, without separation. Our personal dreams are our personal guides, therefore, to the ranges of myth and of the gods. Dreams are our personal myths; myths, the general dream.”
in this field of consciousness, without separation. Our personal dreams are our personal guides, therefore, to the ranges of myth and of the gods. Dreams are our personal myths; myths, the general dream.”
— from The Mythic Dimension
Joseph Campbell Bio:
John Campbell (1904-1987) wrote, among other works, the classics
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Inner Reaches of Outer Space, and The Masks of God. A prolific writer, lecturer, and scholar of art,
history, religion, and culture, he taught at Sarah Lawrence College.
(extensive Wikipedia bio): http://tinyurl.com/l9krkbu
--
Editor's Words:
From 1959 until his death in 1987, Joseph Campbell wrote three
major works - "The Masks of God" "The Historical Atlas of World
Mythology" and "The Mythic Image". These books were not just
books about mythology; they were books about all mythology,
or large-scale attempts to comprehend the religious expression
of the human species.
In them, Campbell introduced many facts, stories, images, and
ideas to serve his larger argument, only to let them go after they
had served their purpose... During these most productive years
of his career, however, Campbell did write about much of the
material that he only touched on in his major works. He lectured
prodigiously and wrote numerous essays that were either early
explorations or of mature reflections upon material that appeared
in his larger ventures. These essays were published in small-
circulation magazines and journals, or in introductions to chapters
in others' books. The best of them are collected (in this book.)
(Campbell writes about the historical development of mythology
and the mythological themes dating from early times that inform
our lives today. This book contains many of those foundational
essays linking his major themes to inform us of how myth addresses
the universal concerns of human consciousness)...
(These essays help to tie together the themes of his major works,
as he wrote during the height of his powers and then during the
period of his life when he sought to integrate and emphasise the
key learnings of his unusual career.)
--
My Thoughts:
Joseph Campbell was a prolific and profound writer who was
always venturing into new subjects, then integrating what he
discovered into his earlier understandings.
This book is a reflection on the integrational aspect of his teaching,
and continues to stand out as new generations become aware
of his significant contribution to human understandings.
A review of the thematic contents page of this book reminds us
of the breadth of his learning and the way he continued to weave
new discoveries with older understandings.
In the first part of this book he writes of the expanding nature of comparative mythology across global cultures; the historical
development of mythology, rituals that emerge from myths; and
the goddess theme in myths.
In the second part of this book, he writes of mythology and the
arts - and of how myths are communicated verbally and symbolically.
His ability to understand this theme through creative literature
and art can help us to understand how myth is so much part
of the world of the arts in every era. He not only deals with myths
of the past, in other words, but with how myths continue to
be reconstituted in every era of human history, including our own.
The book contains an excellent index of themes appearing here,
and an extensive list of his writings.
The new paperback edition, just published, is an indication of
the timeliness and continuing appeal of Joseph Campbell for
new readers as well as veterans returning for another drink
from the well of one of the twentieth century's great minds.
___
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/n7crlhk
Buy the book from New World Library:
http://tinyurl.com/k8uaun6
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
John Stackhouse Jr.
Moncton, NB
Context Insider
March 30th, 3017
"Mike Pence and the Liberal Moral Police"
http://tinyurl.com/l2wxpfw
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
April 26th, 2017
"The Risks of Unknown Goals"
http://tinyurl.com/m4sx3sa
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio TX
Personal Web Site
April 24th, 2017
"Becoming a Holy Beggar"
http://tinyurl.com/n7mckoj
*****
NET NOTES
A WONDER OF NATURE
Newfoundland Iceberg Loams 15 Stories Tall
New York Times (video)
April 23rd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lan7al3
--
THE PAPAL VISIT TO EGYPT
Francis Expresses His Hopes (video)
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
April 27th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/m7zbdvp
"Pope Faces Another Dangerous, Delicate Task"
- commentary
Religion News Service
April 26th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lzx4x7d
"Francis Arrives in Cairo With Message of Peace"
New York Times
April 28th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/lbjncbu
TO STAY MARRIED, EMBRACE CHANGE
Long-Term Relationships Require Adaptability
New York Times
April 24th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lbshm5n
--
WHAT IS FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION?
What does it have to do with Islam?
Religion News Service,
April 27th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/k9yd5gv
--
ALVIN PLANTINGA AWARDED TEMPLETON PRIZE
Noted for Human Progress in Faith and Spirituality
Publisher's Weekly.
April 25th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/mbbg99h
--
CONFRONTING TRUMP IN MODERN AMERICA
"Mormon Scholars Challenge Travel Ban
Claiming Similar Discrimination LDS Once Experienced"
Religion News Service
April 27th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/l7h47bs
"Christians Can Stop Trump's Wall"
Sojourners Online
April 26th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/ls4yap6
"Canadian Margaret Atwood Book
Contains Eerie Dystopian Similarities"
Sojourners Online
April 25th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/kgung4z
--
CHRISTIANS - WORLD'S MOST PERSECUTED GROUP
Three Responses to Religious Violence
UCA News
April 25th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/m8365mt
--
CHINESE CHRISTIANS WANT TO RE-ERECT CROSSES
Official Responsible for Removal Resigns
UCA News,
April 28th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/k48sut8
CHURCH ATTENDENCE DECLINES IN THE PHILIPPINES
Cultural Shift Impact on Families Seen as Major Cause
UCA News
April 25th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/mqqpejr
--
CANADIAN COPTS PONDER FUTURE OF CHURCH IN EGYPT
They Recognize Their Freedoms, and the Lack Back Home
Religion News Service
April 25th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/llq85om
*****
A MOMENT IN TIME
From the Globe and Mail
April 27th, 2017
South Africa holds first multiracial elections
April 27, 1994: Nobody was quite certain if South Africa could pull
it off. In the lead-up to its first multiracial elections, the signs were ominous. White extremists were planting bombs across the country. Zulu militants and right-wing Afrikaners were threatening an election boycott. Protests had erupted into bloodshed and there were warnings of civil war. It was the charisma and diplomatic shrewdness of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela that finally turned the tide. He pleaded for peace and reached out skillfully to the angry militants. On election day, millions of South Africans queued patiently in the sun. Despite bomb threats, ballot shortages and logistical chaos that forced the election to be extended to three days, the voting was largely peaceful.
Mandela won an overwhelming victory and became the first black president of the new “rainbow nation.” Today, April 27, is an annual holiday known as Freedom Day. – Geoffrey York
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof onine:
Religion is one of the safest places to hide from God.
- Richard Rohr
--
"If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always
kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me.
But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are
always kept in that same precious love."
- Julian of Norwich
--
When you refuse to take steps to reverse climate change,
you are therefore endorsing more floods, more famines,
more extreme weather conditions, more droughts, and all
of that is going to have an impact on the world food supply,
particularly in areas that are already challenged ... and
climate change is one of the biggest threats to world peace.
- Margaret Atwood
--
The Bible leaves no doubt at all about the sanctity of the act
of world-making, or of the world that was made, or of creaturely
or bodily life in this world. We are holy creatures living among
other holy creatures in a world that is holy. Some people know
this, and some do not. Nobody, of course, knows it all the time.
But what keeps it from being far better known than it is?
Why is it apparently unknown to millions of professed students
of the Bible? How can modern Christianity have so solemnly
folded its hands while so much of the work of God was and
is being destroyed?
- Wendell Berry
--
You must know that there is nothing higher and stronger
and more wholesome for life in the future than some good
memory, especially a memory of childhood, of home.
People talk to you a great deal about education. But some
good, sacred memory preserved from childhood – that is
perhaps the best education. For if a man has only one good
memory left in his heart, even that may keep him from evil.…
And if he carries many such memories with him into life,
he is safe for the end of his days.
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
*****
MOMENT IN TIME
Provided by the Globe and Mail
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Eddie Huang
To this day, I wake up at times, look in the mirror,
and just stare, obsessed with the idea that the person
I am in my head is something entirely different than
what everyone else sees.
That the way I look will prevent me from doing the things I want ...
(end)
*****
For Those Interested -
ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS PROJECT, 2017
South Africa has been chosen as our destination!
We plan a nineteen-day tour that combines a focus
on faith, social justice, culture, and nature, and it
will begin October 21st 2017.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Our optimal group size for maximum trip meaning
and value is 28-29 persons.
Twenty-Six persons have either put down deposits
to claim a special saving (or intend to do so.)
WE ARE CLOSE TO REACHING OUR DEPARTURE GOAL.
YOU CAN STILL REGISTER. When we have 29 deposits
you will be added to a waiting list and still join us
in the event someone has to drop out.
We have installed a South Africa Spiritual Travelers
discussion list group to being building community
amongst the participants, and to share news and
resources.
We hope to name a tour reporter who will report
each day's activities so everyone can enjoy the
experience, if not directly, then indirectly.
Seven months from now we leave for South Africa!
Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Follow our notices for weekly updates.
*****
