Remarkable ignorance. I'm not from the Bible Belt, Jim, took a MA in this
area in Berkeley and have taught for decades. Go no further than Wendy
Doniger, Mircea Eliade, Joseph Campbell - the guiding lights of 20th century
comparative mythological studies. Wendy holds the Eliade chair at Chicago.
Her "other peoples myths" is a good place to start.


>
> Mythemes the world over create an 'in group' opposed to the rest of  
> the
> world. The People of the Book, the pernicious
> Zoroastrian-Judaeo-Christian-Islamic mythological constellation,  
> bifurcate
> the world into two ontologically differing groups: those who've  
> chosen the
> way of skygod, and those who haven't. That results in a Chosen  
> People in
> group pitted against the evil rest of the world.

Jim wrotes: Remarkable ignorance.  Would love to sit down and discuss over a

drink some time.