“On Christian Miracles and “Religious Myths”

It is interesting to imagine that the things that are called “myths” and “legends” in various religious traditions and in the field of (secular) anthropology are called “miracles” in Christianity. Two examples of the latter are the incarnation of God in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth and his bodily resurrection substantiated by eyewitness testimony—the two cardinal truths of Christianity concerning the (divine) identity and (soteriological) function of Jesus Christ. If one wants to truly embrace the Christian message, one has to believe in the supposedly “christian myths and legends.” Hence, one can infer that the essence of Christianity is embedded in its myths.

By contrast, Orthodox Christianity uses the language of myth and legend to label what might be considered supernatural phenomena and events in other religious traditions. In this way, Orthodox Christianity establishes its distinctive religious identity and truth-claims from other religious faiths and its bold claim of divine origin or authorship.