Comments on: Sometimes I myth people

By: hogiemo

hogiemo — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 07:11:48 +0000

Nope, I was ‘75-’77. I was a live-in maid, washed dishes for a winter and then went to work at the Pizza Hut and the ski area. I came back to St. Louis after my dog died and a southern belle broke my heart.

Don’t remember a Tom Chenoweth. I hung out with some of the folks on the ski school staff and some friends from Fraser and Granby, later some rugby buddies from Grand Lake after we started the Fraser Valley Rugby Club.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 02:38:13 +0000

When were you at Miller’s I was there in the early 80’s and what a grand time was had by all. I’m Tom Chynoweth I tended bar till 82 or 83.

By: grumpypilgrim

grumpypilgrim — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 03:29:20 +0000

Seems to me faith and myth have straightforward, yet opposite, definitions:
Faith: used when we refer to our own belief in something unproven;
Myth: used when we refer to everyone else’s belief in something unproven.

By: hogiemo

hogiemo — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 18:45:04 +0000

When “languaging”, I attempt to be precise.

In this instance I have taken a dictionary definition:

“myth” in the sense that “Dictionary.com” uses in its No. 5 definition; “an unproven (or false)[personal or] collective belief…”. I did not use the disjunctive “or false” because it did not fit my particular desired usage and since the disjunctive was used in the definition, I opted to delete same as a “not positive” in the boolean sense. Perhaps I used license to delete the language after “belief”, I’ll accept that criticism. The balance appeared to me to be surplusage which on its face was not definitional but, normative in a definitional context and inappropriate.

“faith” in the sense that “Dictionary.com” uses in its No. 2 definition; “belief that is not based on proof.”

Yes, I did look the words up before writing to see if my use was as exact as I had intended.

Myth is not necessarily false, and faith may be in evidence. Hence, my post. Have a Happy Holiday Season, and a peaceful New Year.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 09:23:51 +0000

“If I call something a myth I am stating explicitly that it is not true.”

That is a colloquial definition of the word; you are not wrong, but you are not using myth literally. A myth is a collective social belief founded upon faith in something outside observable evidence. Myth is legend, and it can often carry meaningful applications in everyday life.

By: Boelf

Boelf — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 05:46:08 +0000

I think myth and faith are two very different words.

If I call something a myth I am stating explicitly that it is not true.

Faith for its part gets used many different ways. The big bank has a lot of evidence for its existence. There is of course a lot of room for speculation but I have never heard such speculation called myth before.

There is the case of an assumption based on evidence. Faith in a friend that the sun will rise tomorrow would be an example. We would use the word “faith” in this case but new evidence could certainly change such faith.

Then there is believe for which evidence is irrelevant. This is the sense in which “faith” is usually used in religion, lore or alternative medicine. Faith in this sense is dangerous to the holder as well as everyone else.