Campbell's seminal book, on PBS in the late 1980s, said that all origin myths (religious myths) are attempts to explain something that is a mystery beyond our human capability to put it into words. And that all myths contain elements of the truth that are beyond our putting into words.
I'd been raised as an agnostic (really prejudiced against Christians).I only began going to church in the late 80's myself not because I suddenly believed but because I hit a rough patch and was finally willing to explore whether or not there was a God. Also I was lonely in my new town after moving there a couple of years earlier so started attending a Methodist Church.
A study group in the church began watching the Joseph Campbell Power of Myth interviews and invited me and my husband. It was mind-blowing to hear him explain that myths are a way (or metaphor) of getting at the truths that are part of a mystery (we typically call God) that is impossible to truly put into words. But people can't help but try.
I started wondering what truths about God were being explained in the Christian myth. That curiosity has made all the difference in my life. That isn't to deny the truths of other religious myths, nor to hide from the evil some have done in the name of Christianity that directly contradicts what Jesus taught and said. But unexpectedly I found this one contained powerful and life-affirming truths that were exciting and rewarding to learn about. It's odd, I believe both literally and metaphorically.
I think the blind men exploring the elephant is a good analogy for our limited understanding.
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