The Death of the Mythic God: The Rise of Evolutionary Spirituality

by Jim Marion

Is God dead? Jim Marion says that what has really died is our myth of God, our worn-out notion of the deity in the sky, separate from us, who intervenes in our lives only when petitioned strenuously. God still exists, but we need to update our interpretation of God's nature. The mythic sky God was never real, says Marion. It was only a concept of God, now outdated.The real God is in the human heart, within the world, operating as the engine of evolution. God grows us from within into ever higher levels of awareness.In a bold revisioning of contemporary spirituality, Marion, author of the acclaimed Putting on the Mind of Christ, shows us how to expand consciousness and follow the genuine path of Jesus and the world's mystics into greater inner development.

Genres: Spirituality

197 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2004

Reviews

[Mason Wren · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this was a great summary or sparknotes version of the end of mythic stage conceptions of God and an understanding of further stages (taken from Spiral Dynamics and Ken Wilber) of spirituality, specifically as they related to Christianity. This summary is a helpful introduction, but having read a lot of what he refers to already, it seemed to me to be more surface level material. But he does include a vast range of ideas with in, but without a lot of depth of explanation. I also thought the book was going to focus entirely on the death of the mythic God, but that was actually the first half of the book. The second half covered further stages of spiritual development. The only other issue I had was some of his interpretations of Scripture and Jesus. I agree with most of his conclusions, but it seems to me like he often takes Jesus out his Second Temple Judaic context. For more on Jesus, the New Testament Scriptures, and their context, NT Wright does a great job putting all three together with a healthy use of historical criticism. I still agree with many of his conclusions, but in my understanding, he skips some steps in his interpretations. But again, this is an excellent introduction and summary of a broad movement of spirituality, especially in regards to Christianity as it has manifested through history.

[Jennifer Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Marion’s books always feel a little “weird,” but they stick with me and challenge the way I’ve been told to think about Christianity. I think he is spot on about the modern mind evolving past the mythic framework, which is causing a crisis of belief for a good majority of people today. It is very hopeful to see the concept of God not as something that needs to be discarded, but rather something to discover and experience in new ways as we evolve past the mythical level of consciousness.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A truly tragic read for me. The Death of the Mythic God (the first part) began quite fascinating and open-minded. I was eager to hear how people with different views on spiritual presence could see each other with compassion. By the end, I thought that the "evolutionary" spiritual perspective ended up pitying the one who might be perceived at a "lower level." Marion seemed satisfied to bash other "stages" of consciousness who viewed themselves as superior, but was unable to fully demonstrate the compassion of the upper echelon with which he claimed to be fluent.

Eventually Marion lost my reader's trust when he got tangled in his own lines of thought, and what he prophesied as true in one chapter became hopelessly false in the next; manifestation by faith and oneness with Source was followed by the impersonal, unavoidable hammer of karma. I agree that this was a complete survey of a particular spiritual consciousness, but honestly by the time I was done, I had less of a desire to read the sources Marion cited. (Yes, even Jesus, who is generally still alright with me.)

[Melvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for those that know that there is more to the understanding of God than what the traditional teachings teach us. It is a very excellent read.

[Sharon Neufer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really helped me to put the sky god behind me and has opened me up to a much more exciting and majestic understanding of God.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting argument about the way Christianity should change (and has begun to change). Some good ideas, but a fair amount of wishful thinking and not as much depth as I had hoped.