Mythology and Christianity

This is an old essay I wrote for Dr.Holland's Mythology class. I got an A.

The Dionysian in Christianity

Biblical Parallels
Christianity is not traditionally considered a Dionysian religion. From its inception, it has been conflicted between a repressive, distant, Apollonian God, and the close, alive madness of the Dionysian. Parallels to Dionysus are seen in some of the biblical accounts of Jesus. In particular, the story of Jesus and the money changers of the temple is an example. It is a story where a God becomes so angry at a perceived affront that he physically beats and whips the offenders. It is a story that doesn’t seem to belong in the New Testament conception of Jesus, but it is similar (although toned down) to stories about mortals who offended Dionysus, and their sudden, subsequent, violent punishment. Immediately after this, he curses an olive tree because it did not bear fruit for him to eat. Apocryphal stories of Jesus’ childhood show him killing other young children for the silly, arbitrary reasons of a child, instead of a God. Otto says of Dionysus ‘the more impetuous his nature is, the more unconditional the demands are which he makes on the souls of mankind, the more stubborn the opposition and resistance must be… he mocks all human order, that he first had to overpower the hearts of men before they could do him homage.” (76)

Another New Testament story reflects the sudden, confrontational nature of the Dionysian This is the story of Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. It is many years after the crucifixion and ascension of Jesus, and Saul is a devout Jew bent on exterminating Christians, yet on a lonely road there is a blinding burst of light and a demand, not a request, from Jesus to follow him. Saul remains blinded until he is healed by a Christian named Ananias, and then he becomes the most famous evangelist of his time, changes his name to Paul, and basically invents most of Christianity. This story is very unusual and Dionysian also in that Jesus seems connected to the underworld. He not only rises from the grave once to defeat death, but again to call unsuspecting persecutors (or comes down from heaven, but there is no difference mythologically.) It is difficult to reconcile this life-changing experience with Paul’s later prohibitions to the early church. Paul was particularly concerned with the behavior of women in the church. Many commentaries suggest that Paul’s advocacy of Christian women’s headcovering and silence in the assembly are an attempt to differentiate them from mad maenads of the Greek religion.

Parallels between Dionysus and Jesus are also found in his association with women. Otto says over and over again that women were hugely important in Dionysian worship. In the New Testament, we find that Jesus is almost never without a woman or two by his side, especially Mary Magdalene. This is highly unusual for the mores of Judaism at the time, and was heavily criticized. Just as the women went to Jesus’ tomb on the third day, so the Greek women “threw sacrifices down to the ‘guardian of the underworld’ on the festival of Dionysus’ return from
below.”

Dionysus is the God of Wine in Greek myth, Jesus is no less associated with it. His very first public demonstration of his divinity was to turn water to wine at a wedding. He demands we drink wine as his blood. Many fundamentalists try to disassociate from this by saying that wine in that time was less alcoholic, or watered down in order to enforce a total ban on alcohol today, but these reasons seem hollow.

Contemporary Practices
The worship in a mainstream Christian denomination is very traditionally Apollonian, not Dionysian. There is no strong emotion, the music is of a soft beat and rhythm, the preaching is straightforward and intellectual, and the service is highly ordered. This includes most Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, most Catholics, and affiliated Baptists. However, there are some denominations and small sects whose worship practices include Dionysian madness in rather unusual and extreme forms, such as speaking in tongues and snake-handling. Also, the effects of youth culture of the sixties is really only now being felt as the young adults demand more emotionally relevant music and services that are far more Dionysian in character.

Speaking in tongues is a poorly understood feature of Christianity. Most Baptists and other denominations will reluctantly admit that it can be a real spiritual gift, but just try doing it during one of their services. The Church of God is a denomination that regularly supports its happening during services. It is sought after by they and other Christians as a true article of faith, but it is simultaneously frightening. I once saw a woman speaking in tongues in the Lee University library, as she was being held up by two other women. What kind of power is so compelling that you would make an idiot of yourself in a place that is supposed to be so quiet? Dionysus is the “God who Comes,” especially when it is not necessarily appropriate for him to. The loss of control and unearthly words seem more suited to a demonic power than a Christian one. In fact, many churches say that if a divine “interpretation” is not forthcoming from the preacher or another elder of the tongues, then it is a manifestation of the devil. People have been thrown out of their church for non-sanctioned speaking in tongues. Of course, it is true that some people ‘fake” speaking in tongues quite consciously, especially teenagers in denominations where it is required for salvation, but this is not an explanation for most of the phenomenon.

Snake-handling is an utterly fascinating manifestation of Christian worship. It is unimportant that it may have less than 2500 followers or that most Christians denounce it quite vehemently. Because of its controversy, all small, fundamentalist churches of the south are influenced by it, and the perception of them is tainted by it. It started in my hometown of Cleveland, Tennessee due to a man named George Hensley. He died from a snake bite in 1955, ironically. Their reasons for this practice are a few verses in the New Testament; “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” – Mark 16:18. Obviously, this is literalism to the highest degree. The worship itself includes music and dancing with the handling of the snakes. It is so reminiscent of our conceptions of the pagan practices of Dionysus and other Gods that most other Christians do not hesitate to say so. Devotees say that the feeling is better than any drug, that they are intoxicated and in an ecstasy when they take up the serpents.

Although the preceding are extreme forms of Dionysian worship, it can also be argued that the concept of transubstantiation in Catholic mass (but not Protestant communion) is highly Dionysian in concept. What is more Dionysian than to suggest that a priest can call your God out from the underworld so that you may drink his blood and eat his flesh? There may not be wild dancing and singing, but devout Catholics have high emotion and religious ecstasy during this time. I even saw a church that had a “coming down” area with chairs and tissues outside the sanctuary. It seems that churches with a high Hispanic attendance have more of this fervor. It is likely a difference between a culture that values faith and expression versus a culture that values fact and propriety.

The Dionysian is most at work in most mainstream Christian denominations today. Bitter struggles are still going on in many churches over what are called “contemporary” worship services. Contemporary worship grew out of the counterculture of the sixties and seventies. It has been used in youth groups for many years, and now those youth want it in “grown-up” church. It uses the guitar and drum-driven “rock” beat with new choruses and songs instead of old organ hymns. Music is absolutely central, often to the detriment of preaching. Strong emotion is evidenced by the raising of hands, closing of eyes, crying, and the fact that services often run over the allotted time. These tactics are especially useful in an isolated “church camp” situation, where they lead to numerous conversions. Participants commonly talk about being “on fire for Jesus,” or “having a personal relationship with Jesus.” The older generation is inherently suspicious of such practices because they do not conform to a staid, Apollonian interpretation of Christianity. Churches are dying and splintering over this controversy, which is commonly talked about as if it were only about the music. Churches are struggling to find a balance between the two extremes and appease both generations. Some churches are large enough to have separate services, but the age groups then remain isolated. Others mix the music and style in the same service, and the most extreme of either group may leave the church. Some denominations reject ‘rock” music and its attendant worship style as evil, and they are mostly dying off. Other churches are made up of only young adults and others of a contemporary mindset, these churches may not have as much tradition and stability. The battle over “music” today threatens to change the whole face of contemporary Christianity. Every church must work out its own compromise, and every older Christian must decide if their own personal prejudice is more important than the future of the church. It is truly Dionysus versus Apollo all over again. It is fascinating how millennia-old concepts of one dead religion are now playing out in the evolution of a totally different religion.