Beyond Mythology: A Challenge to Dogmatism in Religion

This book is written in the humanist tradition, attacking metaphysical beliefs and dismissing all theology as speculation and mythology, while simultaneously calling for a religion based on human values. Boynton begins with a critical historical approach to the interpretation of the Bible, emphasizing that the gospels, and other books of the New Testament are written not as historical accounts, but as propaganda to promote belief in Christianity. He sees a large disconnect between the advance of science and modern philosophy, on the one hand, and the recalcitrant position of Christians to understand how their current faith is based on medieval, pre-modern notions of how the universe exists. Nevertheless, by the end he favors maintaining the concept of God, which he understands to be the personification of human values--the values that we, as a modern American society, have for ourselves today. Written in 1951, its message is clearly relevant today. (April 20, 2022).