Matt, thanks for the inspiration to apply this perspective with Basque mythology. I am not a polished writer like yourself but here is a draft AI wrote framing Basque mythology with your post.
"If myth is dismissed as false, then cultures are left with facts but no grammar—information without orientation, description without meaning. Yet the enduring power of myth, whether in ancient Basque tradition or in the great religious narratives of the West, suggests something very different: myth persists because it carries the kind of truth human beings cannot live without. It tells us not merely what the world is made of, but what the world means, what demands our reverence, and how we are meant to stand within it.
Basque mythology offers a particularly instructive example. It does not begin with a tidy account of origins, but with land, light, and transformation. Its creation story is not confined to the past; it unfolds wherever the old world recognizes the arrival of the new sun and yields without resentment. In the disappearance of the Jentilak, in the descent of Olentzero, and in the turning of darkness toward light, we see myth operating precisely as it should: not as failed science or fanciful history, but as a mode of truth-telling that reveals the structure of reality and humanity’s place within it.
This is why Christianity, when it encounters such myth, does not simply erase it. The Incarnation does not abolish myth; it fulfills it. The Christian claim is not that myth was wrong, but that the deepest hopes myth carried have stepped into history. What myth gestures toward—renewal, illumination, reconciliation—Christian theology dares to name. In this sense, Christianity is not the enemy of myth but its vindication, the moment when the symbolic grammar of the world becomes flesh.
To recover myth, then, is not to retreat from truth but to recover its depth. It is to remember that some realities must be narrated before they can be analyzed, inhabited before they can be explained. Myth is not the opposite of fact; it is the framework that tells us which facts matter, and why. And when myth is allowed to bear its proper weight, it does what it has always done best: it trains the imagination to recognize the light when it arrives—and to make room for it when it does."
Rick, I'm Matt's friend and cowriter on the blog. I'm sure Matt will reply, but I wanted to thank you for your thoughtful comment. What makes Basque mythology interesting to you? I'm unfamiliar with that culture and would like to explore it now that you've brought it up.
I was introduced to the Basque culture in 1992. An exchange student was spending the school year with our pastor’s family. His passport said Spanish but he let us know loud and clear that he was Basque. This started the journey of exploring the Basque culture, butting heads with it and learning how to recognize what God was doing in that cross cultural context. From this one student, who took the step to follow Jesus, returned to Basque Country with no fellow believers or Basque friendly church to mature in his faith. So, the past thirty years or so a group of us have been attempting to understand what God is doing and do what we can to come along side and make Jesus known to our circle of friends there. I have an earlier post explaining the transformative Basque Christmas season that may shed some light on the various cultural celebrations rooted in their mythology. Peace and Blessings.
Rick, I didn't write this article with Matt—he wrote this one by himself. I write other articles. I'll check out Basque mythology. I've had their version of cheesecake and it's my favorite.
Hey Rick, good to hear from you. I coached at CKMS this year btw. Hope all is well. Myth is like natural revelation. The more it points to the God of the Bible the truer it is. The impulses of myth I meant to push us toward God. When they do they become true in an objective sense and not just a subjective sense.
Matt, thanks for the inspiration to apply this perspective with Basque mythology. I am not a polished writer like yourself but here is a draft AI wrote framing Basque mythology with your post.
"If myth is dismissed as false, then cultures are left with facts but no grammar—information without orientation, description without meaning. Yet the enduring power of myth, whether in ancient Basque tradition or in the great religious narratives of the West, suggests something very different: myth persists because it carries the kind of truth human beings cannot live without. It tells us not merely what the world is made of, but what the world means, what demands our reverence, and how we are meant to stand within it.
Basque mythology offers a particularly instructive example. It does not begin with a tidy account of origins, but with land, light, and transformation. Its creation story is not confined to the past; it unfolds wherever the old world recognizes the arrival of the new sun and yields without resentment. In the disappearance of the Jentilak, in the descent of Olentzero, and in the turning of darkness toward light, we see myth operating precisely as it should: not as failed science or fanciful history, but as a mode of truth-telling that reveals the structure of reality and humanity’s place within it.
This is why Christianity, when it encounters such myth, does not simply erase it. The Incarnation does not abolish myth; it fulfills it. The Christian claim is not that myth was wrong, but that the deepest hopes myth carried have stepped into history. What myth gestures toward—renewal, illumination, reconciliation—Christian theology dares to name. In this sense, Christianity is not the enemy of myth but its vindication, the moment when the symbolic grammar of the world becomes flesh.
To recover myth, then, is not to retreat from truth but to recover its depth. It is to remember that some realities must be narrated before they can be analyzed, inhabited before they can be explained. Myth is not the opposite of fact; it is the framework that tells us which facts matter, and why. And when myth is allowed to bear its proper weight, it does what it has always done best: it trains the imagination to recognize the light when it arrives—and to make room for it when it does."
Rick, I'm Matt's friend and cowriter on the blog. I'm sure Matt will reply, but I wanted to thank you for your thoughtful comment. What makes Basque mythology interesting to you? I'm unfamiliar with that culture and would like to explore it now that you've brought it up.
Yes, Joshua. Nice work on the article.
I was introduced to the Basque culture in 1992. An exchange student was spending the school year with our pastor’s family. His passport said Spanish but he let us know loud and clear that he was Basque. This started the journey of exploring the Basque culture, butting heads with it and learning how to recognize what God was doing in that cross cultural context. From this one student, who took the step to follow Jesus, returned to Basque Country with no fellow believers or Basque friendly church to mature in his faith. So, the past thirty years or so a group of us have been attempting to understand what God is doing and do what we can to come along side and make Jesus known to our circle of friends there. I have an earlier post explaining the transformative Basque Christmas season that may shed some light on the various cultural celebrations rooted in their mythology. Peace and Blessings.
Rick, I didn't write this article with Matt—he wrote this one by himself. I write other articles. I'll check out Basque mythology. I've had their version of cheesecake and it's my favorite.
Hey Rick, good to hear from you. I coached at CKMS this year btw. Hope all is well. Myth is like natural revelation. The more it points to the God of the Bible the truer it is. The impulses of myth I meant to push us toward God. When they do they become true in an objective sense and not just a subjective sense.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment.