-Bernard Knox
It could be said, I think, that myth is the only science and psychology of such a world, as well. Without modern instruments, and without thousands of years of documented research, the oral tradition of pre-literate cultures had to find ways to explain human actions and natural phenomena in a satisfactory way.
In Greek myth- and myths around the world, natural disasters- like earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and famines- were often explained as divine punishment for human wrongs. The greater the disaster, the more egregious the human sin must have been. The process of creating these myths probably moved backward chronologically, from the disaster itself to the root cause of it.
Let's look at an example from the Judeo-Christian tradition:
The Biblical Story of Sodom and Gomorrah
What was the real life disaster?
What do you think was the sin of the men of Sodom?
This tendency to attribute disasters to human error has not disappeared with the modern age. Two days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, the Reverend Jerry Falwell appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club with Pat Robertson, and made the following remarks regarding who bore at least part of the blame for the disaster:
"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"
