What gives purpose to life? If your ontological response is to live according to God's plan, or to be of service to Allah, or to develop virtue according to the dharma, this is well and fine. But what happens when you realize,, as Nietzsche said, that God is Dead. That we killed God with science, that God could not be a empirical fact and that God died in a fit of pity and laughter at this notion. This leaves us with the unenviable pursuit to develop our own meaning--God's death granted ultimate freedom.
Ancient myths were not just stories about religion, they were not tales spun to make us fear gods; No, these tales showed the same emotions that we all have, envy, lust, hunger, pride and so on. What these stories did was raise our consciousness to a new level to develop meaning and aspirations. The myths sung to us that life is about life!! We live so that we may prosper, grow and develop. Loki feeling the venom of a snake, Nike on the glory of accomplishment in winning, the student who mantraed his guru's name to cross the river who in turn made the guru try this--only he chanted his own name and drowned. These psychological dramas show us how to live our lives and reasons for doing so. Without this, we turn to nihilism, the destruction of life for its loss of meaning.
Superheros teach us as did the myths. Superman lives abundantly, always attempting and more virtuous way of living. He is overabundance, yet lives with that in humility. Captain America shows idealism but not dogma, Batman the maniacal embrace of vengence and how it robs a person of any kind of normalcy.
Some others: Hellboy-becoming who you want to become, developing the path and beating back the so called inspired destiny. Nexus-Cosmic avenger of mass murderers, tortured by the deaths he inflicts and burdens of near godhood.
Our superheros are the new myths, they are religion that glorifies life, showing us that life and life only is worthy of living for.
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