--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a pluralistic culture . . . every…" description: "\"“In a pluralistic culture . . . every individual must create a private mythological system. I must discover within myself the Garden of Eden from which..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/sam-keen-4929_garden-of-eden_in-a-pluralistic-culture-every-individua_1583101.png" --- # In a pluralistic culture . . . every individual must… ![“In a pluralistic culture . . . every individual must create a private mythological system. I must discover within myself the Garden of Eden from which I am exiled and the New Jeruselem toward which I am journeying. And must bear the burden of being my own redeemer, my own Christ.” quote by Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/sam-keen-4929_garden-of-eden_in-a-pluralistic-culture-every-individua_1583101.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/sam-keen-4929_garden-of-eden_in-a-pluralistic-culture-every-individua_1583101.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/sam-keen-4929_garden-of-eden_in-a-pluralistic-culture-every-individua_1583101.png) > ““In a pluralistic culture . . . every individual must create a private mythological system. I must discover within myself the Garden of Eden from which I am exiled and the New Jeruselem toward which I am journeying. And must bear the burden of being my own redeemer, my own Christ.”” [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individuals must create personal meaning, seeing themselves as both exiled and journeying toward a higher purpose, becoming their own savior. **In simple terms:** Create your own meaning and purpose. Key Takeaway Define personal myths and pursue growth. Themes self‑discovery mythmaking spiritual journey Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - journaling - therapy - creative writing - mindful meditation Key Concepts existentialism personal mythology Questions to Reflect On - What personal myth guides you? - How do you reconcile personal redemption with societal roles? A Different Perspective May lead to isolation if not balanced with community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-individual-2526537/) [Garden of eden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden-of-eden/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Jeruselem Journeying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jeruselem-journeying-5983347/) [Pluralistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralistic-364343/) [Pluralistic Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralistic-culture-2861789/) [Private Mythological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-mythological-5983346/) ## Related quotes > [The higher culture an individual attains, the less field there is left for mockery and scorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-higher-culture-an-individual-attains-the-less-field-there-is-left/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The Midlanders—a great many of them German speaking—carried their pluralistic culture into the Heartland, a place long since identified with neighborliness, family-centered progress, practical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-woodard/the-midlanders-a-great-many-of-them-german-speaking-carried-their/) [Colin Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-woodard/) > [Even though our society is increasingly pluralistic, we must ensure an equal playing field rather than a religiously cleansed arena where people of faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/even-though-our-society-is-increasingly-pluralistic-we-must-ensure-an/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [Many of us, both Jews and Christians, want the public square to be pluralistic, which is neither partisan nor naked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-novak/many-of-us-both-jews-and-christians-want-the-public-square-to-be/) [David Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-novak/) > [“How easily we accept the fact that this is a varied world, with many races, cultures, and mores. In America we rejoice in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-loth-liebman/how-easily-we-accept-the-fact-that-this-is-a-varied-world-with-many/) [Joshua Loth Liebman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-loth-liebman/) > [Today we hear a great deal about Organizational Men, Mass Culture, Conformity, the Lonely Crowd, the Power Elite and its Conspiracy of Mediocrity. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/today-we-hear-a-great-deal-about-organizational-men-mass-culture/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [Let us get on with creating the democratic and pluralistic society that we say we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mikulski/let-us-get-on-with-creating-the-democratic-and-pluralistic-society/) [Barbara Mikulski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mikulski/) > [ For \[Louis\] Brandeis, you know, ethnicity and background are much less important than facts and reason. And he believes that far from wanting to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/for-louis-brandeis-you-know-ethnicity-and-background-are-much-less/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [I am on the side of pluralistic societies, and I will do whatever I can - by the best means available and any means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ribot/i-am-on-the-side-of-pluralistic-societies-and-i-will-do-whatever-i/) [Marc Ribot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ribot/) > [In pluralistic, democratic societies, there is the freedom to adopt the religion of your choice. This is good. This lets curious people like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/in-pluralistic-democratic-societies-there-is-the-freedom-to-adopt-the/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I believe that pluralistic secularism, in the long run, is a more deadly poison than straightforward persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/i-believe-that-pluralistic-secularism-in-the-long-run-is-a-more/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [Even the state TV channels are not monolithic in their pro-government line, and the views they express are quite pluralistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lavrov/even-the-state-tv-channels-are-not-monolithic-in-their-pro-government/) [Sergei Lavrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lavrov/) > [Islam has a total organization of life that is completely different from ours; it embraces simply everything,...There is a very marked subordination of woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/islam-has-a-total-organization-of-life-that-is-completely-different/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [“People are not relativistic when it comes to matters of science, engineering, and technology; rather, they are relativistic and pluralistic in matters of religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/people-are-not-relativistic-when-it-comes-to-matters-of-science/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [There's practically no religion that I know of that sees other people in a way that affirms the others' choices. But in our century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/there-s-practically-no-religion-that-i-know-of-that-sees-other-people/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) ## More by Sam Keen > [Wise people are able to give themselves gracefully to seemingly contradictory experiences, because they know that they belong to different seasons of life, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/wise-people-are-able-to-give-themselves-gracefully-to-seemingly/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [To sustain love, a man and a woman must continually be marrying and divorcing, moving with, against, away from, and beyond each other, saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/to-sustain-love-a-man-and-a-woman-must-continually-be-marrying-and/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Mystical experiences (unlike scientific conclusions) cannot be communicated from one person to another. Philosophers and little children are continually amazed that we, unaccountably, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/mystical-experiences-unlike-scientific-conclusions-cannot-be/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [In a way, human beings have never been part of the natural order; we're not biological in the normal sense. Normal biological animals stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/in-a-way-human-beings-have-never-been-part-of-the-natural-order-we-re/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [To be on a quest is nothing more or less than to become an asker of questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/to-be-on-a-quest-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-to-become-an-asker-of/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [There is the extreme of hopelessness and the inevitability of doom, a deep despair that comes from the sense that our industrial, consuming society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/there-is-the-extreme-of-hopelessness-and-the-inevitability-of-doom-a/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Chronological time is what we measure by clocks and calendars; it is always linear, orderly, quantifiable, and mechanical. Kairotic time is organic, rhythmic, bodily,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/chronological-time-is-what-we-measure-by-clocks-and-calendars-it-is/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Human beings are what I think of as "biomythic" animals: we're controlled largely by the stories we tell. When we get the story wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/human-beings-are-what-i-think-of-as-biomythic-animals-we-re/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [If we come from good families where we have been supported well, there is a disillusionment we have to undergo in terms of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/if-we-come-from-good-families-where-we-have-been-supported-well-there/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [To a large extent, the aged in our society are ghettoized. Old people are seen as useless, bypassed by history, old-fashioned, in the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/to-a-large-extent-the-aged-in-our-society-are-ghettoized-old-people/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Call it "womb awe" or even "womb worship" but it's not simple envy. I don't remember even wanting to be a woman. But each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/call-it-womb-awe-or-even-womb-worship-but-it-s-not-simple-envy-i-don/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Mounting an expedition to actualize a Compassionate Commonwealth of all peoples...is the great spiritual challenge of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/mounting-an-expedition-to-actualize-a-compassionate-commonwealth-of/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [The root of humanly caused evil is not man's animal nature, not territorial aggression, or innate selfishness, but our need to gain self-esteem, deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/the-root-of-humanly-caused-evil-is-not-man-s-animal-nature-not/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [If some incarnation of evil as unambiguous as Hitler appeared again, I would have no moral qualms about killing the enemy. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/if-some-incarnation-of-evil-as-unambiguous-as-hitler-appeared-again-i/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [“A man who does not know how to wage a just battle, first with himself and then with others, has no values worth defending,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/a-man-who-does-not-know-how-to-wage-a-just-battle-first-with-himself/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) [Explore all 104 Sam Keen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) ## More Garden of eden quotes > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [“submittin’ to my husband ain’t never been my strong point. I be tryin’, Lord knows I do. And it help when you got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-stimpson/submittin-to-my-husband-ain-t-never-been-my-strong-point-i-be-tryin/) [Michelle Stimpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-stimpson/) > [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“The question is banal but one of the real troubles with living is that living is so banal. Everyone, after all, goes the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin-giovanni-s-room/the-question-is-banal-but-one-of-the-real-troubles-with-living-is/) [James Baldwin Giovanni's Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin-giovanni-s-room/) > [“Maybe that's why God had placed the angel at the Garden of Eden—to keep people away from the Tree of Life? Not to prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-hedlund/maybe-that-s-why-god-had-placed-the-angel-at-the-garden-of-eden-to/) [Jody Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-hedlund/) > [“I especially loved the Old Testament. Even as a kid I had a sense of it being slightly illicit. As though someone had slipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/i-especially-loved-the-old-testament-even-as-a-kid-i-had-a-sense-of/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [Adam, who said to our Lord in the Garden of Eden, I got more ribs - you got more broads? Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/adam-who-said-to-our-lord-in-the-garden-of-eden-i-got-more-ribs-you/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. Trees, rocks, and plants surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/in-the-first-movement-our-infancy-as-a-species-we-felt-no-separation/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [“The Garden of Eden, no doubt, looked fair before man was, but I always think that it must have been fairer when Eve adorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/the-garden-of-eden-no-doubt-looked-fair-before-man-was-but-i-always/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [“It is no accident that the Atonement will begin, as did the Fall, in a Garden. 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McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) [Browse all 238 Garden of eden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden-of-eden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In a pluralistic culture . . . every individual must create a private mythological system. I must discover within myself the Garden of Eden from which I am exiled and the New Jeruselem toward which I am journeying. 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