Creation of human beings is undoubtedly the biggest story that attracts divergent explanation from different socio-cultural backgrounds. Man as the supreme work of a supernatural being in the Christian society is the greatest theory that attracts the largest number of followers across the globe. It is however important to understand that the Christianity theory is not the only theory that defines creation. There are exclusive creation theories upheld by divergent societies across the globe. This paper therefore compares the bible creation myth commonly known as the theory of special creation and the Norse creation myth. The bible creation myth appears to be the standard gauge and foundation of the other theories. It is however significant …show more content…
to understand that each theory has been developed from a native societal set up that serves as the cradle point of the particular myth (Leeming. 34). This is an analytical paper that provides realistic examples and explicit expose on some of the basic myths of creation and their respective impacts to the livelihoods of different societal set ups. The best and most popular myth of creation is the biblical approach to creation.
According to the holy bible, everything in the universe was created at a different day by God the Supreme Being that existed way before any other creature. Adam and Eve the parents of the whole race of humanity were created from clay by God. This theory dates back to the Garden of Eden in old day Israel (Holy Bible, 13). It is a theory that receives the religious backing of the three greatest religious movements across the globe. Christians, Muslims and Jews agree on the fact that God created the first Man and from the man God made a woman. According to these religions, God took six day to create everything that is in the universe with man being created on the six …show more content…
day. The seventh day is referred to as the day of resting. The holiness of the Sabbath apparently comes from the resting that God did on the seventh day. The three religions have hence set different days of the week as their official Sabbath during which all normal activities are put aside for the sake of fulfilling the religious duty of holiness as per their respective holy books. According to the story of creation in the book of Genesis; after God Made man from dust and blew life into him, he (GOD) then made man a helper the woman to help eradicate the boredom that man had. At the centre of the garden, God set the tree of knowledge and cautioned man from taking the fruits of the tree. “...if anyone of you takes the fruit of this tree, then you will die...’ (Genesis 2:16-17). Man has been presented as the superior part of the human race. For this reason therefore women in the three religious cultures are expected to be submissive to the masculine gender. The religious interpretation of the superiority of man over woman has seen the feminine gender suffer massive exploitation from the masculine gender (Leeming, 45). Leadership and education for instance has been perceived as the right of the masculine gender for quite a long time. As a matter of fact, there are some indigenous cultures in some societies that still uphold the primitive principles that present the feminine gender as a tool to the masculine gender. According to the Islam religion originating in Mecca the Middle East, Adam and Hawa (Eve) are God’s (ALLAH) representatives on earth send down immediately after partaking of the forbidden fruit. According to the Haddith narrations, Adam and Hawa formed the first family with Adam being the head of the family (Richard & Longman, 22). Nonetheless, the Islam myth of creation differs from the Christian myth because Muslims do not believe on the theory of original sin. Their belief is that the human race got full acquittal by repenting their sinful deeds and God sent them down to help civilize and govern the ungoverned God’s Territory. Man therefore needs to initiate governance, order and sense of administration across the globe. The formulation of governments apparently originates from the existence of such myths practised in the religious world (Richard & Longman, 66).
Because of the different faiths practised by the human race, governments have been formulated to help maintain a self-sustained society. The special theory of creation therefore provides the foundation for other myths across the globe. It is a theory that most importantly explains that all human beings are born and at some point die to end their time on earth. The social balance and respect that is enjoyed across the global societies finds its origin in the special creation theory. It is a theory that creates the sense of mutual coexistence and respect between different people hence maintaining the civilized global community we live in. The Babylonian Myth on the other hand is a relatively complex and hypothetical story that tries to explain the cradle of mankind in a poetic way. The Babylonian Myth of creation greatly resembles the Norse myth of creation (King, 1902). These theories take the gory storyline development structure in which the race of mankind emanates from a supernatural works of supreme beings entangled in a battle of supremacy. According to the Babylonian myth of creation, Marduk (the sky god) kills Tiamat (the earth goddess) he then dissects the body of dead Tiamat into two pieces namely as the sky and earth
respectively. Conflict between two supernatural beings bears a third factor that creates an equilibrium and separation of powers between the antagonistic supernatural beings. According to King 1902, the translator of Enuma Elish’s poem the Epic of Creation, Tiamut gave birth to Apsu and Chaos. Lahmu and Lahamu the oldest gods made things happen and formulated the different features that separated the heaven from the earth (King, 1902). The Celtic Mythology in the Celtic society serves as the most appropriate example of a socio-cultural beliefs that set the basic foundation of specific beliefs and principles in a society. The celtic society for instance upholds some of its aboriginal cultural practises affiliated to the Norse myth of creation in the name of sustaining the socio-cultural principles and values learned from their ancestors. The reason why certain societies across the globe still remains very compact and strong even in the modern era of modernization and technology is as a result of the aboriginal bonds that such communities uphold as part of their treasured culture. Rites of passage and spiritual practises in such societies play a very important role in expressing the respect of ancestral policies in a modernized era. This is the reason why culture brings in the aspect of an aboriginal bond in society (Leeming, 164). The diversity of cultures is a very crucial rudiment to humanity. It creates the basic foundation to uniqueness and supremacy of the human race over all the other races in the universe. The different mythologies of creation of this dominant race of intelligent creature with the strong bond to the supernatural beings shows how man is an important manager not only in the ancient societal background but also very important in the modern day world. Different societies will uphold divergent theories in reference to the cradle of man and relationship of the human race with the supernatural world. These theories form a very important part of the cultural and social practices that make up the most crucial part of man’s livelihood (Richard & Longman, 102). The norms and morals learnt from the cultural beliefs are passed chronologically across generations hence maintaining the strong bond of the ancient society and modern society. The theories of creation upheld by different societies are apparently not the definitive truths about the cradle of man. Nonetheless, each society has a way to explain their origin. Reference texts such as the Bible, Quran and history texts are developed with the objective of sustaining the purity of a specific history across different ages. It is such conservation of the past that creates a strong belief in a specific culture. Every creation theory is therefore bound to have relevance to the society in question.
Most cultures have a creation myth, a story of how humans came to exist in the world. Often, they involve Gods of some capacity who exist without much question or explanation. Many myths have a common idea for the origin of the world, like Earth being born from water, a golden egg, or a great monster. The Mayan creation myth and the Babylonian creation myth are similar in that they both begin with water, and account the creation and purpose of man. They also differ, as the Mayan Popol Vuh chronicles a peaceful tale of trials to forge the Earth and sentient beings to worship the gods, while the Babylonian Enuma Elish tells of wars between gods that lead to the creation of Earth and of man as a servant to the gods.
Creation stories have profound effects on humans. Those associated with ancient cultures/civilizations aim to ensure the successful survival or well-being of themselves and that particular culture/civilization of their association, but not all are beneficial, prosperous, or fortunate. Mesopotamia’s “The Gilgamesh Epic”, Egypt’s “Hymn to the Nile-Documents”, and Mesoamerica’s Mayan and Aztec creation stories/religion are influential to establishing significant relationships within society, whether that is between humans and nature or humans and their “god(s).”
Have you ever wonder how the universe was created? Some people believe in the Earth creation by the Supreme Being, some believe in the scientific explanation of Big Bang explosion theory. Every civilization in the world has its own story of how things are created. Each story reflects how people see and think the world at their time. In this essay, I am going to compare two myths of how man was created – the creation tale of Mohawk Tribe and the Hebrew Bible creation story. There are a lot of similarities as well as differences between these legends. While some differences between the two tales are the development of the stories and the meaning behind the stories, the similarities between them is the concept of creationism.
Further exploration of the myth teaches more about Northern Europeans who believed it as their creation myth and reveals their emphasis on structure and order as well as a belief in supernatural
Hesiod’s Theogony and the Babylonian Enuma Elish are both myths that begin as creation myths, explaining how the universe and, later on, humans came to be. These types of myths exist in every culture and, while the account of creation in Hesiod’s Theogony and the Enuma Elish share many similarities, the two myths differ in many ways as well. Both myths begin creation from where the universe is a formless state, from which the primordial gods emerge. The idea of the earth and sky beginning as one and then being separated is also expressed in both myths.
Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomenons in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life sprouting from a seed. But all share a common themes, such as a form of chaos or nothingness before life is created. Joseph Campbell notes that “... the idea of an absolute ontological distinction between God and man – or between gods and men, divinity and nature - first became an important social and psychological force in the near East, specifically Akkad, in the period of the first Semetic Kings, c. 2500 B.C.,” showing another similar trait – a god or set of gods exists to create in each story (626). Joseph Campbell makes a comparison of how both Genesis and the Book of the Dead of Egypt share the same idea of their bodies belonging to their god in some way, or being reabsorbed into them at death (630-631). Others, like the Japanese and Iroquois creation myths, claim the Earth was once covered entirely of water before land was formed. Adam and Eve of Genesis and Izanagi and sister Izanami of Shintoism provide examples of myths that share both a passive and active pair of people who eventually create the Earth's population. In any case, certain popular creation myths, some closely tied to prominent religions, share more common characteristics than others. An entire sub-study, called comparative mythology, gives insight into this subject.
Humans have asked questions about their origin and their purpose on earth for eons. The Bible tells humans that God created them and explains their purpose. However, since the Renaissance, humanism answers questions about origins by naturalistic means and science has been redefined in the process. Most institutions of higher education and many individuals have adopted the naturalistic theory of evolution to explain human origin without considering its effects on faith. In contrast to prevailing thought at Goshen College, a literal six-day creation is foundational to the Gospel message. Combining evolution and Christianity makes one’s faith less logical and opens one’s science to new quandaries.
Throughout the world there are various cultures with varying religions and creation stories to explain the creation of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. Of these creation stories two with similar and also different characteristics is the Creation story in the book of Genesis which is a part of the 1st Testament in the Hebrew Bible and explains the creation of Earth and humans, and the Theogony which is the greek creation story that describes the origins of the Earth and the Greek Gods. Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but it can also affect them negatively, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories.
The creation myths that I have studied are similar in many ways. They also have differences that show an inherently different way of thinking about the world. All have creators-gods that make the world into what is now. There are conflicts within their world, and these conflicts change the face world. God to god or human to god maybe be involved in these conflicts. Their bloody struggles prove who is more powerful, causing change in the control of the world. Some gods are beneficial to man and others are self-serving, using man only as a tool.
The second creation myth I will examine in this essay is of Greek origin and is known as The Five Ages of Man. This myth begins wit...
Can religions and cultures be anything more than their history? Why do we have a concept of history in the first place? Obviously history exists, but like the human ability to conceive of the future, history seems to be a rare phenomenon tied with our ability for language and the telling of stories. What’s even more fascinating is the human ability to make up a history or to tell a story, such as a creation myth, that seeks to explain something that has not been witnessed by anyone and does not have any role in finding food or creating shelter. We do not have a physical need to know how the earth came to be or to know how it is that we came to be here. Still, creation stories exist in almost all human cultures and, amazingly, many share many of the same elements. The question is, why? Is it a coincidence that so many of them share the same elements? By looking at a comparison of two creation stories, we should be able to understand the meaning of these similarities better.
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
When the modern person ponders the formation of human beings, our mind automatically goes to Adam and Eve, whom were the first man and woman created by God according to the Book of Genesis. Before there was Adam and Eve, diverse cultures came up with myths about the construction of humans. These myths included: “The Song of Creation” from the Rig Veda, An African Creation Tale, From the Popol Vuh, and A Native American Creation Tale “How Man Was Created” Each one of these legends gives a diverse perspective on the creation of human beings.
In today’s society, many topics create a very substantial amount of controversy between different groups of people. From abortion to the healthcare reform, there are countless topics of discussion. One of the major and ongoing controversial topics in the religious community is the Big Bang theory versus Creation. One side of the controversy is, predominately, the scientific community, with the other end obviously being the religious community. Genesis 1:1-2 says: “First this: God created the heavens and earth—all you see, all you don’t see.
Genesis is the first creation story. God creates, establishes, and puts everything into motion. After putting all of this in motion he then rests. He creates everything on earth in just seven days. Before creation Gods breath was hovering over a formless void. God made earth and all of the living creatures on earth out of nothing. There was not any pre-existent matter out of which the world was produced. Reading Genesis 1 discusses where living creatures came from and how the earth was formed. It’s fascinating to know how the world began and who created it all. In Genesis 1 God is the mighty Lord and has such strong power that he can create and banish whatever he would like. His powers are unlike any others. The beginning was created from one man only, God.