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The emergence of christianity final exam
The emergence of christianity final exam
Essay on the origins of christianity
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Each culture has a different creation story on how the world and its inhabitants came to be. For those that practice Christianity, Catholicism and, Protestantism the Bible is the source of their creation story. Those that practice Vedism, which is the ancient Indo-European speaking religion of people who entered India in 1500 BCE, the Sacrifice of Purusha is the ancient the ancient text that, holds their creation story (Britannica). Humanity is very reliant on the scriptures that hold the teachings and tales of the Gods, also humans believe in the teachings to the point where they become law, the Devine is the basis for everything that happens in human life and in the world. For the religions of Christianity, Catholicism and, Protestantism the creation story that explains all derives from the Old Testament in the book of Genesis with the telling of how God created the Earth, Sky, and Garden of Eden. Genesis also tells the story of how God made man and from man, woman. All of the plant life that was created by God and in the garden of Eden is supposed to be all of the vegetation that we have lying around our society, nothing more and nothing less. God created …show more content…
Other deities were thus spawned from Purusha because the deity had one thousand heads, one thousand eyes and one thousand feet (S.P. 1). All of the things that we humans use to our advantages like livestock, earth and plants, the sun and the moon, the sky, and the oceans all stemmed from the many body parts of Purusha. For this culture, Purusha makes up everything they have and utilize. The hymn even mentions oil as one of the many things that were given to the society from the other deities spreading Purusha’s limbs. Every essence of Purusha, besides the three-fourths that were sent up to be created into heaven and eternal life, has a purpose and nothing would go to waste in their
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.
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 phenomena 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.
Genesis reads that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth,” then “God’s spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.” Another characteristic is how, after the water, came land. How the World Was Made, describes how the “soft mud,” from under the water “began to grow and to spread out on every side until it became the island we call the earth.” In The Sky Tree, the soil was “placed...until they made an island of great size.” A final similarity, is how after land came animals and how the animals helped to take care of the people on the earth. In How the World Was Made, the world the animals lived in was called Galun’lati. Galun’lati “was very much crowded,” and “the animals wanted more room;” Water Beetle left to find land so that the animals could have more space. While Water Beetle helped find land for the animals, in The Sky Tree a turtle sees a woman falling from the sky after she had jumped after a sacred tree. Turtle told his friends what he had seen and had them “bring up pawfuls of wet soil,” and place it on his back which created a “new earth,” for the woman to “settle gently on.” In Genesis, God created the animals
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 most common mythological theme across different cultures is the creation of humankind because everyone has always questioned how the earth was created and so forth. Creation myths are “usually applied to a mytho-religious story which explains the beginning of humanity, life, the earth and the universe as being the result of a deliberate act of supreme beings or being” ("Creation myths," 2007). Individuals from different cultures believe in a higher power known as God and they believe that the higher power is the creator of earth, animals and humankind, however each culture believe in different Gods but they all believe that God is the creator and that is the universal theme across different cultures.
Over the course of history many different people and cultures have tried to explain human existence. Many forms of arts have been used to express these theories and myths but nothing more popular than literature. Two of the most popular stories of creation include the biblical tale of Genesis and the Babylonian epic, Enuma Elish. Many historians have debated over which of the two stories was derived from the other. While both stories are different and depict different ideals of how the universe came to be they due hold striking similarities.
Every culture has a different story of their origin. Each story varies in setting, main characters, and religious aspects. Although the stories are different, the sole purpose is the same for each – to explain how each civilization came to be. In order for a civilization to fully understand their past, they must critically break down the components of their origin story. Creation stories establish appropriate relationships within society by the revelation of the punishment laid out by the gods on unsatisfactory vassals, the importance of a hero figure, and the exposure of human survival based on nature.
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).
All in all, every culture and religion has their personal beliefs on human civilization and how the earth was produced. The most frequent belief modern day of the first humans, is the story of Adam and Eve. There is a plethora of theories, but none that are one hundred percent accurate. If you ask me, scientist will never know how earth came about and they will never identify who the first humans were. Every “story of creation” is a myth.
Origin stories tell how the Earth and humans came to be and are diverse among many cultures but there are also similarities among many told around the world. Traditions and religions are significant factors, which shows the overlapping of thoughts as well as the variety in ideas of how the world has come to be. The origin stories in our textbook focused mainly on stories told by Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India, Greece and Rome, Islam, Japan, Maya, and Judaeo-Christian. All of these countries have different cultures and beliefs, but somehow their origin stories showed some similarities in how they thought the Earth and humans developed. While reading these creation stories and from our discussions in class, similarities stood out mostly in
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.
The whole concept of a sacrificial ritual is one that is not new in modern time. Sacrifices have been around for thousands of years in both religious and magical contexts. There are many examples of an individual or group putting together a sacrifice either for the purpose of religion or magic. The only question here is if there is any difference between the two, and in fact, there is. A main theme in sacrifices is that when it is done in a religious context, it is completed in a way to please some sort of deity or God and to show their devotion to them.