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Compare and contrast two creation stories
Comparing the two creation stories
Comparing the creation narratives
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The creation story from Genesis, and Popul Vuh are great examples of how different cultures believe the world was created. Creation stories are the base of every culture. The stories demonstrate beliefs and values used in the culture. People are easily entertained by reading creation stories. Creation stories lead the readers to investigate information about the culture. Scientists are able to utilize creation stories to decipher mysteries that were left unresolved from ancient times. Albeit all the differences among creation stories, there are copious parts which are
similar.
Creation stories tell of how the world was created based on the Indians. In my home state of Washington State, Makah Indians told the story of the-Two-Men-Who-Changed-Things creation story. Chelan Indians told the story of a Great Chief above that created the Indians. Both have different cultural backgrounds and live in different places in Washington.
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.
In the stories the Popol Vuh and Genesis, the gods punish their creations because they “regret” it, but the punishment is very different in each story.
As human beings, we are designed to belive in something. Although the belief in a higher power or religion is diverse, many theologies share common themes. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and the Hebrew book of “Genesis” are seemingly polar opposites. Christianity, demonstrated in Genesis, is monotheistic, and the Hebrews base their faith on their relationship with God. On the other hand, Sumerian philosophy, found in Gilgamesh, is polytheistic, and the Sumerian people base their theology on fear. Ancient polytheistic literature forms an archetypical pattern of the mortals trying desperately to please the gods. A mortal’s entire existence rests in the hands of the sometimes childish gods. In spite of this, these two stories
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.
The first book of the bible, Genesis, tells a story of Sodom. Immersed in adultery, lust, and just about any other sin existent to man, this city is doomed to a fiery death. God sends down two angels to examine the city and see if there is any innocence whatsoever. If these messengers manage to find forty-five innocent people, God will spare the city from destruction (Genesis 18). However, the messengers only find Lot and his family to be deserving of salvation. During their stay with Lot, the people of Sodom make attempts to break into Lot’s home and rape the visitors. That night, the messengers tell Lot and his family of Sodom’s fate. While Lot and his family are guided from Sodom with the assistance of the messengers, the city is burned to oblivion (Genesis 19: 1-28).
Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but with negative affects, 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. These differences include how Gods treat humans and why the Gods/God created Earth. These stories are still being passed on in today’s world and are two of the most influential creation stories to have ever been written. The similarities and differences in the creation stories show that different cultures and religions throughout the world really aren’t that far off from each other.
Just look at two creation stories side-by-side and you should easily see their similarities. Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to take one unknown creation story and compare it to one from one’s own culture. Below is an example of a Mongolian creation myth:
Throughout time we have seen in many different ethnicities and religions the many takes on their idea of how they believe creation came to be. Along all these myths or tales we tend to see something similar as if a common pattern is being repeated. We see patterns such as temptation always leading to someone's downfall or this sense of someone falling into something terrible and so on. Even though these different religions or ethnicities are nowhere close in distance or time from each other, it does not seem to make a difference on their beliefs of the world's creation. For example, Native American tales such as The World on the Turtle's Back and our own Catholic Creation Story have many similar key ideas being portrayed in both accounts. Although many may argue that the Native American tale The World on the Turtle's Back and the Catholic Creation Story differ, they are relatable in the sense of curiosity leading to big consequences, the good versus evil being introduced, and the personification of animals.
The dawn of life has always interrogated the truth of humanity, the true origins of what actually occurred. Many religions lay upon interpretations for the beginning, one of which are the Quiché Maya. Written in the mid-1500 period, the holy scripture, Popol Vuh, of the Mayas contain their beliefs of the creation. The Popol Vuh can often be referred as the Mayan version of the Bible, which in fact, has similarities in Mayan view to the Christianity aspect. Through the interpretations of each story, Popol Vuh and Genesis, the creation in the Christian bible, each accommodate many resemblances in the stories of mans beginning.
An origin story is a back story of how something was originated or created, and the circumstances of how it was formed. All origin stories have common themes and many similarities, but are very different in other ways. The origin stories Efik, Judeo-Christian, and Modern Scientific all show examples of how origin stories can be alike and very different. The three stories are alike in the ways they address how the first life forms were all plants and animals, and that humans dominated the animals. The three stories are also different in the ways they address how the humans were formed, and all of the origin stories believe in different gods.
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to the Bible, especially in Genesis and it’s not just that the both begin with the letter “g”’! One major similarity being the flood story that is told in both works. The two stories are very similar but also very different. Another being the use of serpents in both works and how they represent the same thing. A third similarity being the power of God or gods and the influence they have on the people of the stories. Within these similarities there are also differences that need to be pointed out as well.
Myths and Origins also known as creation is “A story describing or explaining the creation of the world”(“creation story”). Stories like these are mainly told by American Indians and aboriginal Australians. “ What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the intertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset” (Blackfoot Proverb). This quote, to me, shows how these stories come across to different people and how simple they can be. Everything stated in this quote is very simple to imagine, just like creation stories. Another type of myth is a trickster tale. A trickster tale is a story is “a story featuring a protagonist (often an anthropomorphized
A traditional story being taught in school today is scientific naturalism or better known as evolution, which is the belief that living organisms has descended from past organisms that have lived. An example would be that humans have descended from the family of apes, but if you are a believer of the Bible, you would not believe that is true. Evolution is a huge point that schools teach on and it is important that we, as Christians, understand the difference between the actual creation story and what schools teach. Evolution is based on myths and tells us we continuously descend from past organisms because of our shared characteristics, along with other factors. The creation story is at the beginning of the Bible and helps a variety of people make sense of this world, even if people say the Bible is based off a belief as well.
Within the texts of Genesis which belong to the biblical scriptures of the Hebrews, and the myths of Egyptian origin, there are a multitude of similarities and differences. When compared side by side, the most obvious factor of both texts is that a single God was the creator of all that we know today. In Genesis that creator is simply referred to as God, while in Egyptian mythology, the creator is known as Neb-er-tcher. Both creators have striking resemblances, such as the ways they went about the production of the world.