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Comparing creation myths
Comparing creation myths
Comparing creation myths
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The Creation of the World
The creation of the earth and all that is within the earth is mysterious, yet miraculous at the same time. Although there are probably hundreds of different accounts, they all seem to be different while almost identical in text. I will be comparing and contrasting between the Priestly account and the Yahwist account in the book of Genesis. Along with these accounts I will be discussing the key elements in the theology of creation and eco-spirituality in the world and the way they fit into my life.
These two versions of creation can be distinguished in various ways. The two stories differed in how they were told, how humans were created, a human's purpose in life, and the image and role that God played. The first difference was how humans and the world around them were created. In the Priestly account, the works of creation occurred in six days. On the first day God separated light from darkness, during the second day the water was divided from above and below the dome. The third and fourth days consisted of the appearance of dry land and plants, as well as the sun, moon and stars being placed on the firmament. The birds and fish were created on the fifth day and on the sixth day the animals and humans appeared. The seventh day was the day of rest for God, or as we know it, the day of Sabbath, which represented God's completeness. As for the account of the Yawist, humans were created when there was no rain and no one to plow the soil. The Yahwist fashioned man from the dust of the earth, then breathed into the man's nostrils to provided him with life. From the same soil came the wild beasts and birds that roam the earth today. Through this God was known as a potter, for he made man out...
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...earth, and have strength and courage to address ecological issues. The human community must take the time to collaborate with God and protect all that he has created.
The above elements might apply in my life in the many ways, for example it is important to live in moderation. If I live in moderation than I would be helping the world around us, by maintaining our resources, for we are in ecological crisis. If I make good judgements about the things I do and the things I chose to use then possibly others will do the same, and maybe we can slow this erosion of natural material from our world. Lastly, if I maintain strength and courage toward these ecological problems, then maybe I could help others understand our problem and get their support in this struggle. It is important to stay strong, in order to fight issues such as nuclear and ecological issues.
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.
In the journal of Environmentalism as Religion, Paul H. Rubin discuss about how environmental is similar to religion. Rubin want everyone to know that the environment and religion are somehow similar in a way, which they both have belief system, creation stories and original sin.
The most apparent difference, is how the Earth was created. In How the World Was Made and The Sky Tree, the earth is created by animals. “The Sky Tree” describes how a group of animals, “Beaver, Mink, Muskrat, and Otter each brought up pawfuls of wet soil and placed the soil on Turtle’s back until they had made an island of great size.” Then it describes “the great tree” falling on the earth and taking root, creating the plants. And How the Earth Was Made tells how a water beetle dove to the bottom of the ocean and brought the mud up where it then “began to grow and to spread out on every side until it became the island we call earth.” That earth was then “fastened to the sky with four cords.” While these two stories are vaguely similar, the book of Genesis differs extremely. In Genesis an omnipotent being commands the earth to appear. It states that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and that “On the seventh day, God finished his work which he had made.” Another example of the many differences of these stories, is why the earth was made. For example, in The Sky Tree, Turtle sees a woman falling from the sky and has his friends “bring soil up and place it on Turtle’s back,” so that the woman would have something to land on. They created the earth to save the woman’s life. In How the World Was Made, the story stated that the sky world that the
In conclusion, humankind is blessed with life as God created it. One must reflect on their actions throughout life because one will be judged by God in the next life, one must see the importance of gasping liberation, and one must have a loving and open heart when helping the poor. Life should be lived to its fullest because once time is lost, it cannot be regained; life needs to be appreciated.
In both myths the relationship between humans and nature is shown as a positive one but with negative effects from humans’ greed and necessity for more. In the beginning of the Creation Story it is stated in the first few lines “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” God then began to create the Earth in seven days. On the first day he created day and night out of the darkness and light. The second day led to the creation of the sky. The third day was the creation of the land. The fourth day led to the creation of the season. And finally on the fifth and sixth day, animals and humans were created, and the first two were a male and female named Adam and Eve. At the end of everyday during creation the words “and God saw it was good” are written. God is happy with his creation of nature. The phrase shows the positive connotation of...
The biggest similarity I found is that both indicate there is a creator. Each writing states that a being or person created each creature during the time. Enuma Elish states that Tiamut was the creator and in Fishbane’s writing Elohim is the equal creator. However, Tiamut is described as a women with the phrases “she raged and cried” and “she uttered a curse”. Whereas in Fishbane’s writing Elohim is described as a male in the third day of Genesis “and the gathered waters He called:”Sea!””. The rest of the time it is unclear if Elohim is a man or a woman. Neither version seems to definitively tell us if it only one God or multiple Gods at work. In Genesis it is stated, “Let us make Man in our image and our visage, that they Rule over the fish of the sea, birds of the sky, the herd animals and the whole earth, and every reptile which stirs on the earth!” The use of us and our, would lead most to believe that there would be more than one God at work to create Man. In The Epic of Creation, they mention the gods many times throughout the story, but never really say if the gods are ruled under one God or ruled under multiple gods.
The Bible has been at the center of many highly controversially issues over the last 2000 years. Believers and non-believers alike have been debating whether it is the true word of God, or just a collection of stories and myths. At the forefront of this debate is the issue of creation. Many Christians believe that God created the world in 7 literal, 24-hour days. Using this theory, they would say the earth is roughly 6000 years old, but there is also a minority who believe in an old earth and that the creation story in Genesis 1 should be taken figuratively. Those who believe that the creation story is written in figurative language hold a variety of different beliefs on the issue, but at the center of their argument is the statement that: “Genesis 1 should not be taken literally, and that there is no way the earth is only 6000 years old”. In order to understand both sides, the true meaning of the Biblical text must be understood.
The teaching of the Bible should shape the church’s views on humanity. However, the teaching of the church should not be oblivious of the naturalist explanations of the important issues concerning Anthropology, because Christianity makes bold truth claims about the origin of humanity. It has to face the counter-claims with a fair consideration of their merits. For example the antiquity of humanity has been taken for granted for many years until only recently with the challenges coming from natural sciences. This forces Christians to re-evaluate their claims in order to reconcile what they have always believed with the new findings in science. In response, Christians have either rejected all anthropological data, or argued for the non-historical nature of the text of the Bible, or tried to reconcile biblical information with the scientific data.
...is higher than “physical, natural, or elemental accounts of creation by accretion, excretion, copulation, division, dismemberment, or parturition" (Leonard & McClure, 2004). If, however, we are self-conscious about our culture’s assumptions about what is “normal,” we see that at least as many cosmogonic myths have presented creation as part of a natural process as have conceived it as an exercise of divine and creative will. That is, many creation myths depict the birth of the cosmic order as an organic, natural, and evolutionary process rather than as an engineering project or the act of a master magician. Ranking one kind of myth as lower or more primitive and our own myths as higher or more cultured derives from a cultural bias. To study myth effectively, we need to free ourselves as much as possible from the prejudices we inherit from our cultural surroundings.
The questions about the existence of life and the creation of the world are always mind-boggling and fascinating, however, the real answer to these questions may never surface. All there is to rely on are the myths, stories and legends passed on from generation to generation by ancestors and the clues they have left. This essay will try to uncover the ancient Mesopotamian and Hebrew views on existence and creation by looking at sources like the Genesis and other ancient Mesopotamian texts and poems. Mesopotamians and Hebrews had contrasting views on how they explained the events in their lives, and through analysis of ancient sources, those differences will be outlined. In such populated and booming areas, human conflict was inevitable and some of the law codes that were placed in effect to establish order within the society will be examined. Throughout it all, god and religion played a central role in these ancient civilizations.
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).
Frankenstein was written by a woman named Mary Shelley. This story is considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. Mary Shelley did not have a good life. There were always bad events occurring in Shelley’s life. Before the age of 30, Mary Shelley had lost her mother, sister, father, husband, and three of her four children. She battled depression all of her life and finally died in London at the age of fifty-four. After all of these terrible things that happened to her, people can probably understand how she came up with such a horror story like Frankenstein. In this novel, the main character is Victor Frankenstein. After Victor mother dies, he leaves and goes to England. In England is where he created this monster that he soon regrets. Victor abandons the creature, and the creature makes it his duty to find his creator and wreak havoc along the way. This horrifying sci-fi story could only be written and told by Mary Shelley, an individual that had such a horrible life.
The Creation stories all tell a tale of the beginning of time. The story of a high and mighty God possessing immense power, incredible strength, a sea of knowledge, and infinite wisdom. Someone to go to when in need of help, but also someone to fear in time of wrongdoing. In the Babylonian Creation Epic, there are numerous texts focused around a godly figure that goes by the name of
Rust, Peter. 1992. How Has Life and Its Diversity Been Produced? Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 44 (2): 80-94.