An Analysis of the Creation Myth of the Christian Church

Creation

Throughout history every culture has had its own set of values and beliefs by which its people live. Many cultures have developed their own story of how we came to be; how the world came into existence. Although these stories obviously vary, originating from completely different sides of the planet there are also many parts that are quite comparable. One of the most famous creation myths is contained in the Bible, in the book of Genesis. The creation story begins before man was made, when God reigned. Heaven was the spot for God to be at, the kingdom in the sky. The African tribe Yao-Bantu's creation story states that man chased the god Mulungu away; forcing the god to live in the sky. These are stories from opposite parts of the earth that discuss two different creators, but both refer to a place in the sky.

Throughout many religions in the world Heaven is God's house or the place where souls journey to in the afterlife. The Genesis myth states that God had been creating the heavens and the earth, but the earth wasn't alive yet. For anything to grow on earth, God would need rain and man to till the soil. The almighty God brought up a mist from the ground and watered the face of the planet. Then God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it; breathing the breath of life into his nostrils. One more creation story comes from the Hopi Native American tribe. They also have a different creator, this time a woman. "So Spider Woman gathered earth, this time of four colors, yellow, red, white, and black; mixed with tuchluva, the liquid of her mouth; molded them; and covered them with her white-substance cape which was the creative wisdom itself. As before, she sang them the Creation song, and when she uncovered them these forms were human beings "

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Although these cultures have diverse beliefs in who or what God is, they both think that God created man out of the earth; making him a part of it. African belief differs from these two cultures by excluding the actual creation of man, instead the world is run by animals and the god Mulungu. A chameleon is checking his fishing net one day and discovers a set of humans trapped inside. The chameleon takes them to Mulungu, who advises the lizard to let the people live. The humans are let free and begin to learn and grow: "All the animals watched to see what the people would do. They made fire. They rubbed two sticks together in a special way and thus made fire. The fire caught in the bush and roared through the forest and the animals had to run to escape the flames. The people caught a buffalo and killed it and roasted it in the fire and ate it. The next day they did the same thing. Every day they set fires and killed some animal and ate it." The god Mulungu sees all this going on and is enraged. Why are these humans killing off all these animals that once saved their lives?

The God cannot take it any more. He decides to leave earth to live in the clouds; being chased off by humans. The Bible creation myth includes these words from the mouth of God:d "[It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.] So out the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man " The African myth portrayed a planet covered in animals that discovered man. The animals are kind to the humans and are in turn driven off to the forests. The Yao- Bantu seem to feel that their God is still upset with them, which might be reason for so many of the African ceremonies and dances created to appease the higher beings. The African culture tends to look down upon humans using these sacred animals as food. It is disrespectful to murder an animal when the only reason your culture exists is because that animal's relative saved your great, great grandparents lives when they were in trouble. Whereas the Bible says that animals were put into existence for the soul purpose of serving man. Christians tend to view their God as a compassionate, forgiving creator. God made animals to help man live. If man chose to eat the animals that would be the man's choice.

The Gods designed one more creation to put on earth after all this. The Gods gave the world the first female. In the Genesis myth God watched man roaming the earth by himself and decided to make a companion. One night while man was sleeping, God took one of his ribs and crafted a woman. God made the woman from his rib to show that she was a part of him. The Hopi tribe's myth also includes their creator, the Spider Woman first creating man and then making a woman for him to be with. All across the world there are many different cultures. These cultures have their own distinct food, language, and activities. They also developed their own set of beliefs by which they practice religion. These beliefs include the existence of a higher power, the existence of a God's kingdom in the sky; heaven, and the creation of man and woman by a God. These beliefs may be individual beliefs, but throughout the world multiple cultures share these sets of universal beliefs.

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