Studying Creation Stories in Todays Society - Essay Example

Insructor Number WHAT CAN WE LEARN BY STUDYING CREATION STORIES IN TODAY’S SOCIETY The creation story is seen like a myth explaining how the world began and how man came to inhabit in it. Different tries have varied creation stories and each tribe regard their creation story as true. These stories are usually regarded as conveying profound in the historical sense. These creation stories also differ from what people have known from the beginning, depending on the tribal religion. Darwin says that the earth had been in existence for longer than a literal interpretation that the bible would allow. The idea of creation is seen to be very different between Christianity and Indian Tribal religion. Christianity believes so much on creation as a specific event while Indian Tribal religion considers creation as an ecosystem present in a definable place. Both religions are said to agree on the activity of the creator but share very few things and appear to be confronted with the question of interrelationship of all things. Christians view creation as the beginning event of a linear time sequence in which the original plan is worked out and the conclusion of the sequence being an act of destruction bringing the world to an end. This sequence is of less concern to the tribal religions. The fall of Adam caused the whole nature to fall out of grace with God. The point that Adam stands for all other creation is not so easy for Christian theologians to answer. The most important aspects that Christian doctrine bears on us today are that the natural world is thereafter considered as corrupted and is seen to be theoretically beyond redemption. The very first people were Adam and Eve and they were made in the image of God. This was conceived by Christians who believed that God has a human form. This has been shown through paintings which represent God generally as an old man of ancient Hebrews. We view the distinction between Indian tribal religion and Christianity in the manner in which God is popularly conceived, most of the American Indian tribal religions could not accept the fact that God has the same image as man. Several tribes used the term grandfather when praying to God, but they never used that concept as the basis for theological doctrine by which a series of complex doctrines were related. In the creation story from Genesis, we find out that man ‘Adam” became disobedient to God when he ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Aden and this caused man to be drive out of the garden by God. The disobedience of Adam caused the rest of nature to also fall out of the grace of God since Adam was believed to have acted on behalf of the whole creation. This is said to be the source of evil in the universe. In the Indian tribal religions, man and the rest of creation are cooperative and respectful of the task set for them by the great spirit. The idea that man is dominant of all creation is the Christian doctrine that concerns us. There is no big deal in destroying wetlands and Christians have not yet understood how complex the crisis of ecology is. Even in the attempt to bring sense into religion about the problem of ecological destruction, we can still see that there is a bit of misunderstanding of the basis of religious attitude which has largely been the cause of religious crisis .Most Christians were seen to believe so much in the whites ideology that St Francis represents the true Christian tradition. In the story of genesis we meet God as the mighty creator of all things and God reveals the ultimate object of his love to man. God created man with soil and placed man, Adam, in the garden of Eden and then He gave man power over all creation. Man then became the commander of all the animals and other living and non-living things. . The creation story of genesis, God speaks the divine word and does the creation of heaven and earth by word, there is another story in genesis where God does creation by action. God then plans the garden of Eden and creates man from soil and then he breathes life into him and names the man Adam. Adam was seen to be so lonely in the garden of Eden and God sympathized with him and decided to give him a companion named Eve. Eve is said to have been created from Adam’s ribs. Adam as the first man represents the man who was to be, but God brought a gift through Jesus Christ. This is considered very different from the information that people had before about the sin of Adam. It is believed that it was through the sin of man that finally became the natural death of all men. God being generous, He sympathized with man and finally brought Jesus Christ who brought man back to Him. We can therefore view here clearly that the sin of one man brought condemnation to all men and the obedience of one man cleansed all men and bought the m back to god’s righteousness If Adam’s story in genesis is not considered as historical, then we say that the story of Jesus of Nazareth would also make no sense I history. This conflict leads us to conclude that the Christian doctrine of creation has a lot of serious shortcomings. There are several stories of various tribal religious traditions which explain how other living things took part in the creation event. It is not easy in this tribal religious traditions to determine how man and religion came to be. It only recognizes how man have experienced the existing creative process. Most tribal religions up loud the unity of nature, for instance, the Indian is seen to believe that al creation have a role to play. Then task of these tribal religions is therefore believed that is to create good relationship with other creatures and build self discipline among the tribe to create harmony between man and other creatures. Equality is not only considered as a human attribute but is recognized by all creatures since there exists the importance of idea of some tribal religions that human beings can change to other animals while birds and other species can change into human beings. This was recognized by Westerners as witchcraft but finally they ended up shading there superstions and agreed that it is possible for human beings to have communication with other forms of life. This idea does not only remain limited to mobile life forms, but the manifestation of power extends to plants, rocks and other natural features which are considered inanimals. We learn in the genesis story that man have existed from the time of creation and have lived on earth all that time. This relationship between creation and earth and other forms of life and ourselves creates the basis of what we believe to be the truth, and for instance, their relationships are the basis of our law. In the past our ancestors had no written language nor any form of troubles. These ancestors are believed to have lived the best. Man lives through stages of life, from infancy to adulthood, to elderly and finally to death after which man goes back to the earth. There were no chronic diseases in the past unlike currently where man suffers several diseases of the white. Previously, Indians never used the white man’s foods and only lived on a simple diet in which he had limited choice of food and very simple cooking methods. During this time, Indians lived on a perfect health that does not anymore exist in the civilized man. In the past there was plenty of magic and people were able to talk to animals and perfom miracles. There was a remarkable relationship among different species which at the same time interacted symbolically. In the process of being civilized, man had to learn to surpass other animals with his obvious distinction between brutes and the uncivilized man. The nature of man’s intellect makes him superior to other animals. This made man so dependent on his technical achievements and it seems so difficult for him to operate without them. Books used for references and internet addresses: Thomas E. Sanders and Walter W. Peek. (1976) Literature of the American Indian, Glencoe Press Arnold Johnson,(2007) Two Families Vine Delori Jr. (1973) God is Red, A Native Read More