...Gen 1:1-2:4a World Behind the text Historical and Cultural Context Genesis illustrates the way Biblical writers J (Yahwist), E (Elohist) and P (Priestly) drew upon the cultural and religious legacy of the Ancient Near East (ANE) along with its stories and imagery and transformed it to conform to a new vision of a non-mythological God and a monotheistic, superior religion. “The Pentateuch developed against the background of the Ancient Near Eastern culture first cultivated in and spread by Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires”. This exemplifies how Israelite religion, was “shaped by responses to and reactions against this culture due both to contacts with neighboring Canaanites and to conflicts with Assyrian and Babylonian empires”. Genesis 1:1-2:4a can therefore be said to reflect the “Babylonian account of creation, which we call Enuma Elish…known from at least 1700 BCE,” “predating the earliest text of Genesis by at least a millennium.” In both Genesis and the ancient Babylonian myth, water is divided into upper and lower waters. The Enuma Elish is recorded on seven tablets and the Genesis account is completed in seven days. The Babylonians created humans to serve as slaves yet in Genesis God creates humans in the likeness of the divine. The Priestly source penned the creation story with the intent of being a “monumental historiographic composition…with the purpose of portraying both the beginnings of mankind and Israel in the spirit of a monotheistic concept...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Michelle Faunce-Carroll HUM/105 – WORLD MYTHOLOGY BSDC1K2PN1 CHARLES OSBORNE April 11, 2016 Comparing and Contrasting Creation Myths There are many creations myths from different cultures. Two such myths are the Old Testament creation of the Christian culture and the Norse culture of Iceland. These creation myths are both similar in the sense that they start with an emptiness and darkness in which life eventually develops. The Old Testament creation starts with nothingness and complete emptiness. The Norse creation begins with a darkness, emptiness combined with a fieriness of Muspell, where nothing can grow. In Genesis the first book in the Holy bible, the earth was dark, empty, formless matter. It began when the Spirit of God covered the waters to prepare and perform his most creative work. God spoke and his creation was formed. (Genesis 1979) On the first day, "God created the light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day" and darkness "night". On the second day, "God created an expanse to separate the waters and called it "sky". On the third day, "God created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters, "seas”. God also created the plants, flowers, trees, and grasses on day three. On the fourth day, "God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night". These also serve to mark the years, days,...
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...Creation Myths Across Cultures Angie Laird HUM/105 - World Mythology Class Group: BSDH16JHC0 University of Phoenix Online Instructor: Gerald Grudzen February 11, 2013 Comparing and contrasting creation myths The two creation myths chosen to compare and contrast focuses on the Norse culture of Iceland Vikings and the Genesis creation of the Hebrew origin of Christian culture. Both creation myths begin with an empty void where chaos or conflict develops. The Norse myth narrates a conflict between the fiery realm of Muspell and the dark, cold realm of Niflheim within the emptiness called ginnungagap and where nothing could grow. The Genesis conflict was between God and nothing, loneliness, and the need to create something beautiful. There are specifically nine classifications of creation myths and many employ more than one motif. Genesis cosmogonies apply both the deus faber and ex nihilo motifs. The story often considered the ex nihilo myth, meaning "out of nothing" is the account in the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, of God's creation in six days by speaking into existence light and darkness, sun and moon, stars and earth, plants and animals, and birds and fish. God then generates Adam in His image from the dust and breathes life into him and Eve was formed from one of Adam's ribs, therefore combining deus faber (the "maker-God") with ex nihilo motifs. The Nordic creation myths tend to combine accretion/conjunction, secretion, and sacrifice motifs. It features...
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...including crows which he engraved with disturbingly anthropoid (human-like) characteristics. An invitation from Baskin to Hughes to write a few little poems to accompany his engravings was the cause of the first Crow poems. Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow was first published by Faber in 1972. The poems included in Crow are part of a large number of poems which make up a ‘vast folk epic’ which tells the story of Crow. Hughes’s account of the creation of the figure of Crow is thus: God, having created the world, has a recurring nightmare. A huge hand/ voice comes from deep space, takes him by the throat, half-throttles him, drags him through space, ploughs the earth with him then throws him back into heaven in a cold sweat. Meanwhile man sits at the gates of heaven waiting for God to grant him audience. He has come to ask God to take life back. God is furious and sends him packing. The nightmare seems to be independent of the creation, and God cannot understand it. The nightmare is full of mockery of the creation, especially of man. God challenges the nightmare to do better. This is just what the nightmare has been waiting for. It plunges down to ferment and gestate in matter and a little embryo begins. This is how Crow was created. God tests Crow by putting him through a series of trials and ordeals which sometimes result in Crow being dismembered, transformed or obliterated, but Crow survives them all, little changed. Meanwhile Crow interferes in...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Alexi LaBrenz HUM 105 Professor Jordan “Chris” April 10, 2016 Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures When discussing different cosmic creation myths, something to remember is the style of creation myth it is. There are nine different styles of myths when talking about creation: accretion or conjunction, secretion, sacrifice, division or consummation, earth-diver, emergence, two creators, deus faber, and ex nihillo. For the purpose of discussing the Norse creation myth, and the Genesis myth focus will be on secretion, division or consummation, deus faber and ex nihillo (Leonard, 2004). Genesis: The Creation Account Arguably one of the most well-known mythological account of how the world came to be is the story of Genesis. Before divulging into the myth itself, there are two different styles of creation presented. The first is deus faber - wonder of nature, intricacy and complexity of life, and secondly, ex nihillo – of god, creating out of chaos (Leonard, 2004). In the beginning of the world, according to Genesis, there was nothing but God. Then God took seven days, which symbolize the seven days of our week. On the first day, Sunday, God created heaven and earth. Not finished with his creation, he created light on the second day, and with light came darkness, this is what is now know as night and day. On the third day he created water and land, followed by vegetation. On the fourth he created the stars to give light to...
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...s paper one will discuss two myths from different cultures. The two myths chosen for this paper are the Genesis creation (Hebrew origin) of the Christian culture, and the Norse culture of Iceland (the Vikings). Both of these creation myths start with an emptiness where conflict and chaos eventually develop. The Genesis crearion is between God, nothing, blackness, emptiness, loneliness, and the need to create something. The Norse creation is between the dark cold realm of Niflheim, within the emptiness of Ginnungagap, and the fiery realm of Muspell, where nothing can grow. There are nine classifications of creation myths, which most include more than one motif. The Genesis cosmogonies applies both ex nihilo, and deus faber motifs. The story begins with the ex nihilo myth, which God creates the light, the dark, the sun, the moon, the earth, the stars, plants, animals, birds, and fish, within six days out of nothing. This account is told in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Then God creates a man, Adam, in his own image from the dust of the earth and breathes life into him. When God realizes it is not good for man to be alone, he causes a deep sleep to come upon Adam. Then he takes a rib from Adams side and forms a woman. Therefore, combining deus faber (the "maker-God") with ex nihilo motifs. The Norse creation myths combines secretion, sacrifice, and accretion/conjunction motifs. It combines fire and ice in a random conjoining of elements. The myth begins with...
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...By Matthew Dumler (26110162) August 15th, 2014 Contents Introduction 1 Gap Theory 1:1 and 1:2 2 Gap Theory Chapters 2 and 3 5 Before Creation 8 Conclusion 10 Introduction Before Genesis 1:1 God created the heaven of heavens (Nehemiah 9:6) with angels so numerous no one could count (Revelation 5:11). One of God’s most cherished creations, Lucifer, was placed in charge of guarding his royal thrown (Ezekiel 28:12-16). One day Lucifer took pride in his own beauty and his heart was filled with pride (Ezekiel 28:17). He began to think highly of himself and began to think wrongly of God. He began to take what rightfully belonged to God and began to put himself in God’s place. For the first time in all creation, one of his own had sinned against him. God judged him accordingly and placed him in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). The sacred scriptures tell us that after the fall, Lucifer was thereafter known as the Devil or the accuser. One question that remains to be answered is this: when did this event occur? Some theologians claim that Satan’s fall occurred before Genesis 1:1. Others contend that there was a gap that took place between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Yet others make the claim that Lucifer’s fall took place between Genesis 2 and Genesis 3. Little scriptural evidence exists to answer the question of when the fall happened. Some suggest the silence of scripture on this topic is done on purpose by Moses...
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...Search Join Login Help Contact Welcome Anti Essays offers essay examples to help students with their essay writing. Sign Up Creamy Creations Takeover Essay Below is an essay on "Creamy Creations Takeover" from Anti Essays, your source for research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Creamy Creations Takeover Organizational and Corporate Communications Chapter 3 Creamy Creations Takeover – COMM-3213 Instructor: Zelda Togun Alethia Uwandu Mid America Christian University Student August 16, 2014 Week 4 conflict Management Assignment P1 The Burger Barn executives see a rosy future ahead for Creamy Creations. Do you see any reasons why they should not be so optimistic? What are the potential future pitfalls they should be watching out for? (150 -200 words) I think that Burger Barn executives may be “counting their chickens before hatching,” for they are looking at the lack of efficiency and the fact that customers would wait for 10 minutes. They should not be so optimistic about the company moving forward in a great way because they are forcing their employees to work harder and faster, which reminds me of Frederick Taylor’s “Theory of Scientific Management,” which he was adamant about “time and motion.” Employees want to feel appreciated and may have enjoyed taking their time in...
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...The Tale of Two Creations: How Two Creation Stories Can Create a Singular Narrative Genesis sets the stage for the rest of the story told within the Hebrew Bible. It provides the foundation for who the Israelites are and who their God is. As the first book of the Torah and Hebrew Bible, Genesis recounts the creation of the world, the destruction of mankind with the flood, and the foundation of monotheism through Abraham. As Segal explains, “[the Torah] is a narrative, tracing the history of the world, humanity, and then focusing on a particular nation” (13). The Torah as a whole creates a compelling and rich account of ancient Jewish history. The creation of the world and humanity is the starting basis for the Torah, beginning with two separate...
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...also: Adam and Eve Adam Hands of God and Adam.jpg Detail from Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel ceiling Spouse(s) Eve Lilith (folklore) Children Cain Abel Seth Creation of Adam, Michelangelo Adam (Hebrew: אָדָם) is a figure from the Book of Genesis, also mentioned in the New Testament, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Iqan. According to Womack's creation myth[1] of Abrahamic religions, and also according to the Holy Bible, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim ("Yahweh-God", the god of Israel), though the term "adam" can refer to both the first individual person, as well as to the general creation of humankind. Christian churches differ on how they view Adam's subsequent behavior of disobeying God (often called the Fall of man), and to the consequences that those actions had on the rest of humanity. Christian and Jewish teachings sometimes hold Adam and Eve (the first woman) to a different level of responsibility for the Fall, though Islamic teaching holds both equally responsible. In addition, Islam holds that Adam was eventually forgiven, while Christianity holds that redemption occurred only later through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Bahá'í Faith, Islam and some Christian denominations consider Adam to be the first prophet. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Adam in Genesis 2.1 Creation 2.2 Expulsion from Eden 2.3 Post-expulsion 3 Adam in other works 4 Religious views ...
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...physical universe, the only thing that exists is the infinite potential of chaos. Not unlike the Genesis account of creation, most of the world’s creation myths begin with an eternal being sleeping within or hovering in contemplation above the infinite abyss of a primeval sea. These waters represent the “chaos” of a world without physical form, where no height, no depth, no breadth, no time, and no created beings exist. All is quiet; everything rests in a state of infinite potential. At the decisive moment, potential universes give way to the one in which we actually live. * Maclagan suggests, in Creation Myths: Man’s Introduction to the World, that Cosmogonic narratives are patterned after the following themes: (1)inner and outer; (2) horizontal and vertical; (3) something from nothing; (4) the conjugation of opposites; (5) world order and the order of worlds; (6) descent and ascent; (7) earth body and sacrifice; and (8) death, time, and the elements. In these various schemes, we see areas of overlap, which suggests that a finite number of motifs are at work in creation myths. * Weigle’s Creation and Procreation: Feminist Reflections on Mythologies of Cosmogony and Parturition presents the most nuanced typology of creation myths. Building upon Eliade and Long, as well as von Franz’s Patterns of Creativity Mirrored in Creation Myths and Rooth’s journal article “Creation Myths of the North American Indians,” Weigle constructs a nine-part typology: (1)accretion or...
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... The biblical doctrine of creation helps the Christian to understand the true significance of the world in order to deal with the environmental crisis. The Bible says, “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited…” (King James Version, Isaiah 45:18). In Christian teaching, God not only created Heavens and Earth, but expressed His delight in His creation. This creation meant, everything encompassing the trees, the rivers and all kinds of elements that go into preserving the environment (Genesis 1:31). Therefore, the destruction of the environment is against God’s will. The main problem in the stewardship model is the fall of mankind into a state of sin and depravity (Genesis 3). As a result of the fall, we are in rebellion against God. We no longer act as the stewards we ought to be regarding the earth and its resources. Therefore, we tend towards exploitation and abuse. In addition, the earth has been cursed as a result of the fall (Romans 8:20; Genesis 3:17-18). Action Institute expressed it this way; “Nature now produces floods, fires, earthquakes, weeds, and crop destroying insects (“A Biblical Perspective on Environmental Stewardship”). This makes proper stewardship even more difficult; we are not only fighting our natural tendency to exploit and abuse, but also fighting against an earth that is cursed (Genesis 3:17). 2. The Earth and...
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...relationship to God." Perhaps a better way of looking at it is to say that anthropology is the study of the eternal questions of life: "Who am I?", "Why am I here?", and "Where am I going?" These three questions will form us a basic outline of our views on Humanity by viewpoints given of views by Christians and Buddhist. Christian Worldview of Humanity VS. Buddhism Worldview of Humanity The “Christian View” according to Bishop Ussher and Genesis 1:31 records that people were created on "the sixth day" of creation. Beyond that, we can't be certain. Bishop Ussher, basing his reckoning on the genealogies of Genesis, postulated that the world began in 4004 BC - in October, to be precise. If there are no gaps in the genealogical record of Genesis, then Ussher's date is appropriate. But a gapless genealogy is highly unlikely. What was the purpose of these genealogies? First, obviously, they seek to link the past with the present, and second, they thereby prevent a mythological interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis. What is a myth? The term myth is used in the study of religion and culture for stories, the subjects of which are accounts about gods or superhuman beings and extraordinary events or circumstances in a time that is...
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...businesses, and governments use to connect themselves to other families, friends, business, and governments. It is then evident that my work grants, to creation, access to that which they were designed to do: we were designed for fellowship. In addition, the relationality of the Trinity alludes to the framework of our design (reiterating Genesis 1:27) as the Father is in fellowship with the Son, and the Son in fellowship with the Father, through the Spirit (Reeves 30). Now, to what end is this? What is the purpose of being designed for fellowship? Pertaining to God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, we understand that this covenant was “God’s agenda for saving the world (Wright 64).” With this agenda, it is clear that a self-involving posture and outward engagement with humanity is required to participate in God’s mission. Obviously, if we were not designed for fellowship, we would find it extremely difficult—if not impossible—to participate in his mission. Therefore, herein lies the telos of our design for fellowship: we were designed for fellowship so that we can participate in God’s mission to bless and give life to all nations. With this, it may be suggested that my work participates and proclaims God’s work to redeem and renew creation if the families, friends, business, and governments that I transport redeem and renew creation. See it? In other words, in transporting individuals who may very well do God’s work, I participate/facilitate their work; a family flying to console...
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...comes to the biblical story of creation, it can be wondered how it was written and told in such detail when there was no people to observe it. There are quite a few possible answers to this question including it being a story passed down through generations, or perhaps God revealed the story to the writer in some way (Schittjer, 2006). One of the theories of how the creation story could have been written is from adaptations of other cosmologies. In this paper, I will look into some of these cosmologies and compare and contrast the similarities and differences between them and the biblical narrative of the creation story. One of the most contrasting cosmology to the bible is the Egyptians. As we know, the Egyptians were the ones to enslave Israel under their power and rule. The Egyptians also are known to have polytheistic views and believe and worship many different gods. This is very contrasting to the monotheistic biblical viewpoint of one God. Though they are two very different viewpoints, a few similarities can be found in their ideas of the creation story. For example, in the Egyptian views each creation aspect is and made by a different deity of their religion. The sky is Nut, the atmosphere is Shu, the earth is Geb, and the sun god is Re (Schnittjer, 2006). Each of these gods work with one another to create a different aspect of the creation such as day and night and the earth and the sky. So in comparison to the biblical story of creation, a specific example of a difference...
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