Creation Myths
Ask Me Anything
Week 11: Creation Myths
If Methodists don’t concern themselves with how the world was made, how active do Methodists believe God was in the creation of earth?
Christianity has a story that dates back to the creation of the universe, but it’s far from unique in that regard. Countless other religions have creation stories as well. Why do people use this claim to argue for Christianity?
Truth or Fact?
I could talk all day about these creation stories and how they inform so many key things that we believe. They inform our beliefs around original sin, gender roles, environmentalism, and the way we view the devil. With any text, interpretation is important, but more so with such ancient texts such as the creation stories at the beginning of Genesis. To answer the first question, It’s not so much that Methodists don't believe God created the world, it's that Methodists believe in Biblical inspiration. Therefore, Methodism doesn’t take the creation stories as literal accounts.
This causes a lot of harm when we are not using good hermeneutics to interpret these texts. One way these have been poorly understood is by believing that these stories are factually accurate. Some who believe the Bible is inerrant or infallible believe the creation stories to be literal, however, there are two separate creation accounts in Genesis. We typically mix the two stories together even though there are a lot of discrepancies in timeline, method, and order of events. Genesis holds a lot of beautiful truths, but not necessarily fact. It is when we take these stories as fact that we start to get some really weird harmful theologies. There is a difference between truth and fact, and Christians who read the bible literally take this creation story as 100% truth and fact. Something can contain truth without being fact, but things that are factual also hold truth. We can find important truths and messages in the Bible, but treating it as fact is dangerous. It leads to a poor hermeneutics and a rejection of reason (i.e. science). I think this is where we can also get the idea that Christianity is superior to other religions, because if we believe everything is factual, than that means all other traditions are false. In reality, religion is a fairly modern concept. When we think of the ancient world, your beliefs were cultural. God, YHWH, or Elohim, the Judean god, wasn't the same god of the neighboring people groups. That is where we get the commandment "There shall be no gods before me," because it was believed there were other gods that held other values. In Christianity, this became this shifted to "there are no other gods." I'm not totally sure when this shift happened but I think there are a lot of things that play into it, including racism, nationalism, colonialism, etc. If we think specifically of the belief that the creation story is 100% fact, we lose the ability to study some of the beautiful interpretations and historical context that can bring a different meaning. Instead, we get stuck in some of the harmful beliefs that have formed from the creation stories.
The Creation Stories In Context
With that, let's begin with some context. The book of Genesis is a collection of genealogical and narrative traditions of the ancient Israelites. According to the Women's Bible Commentary, "Theirs [the ancient Israelites’] is a very different world and a way of imagining and ordering reality from our own; yet they too love spouses and children, resent siblings, mourn the loss of kin, fear and face deprivation in the form of famine and infertility, attempt to take stock of the incomprehensible features of their existence." In terms of Israelite chronology, the creation stories take place in the pre-monarchic times. However, it is likely that they weren't written by pre-monarchic authors. The stories in early Genesis have a lot of overlap with other ancient creation myths, such as the flood. It's important to note that a lot of the stories would've been told in a variety of ways, both oral and written. Depending on the storyteller, there would've been stylistic choices and variety in the way the stories were told. It is believed that there are three agreed upon written sources that makeup Genesis: J (Yahwist), E (Elohist), and P (Priestly). J (1000-800 BCE) uses YHWH in reference to God; there is a more down-to-earth closeness in the way God is described such as God walking in Garden (Gen. 3:8). E (900-700 BCE) refers to God as Elohim; God communicates more indirectly through angels and dreams. P (600-500 BCE) refers to God as El Shaddai, and God is viewed as even more transcendent in this source. There is a lot of focus on genealogy, rituals, and laws concerning purity. J, E and P are layered throughout Genesis 1-4.
The First Creation Story, Genesis 1-2:4:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.
Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.
Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.
This creation story is attributed to P, which means this creation story was written during or as a response to the Babylonian Exile. Throughout this series, we have seen how impactful the Babylonian Exile was on Judean theology. During this exile, they were surrounded by a different culture, and were likely hearing and swapping stories. It is no surprise that this creation myth has a lot of similarities and ties to Mesopotamian creation myths. The Hebrew phrase for "deep waters" relates to the goddess Tiamat. In the Enuma Elish myth, Tiamat is killed by Marduk and then he builds the world out of her carcass. There is also a lot of similarities in the way humans were created. Marduk created a join androgynous human with two heads and four legs and then ripped the human into a man and woman, neither was inferior or superior. This is where the phrase “other half” comes from. However, there is a hierarchy between Marduk (seen as king) and humans (seen as slaves).
It is likely that the author of P, who was surrounded by these other stories, is trying to understand the Israelite God in this context. A lot of people believe that this Genesis story was written as a commentary on that story, but showing how the Judean God is superior: there is a lot more order and power in the way God speaks life into existence. P was also trying to contextualize the idea that God wasn't defeated or without a home. Judean belief before the exile was that God resided in the temple. In this story we can see that God doesn't need a temple, they simply exist within the universe or heavens. Furthermore, humans weren't seen as slaves, but as being created in the image of God with a key role on earth, to be stewards of it. One other important note from this story, is they way it has been used to justify our abuse of this world.
Our view of environmentalism has been largely informed by Thomas Aquinas' interpretation of Genesis 1. Genesis 1 is the passage that talks about humans having dominion over the earth. A lot of Christians use this as an excise to not care about the climate crisis. The words for subdue and dominion in the passage can be traced back to two Hebrew words: radah, and kabash. Radah refers to humans’ relationship to animals and kabash to earth. The English translation, dominion and subdue have violent, war-like connotations. However, this is skewed from the original intent of the author of this text. It is meant to represent a loving dominion, promoting peace and unity.
The Second Creation Story, Genesis 2:5-3:24:
Neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.
The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.
So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
“At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
The Man and Woman Sin
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Then he said to the woman,
“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
And to the man he said,
“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.
By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return.”
Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment
Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Though this is the second creation story, it is much older. It is likely that this story was written as a way of trying to understand the tragedies and hardships of the human condition and how we got to where we are. Leonardo Boff believes that this story paints a picture of the realities of the human condition, but with an ideal of what we can achieve, i.e. creating paradise on earth. The author, J, seems to be concerned with humanity's desire for knowledge. Some scholars see the serpent as a representation of how knowledge can both draw us toward and push us away from God. There is a message of danger being this double edged sword. This story paints the picture of a less transcendent, more personable God who walks in the Garden and fears humans divinity. It is important to note that Genesis 3 does not mention the original sin. This was a later theological interpretation by Augustine, not something that was written by the Author Genesis. This is a prime example how one interpretation of scripture has become a baseline in theology.
This story has also been used to justify the mistreatment of women through blaming Eve and claiming that women are secondary helpers. When Eve is described as Adam’s “helper”, the actual translation of the original Hebrew translation meant “rescue” or “aid”, so it’s more the idea of active rescuer than a passive helper. In the Women’s Bible Commentary, Eve is compared to Pandora, "the curious woman is a linchpin in the ongoing process of world ordering. She, like Lot's wife, dares to disobey a command not to use all her sensory capacities." If we look at the story and take into account that this is a historical ancient text, Eve is actually the protagonist of this story. In many ancient stories, there are certain commands that are ignored by the protagonists in order to advance the plot, prove a point, and teach a lesson. The command in Genesis 2:17 was meant to be broken. It was not a literal command but merely a teaching tool that the author was using to segue from the perfect Garden of Eden into the reality of the world we find ourselves in. You can note in this creation story that Eve is mentioned by name and Adam is not. We don’t learn his name until later in Genesis. Eve is active, knows God’s law, and seeks knowledge. When confronted, Adam doesn’t even take responsibility, blames Eve and God. He is painfully passive in this story. Eve wasn’t merely an easy target for temptation, but instead, a conscious actor choosing to seek knowledge. In discussing Eve’s role in Genesis 2-3, the Women’s Bible Commentary states, “To be the curious one, the seeker of knowledge, the tester of limits is quintessentially human.” It is not until they leave the garden that we see any hierarchy and social roles take form. This is when we see any notion of sexual relations, birth, and social roles such as men working the fields. But this is not saying that God declared there be a social hierarchy, but merely a consequence and reality of the structures we exist in. There are many theologians who believe that God intended equality (as we see in the above interpretation of the creation stories), and our work is to bring about a world where people are elevated and celebrated regardless of gender.
What Can We Learn From the Creation Stories?
These stories can teach us so much. There is a lot of truth and wisdom that can be found in these stories, but it is important to understand the historical context. Methodists definitely believe that God was active in creation, but that it didn’t happen in the way laid out in Genesis. I know a lot of Methodists who fully believe in evolution and the Big Bang, and don't believe these things take away from belief in God. When we leave room for finding truth in the Bible instead of fact, we make space for discovery. We might learn something crazily revolutionary about the origins of the world tomorrow, and I don't think that would change my belief in a divine being that created life.
Discussion Questions
Were you taught that the creation stories were literal or metaphorical?
Does knowing that Gen. 1 was written as a response to the Mesopotamian creation myth change the way you view the story?
Was there anything you learned about the 2 creation stories that surprised you?
What was the narrative you were taught about Eve? Was it positive or negative?
What truths (not facts) can we take from these stories?
Resources
Crew Guide: Christianity and The Environment
Crew Guide: Feminist Liberation Theology
Oh god! Podcast: In The Beginning God Recycled