Creation (1-3)

A. Creation (1-3)

The deepest human questions give rise to creation myth: Who are we? How did we get here? What is the purpose of life? It is no surprise that virtually every people has given thought to ultimate origins and every culture has shaped creation myths (see Sproul 1979 for a collection of creation myths from around the world).

    The Hebrew Bible contains reflections on creation in various places, including the Psalms (Psalm 33), wisdom literature (Proverbs 8:22-31; Job 38-41) and prophecy (Isaiah 40:12-31). But the most well-know statements come out of Genesis. The book of Genesis contains two accounts of the creation. The first account comes out of the Priestly document of the exilic period. The second account is earlier and comes from the Yahwist narrative. While the Yahwist creation and flood stories deal primarily with the problem of sin, the Priestly writer was intensely concerned with the gift of divine blessing expressed as the structure and ground of all life. They were expertly combined with the big picture of world beginnings flowing smoothly into the story of the first human couple.

Myth. Modern authorities do not use the term myth to denote something that is false. Rather, myth is a culture's way of coming to grips with fundamental realities, and a culture's myth reflects its worldview. A myth is a traditional story of supposedly real events that is told in order to explain a culture's beliefs, practices, institutions, or something in nature. Myths are often associated with religious rituals and doctrines (see Kirk 1971). Both early cultures and modern ones have their particular myths. The cosmology of the "Big Bang" is a contemporary myth that strives to account for the universe. It remains a construct under frequent revision, even though it is backed by scientific evidence and reasoning.