A Look at Creation Stories of the World

People groups around the world have myths and legends about the Genesis Flood that have certain remarkable similarities to the real one, but fanciful elements crept in over time. There are also creation accounts found in many disparate cultures.

It is human nature to form a worldview to explain reality. Even misotheists have their own everything-from-nothing origins myths. Interestingly, most have order coming from chaos by a creative being or force, and that water was the only element in existence. These have common threads with the book of Genesis.

Falcon-Headed Sun God Ra, Flickr / Bill Stanley (CC BY-ND 2.0)

People who say that the Genesis account of creation is a "fairy tale" or "just another ancient myth" are either ignorant or deceptive (those are the only two possibilities I can think of, anyway). Have they read Genesis and compared it to creation myths? Genesis is very deliberate and written as history, while those others are fanciful stories.

Critics of discussing the biblical account of creation in public schools in America often retort that creation should not be taught in government schools due to separation of church and state concerns. They add that if the biblical creation account is taught, then other religious versions should be able to be taught in government schools. This is actually an excellent idea for several reasons. First, it will help students appreciate other cultures; second, it will help them to realize that a chasm exists between all other creation accounts and the creation account taught in the Bible (Guthrie 1957).

To read the rest, follow the specially-created link to "Creation Stories from Around the World."