Analysis: Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures

Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures
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Comparing and Contrasting Creation Myths In this paper I will compare and contrast 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 conflict is between God, nothing, blackness, emptiness, loneliness, and the need to create something. The Norse conflict is between the dark cold realm of Niflheim, within the emptiness of ginnungagap, and the fiery realm of Muspell, where nothing can grow.
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 Muspells warm breath meeting with Nieflheim, the frost of the arctic, and causing the ice to melt. The results produces water droplets that come to life, creating Ymir, the evil giant. As this giant sleeps, the sweat from his armpits creates the first man and woman. However, the other giants grow to despise Ymir, and the story continues with them slaying and mutilating
He created the sun, moon, stars, heaven, and hell. In the Genesis creation we are faced with a divine drama of the beginning that can only be understood through faith. How long did it really take? Are Gods days the same as ours or are they longer? These questions may never be answered in this life time, and are not the focus of the Genesis creation. It is more about the spiritual and moral revelations. Genesis 1:26, God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." In the creation of the world, this is the only time God refers to himself in the plural form. Then God took the man Adam, and the woman Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden to take care of it, and he told them to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 1: 28). Then God commanded Adam and Eve saying, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). The story continues with the devil, also known as the serpent, tricking Eve into eating from the forbidden tree and convincing her to get Adam to eat also. The result of them going against Gods commandment was being expelled from the Garden of Eden, and being forced to labor over the earth. Humans will experience pain and suffering, weeds, thorns, and