Christian And Navajo Creation Theology Religion Essay Example

Bible.

Focusing specifically on the sixth day when man was made provides insight into two key figures: Adam and Eve. Adam was fashioned from dust by God's breath to be the ruler over all living creatures and caretaker of Eden's Garden. Moreover, Adam had the task of naming every bird and animal created by God. Despite attempts to find a suitable companion for Adam among these creatures, none could fulfill this role. Consequently, while Adam slept deeply one day, God took one of his ribs to create Eve – humanity's first woman.

Within Eden's confines ,Adam and Eve enjoyed freedom to eat from any plant or fruit except for those from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.The prohibition against eating the fruit resulted in death, marking the introduction of evil into the narrative. One day, while Eve was working in the garden, she encountered a snake who was actually Satan disguised as one of God's animals. In serpent form, Satan deceived Eve into consuming the forbidden fruit and convinced her to share it with Adam. As a mischievous character, Satan achieved his desires by manipulating and tricking vulnerable individuals. Upon discovering their actions, God cursed both Adam and Eve, as well as the snake itself. The snake was condemned to crawl on its belly and consume dust for its entire life. Eve experienced intense childbirth pain and became subject to her husband's rule. Adam faced a curse that rendered his land unproductive for edible fruits. These punishments were inflicted by a deceitful entity. After being expelled from Eden for their transgression, Adam and Eve conceived their firstborn son named Cain, whom Eve considered a blessing

and source of life. They also had another son named Abel. While Cain worked the land, Abel tended to the flocks. When they presented offerings to God, Abel's offering of fat portions from his flock pleased Him more than Cain's gift of fruits from the land did; this deeply angered Cain.
God confronted Cain regarding his anger and warned him that allowing wickedness to dominate him would have dire consequences. Following this conversation, Cain enticed Abel into a field and attacked him out of jealousy towards God's favoritism. After returning from the field, God inquired about the whereabouts of Abel, to which Cain claimed ignorance. However, God was aware of Abel's fate and subsequently placed a curse on Cain, ensuring that the land would never yield crops for him again. Consequently, filled with fear that others would seek revenge against him, Cain departed from his home and became a wanderer. In an attempt to ease his concerns, God assured Cain that anyone who harmed him would face severe repercussions seven times over. This punishment aimed to ensure that Cain lived with the burden of guilt for as long as possible.

Cain eventually settled in the land of Nod situated east of Eden alongside his wife. He later married and had a son named Enoch, after whom he built a city bearing the same name. Generations passed within this lineage established by Enoch until tragically one of Cain's descendants committed murder and faced a similar curse like their ancestor.

On another note, Adam and Eve were blessed with another child named Seth who replaced their slain son Abel. Seth went on to father Enosh while time progressed; consequently prompting

people in the land to call upon and pray to God.The final significant event in the Christian creation myth is the flood, a symbolic event where all living creatures below the heavens were destroyed due to God's revulsion at the corruption and violence on Earth. God chose Noah, an adult male, to restore balance by constructing an Ark using cypress wood according to specific dimensions. Noah gathered two animals, male and female, of every kind and placed them on the Ark for their salvation. He also brought seven pairs of "clean" animals for sacrifice after the floodwaters receded. Additionally, Noah's wife, three sons, and their wives boarded the Ark. They had seven days to complete these tasks before the rain began. The rain lasted 40 days and 40 nights causing water levels to rise above Earth's highest mountains. After 150 days without receding water, God sent a wind that started lowering the floodwaters until eventually, the Ark rested on Mount Ararat. To search for dry land, Noah sent out a raven which returned with no findings. He then sent out a dove twice; on its second return after seven days it brought back an olive branch indicating receding waters. Seven days later when he released it again it did not return signaling that it was safe to leave the ArkAfter Noah, his family, and all the living creatures departed from the Ark, God approached Noah and instructed him and his family to repopulate the Earth. Following the flood, God made a vow to never curse the land again due to human actions. The land had originally been cursed because of Adam and Eve's betrayal, which

resulted in death and destruction for all life on Earth. These symbols heavily influenced the creation of Earth in their own unique ways. Among the various themes in this creation myth, the most prominent one is that it defines God as the Divine Creator since He possesses the ability to bring forth anything from nothingness. At first, there was only one being: the Divine God. His creative power remains unmatched throughout the Christian creation myth as He creates not only the Earth but also all its creatures while humanity is formed in His likeness.

When Adam resides with Eve in Eden, another concept is introduced: the separation of good and evil. This occurs when Satan tempts Eve disguised as a snake and she eats an apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil; she also shares some with Adam. As a result, they are separated from God and He curses them along with the snake. Satan, symbolized by this snake representation, feels pleased as he successfully created a divide between God and mankind. Consuming this forbidden fruit leads to corruption and violence on Earth which prompts God to cleanse it through a flood.It seems that evil will always exist in some form within the creation of land, water, animals, and humans. The Christian creation myth has various symbols and themes that carry significant meaning. Originally transmitted orally before being written down by Moses on Mount Sinai, the beginning of this narrative can be found in the Book of Genesis within the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. Genesis is one of five books comprising the Bible. Many scholars believe that the language used in

this Christian creation myth was formally documented. The current version of the Bible known today in the United States is a translation from its original recorded thousands of years ago. The initial translation from Hebrew to English was believed to be word for word rather than translating phrases or entire sentences or matching ideas. The present-day version we hear is a translation from the passed-down Hebrew text received from God. Christians have believed in this narrative since its inception, including all characters involved. This myth originated with the Hebrew people who also depicted women as subordinate to men throughout their society due to God's curse upon Eve for eating an apple, declaring her eternal subjugation under men's ruleIn nearly every book of the Bible, women are treated as lesser beings, a belief that still persists in the Christian faith today. Men are considered the leaders in households and churches. Even in modern churches, women are not allowed to hold major positions such as priests, bishops, cardinals, or even the Catholic Pope. This lack of respect for women is deeply rooted in strict beliefs and historical treatment within the Christian church. On the other hand, the Navajo creation myth presents a more intricate narrative. It begins in a dark world surrounded by water on all four sides, each symbolizing different directions and colors (white for East, blue for South, yellow for West, and black for North). In this land existed the insect people without any visible presence of a "God." However, there must be some entity with them since they were expelled from the first universe due to excessive reasoning. Unlike the Christian creation myth where

God is present from the start, there is no visible God or deity at the beginning of Navajo's creation story. As they move through different universes - encountering bird people and grasshopper people along their journey - they continue to be asked to leave each universe until eventually being expelled once again from their third encounter with grasshopper people.They leave and join four grasshopper people, each in the same shade as one of the directions. In this universe, there are four mountains, each facing a specific direction. The insect people search for people to the South, East, and West but find nothing. They travel North and come across a farming community. The inhabitants, known as the Pueblo's, teach the insect people farming skills and other necessary survival abilities.

At this point in the creation narrative, the first God appears to the insect people during the first fall. This God is called "speaking God" and is accompanied by four other Gods named White Body, Blue Body, Yellow Body, and Black Body. The Black Body God speaks to the insect people instructing them to become more god-like or human-like rather than like insects. They are also commanded to undergo a thorough self-cleanse with the promise that after 12 days, which is true to their word.

After 12 days have passed, the Gods return as promised. The Blue Body and Black Body Gods arrive carrying sacred buckskins while the White Body and Yellow Body Gods bring similarly colored ears of maize. One buckskin is placed facing east while eagle plumes adorn the ears of maize before they are covered by another buckskin.

At their request, wind blows between these two buckskins

from both East and West directions. As winds blow eight mirage people encircle them four times.
When the top layer was removed, a man and a woman emerged from where the white maize and yellow maize had been placed. They were known as the first man and first woman or the holy people. However, similar to the Christian creation myth, there appeared to be a division between men and women among the Navajo people. The men believed that women's sexual power compelled them to hunt, which angered them. In response, the women felt that men and their abilities were unnecessary and chose to separate from them for four years. During this time, both genders engaged in various taboo sexual acts. The women resorted to masturbation while the men engaged in intercourse with organs of deceased animals like deer livers.

These immoral actions led to the birth of monstrous beings that plagued and devoured people for some time. One incident occurred during a river crossing when a couple realized their two young daughters were left behind after they successfully made it across. Urgently accompanied by a coyote, they ventured into the river to rescue their missing girls.They eventually found them in a water monster's lair surprisingly unopposed by the creature as they retrieved their childrenCoyote took advantage of the distraction to secretly snatch the water monster's two offspring and hide them beneath his robe. In the Navajo creation narrative, the number four and its multiples are a recurring symbol, possibly due to the presence of four main directions in the world. However, this explanation remains unclear. After eight years since humanity's creation, a trickster figure appears in the

creation myth – a coyote resembling the snake in Christian mythology. Unlike the evil nature of the snake in Christian lore, this mischievous coyote is not inherently wicked. The theft of water monster children by Coyote proves beneficial in the long run; however, he always seemed to worsen bad situations and never offered assistance. Similar to Christian mythology, there is also a flood mentioned in Navajo creation myth but with significant differences: it was not caused by Navajo Gods for wiping out all life on Earth. People noticed animals leaving as an indication of an approaching flood. They carried sacred mountain soil and planted four reeds that merged into one with an east-side hole where they emerged into the fifth and final world while floodwaters pursued them through that hole. To stop this flow of water, stolen water monster children were used as plugs by these people from Navajo mythos.
In the fifth world, an argument arose between the Navajo and Pueblo people, resulting in their separation. However, they would later reunite and exchange knowledge. Following their split, the first man and woman, with assistance from the Gods, reshaped the four mountains of the fourth world using soil from those mountains. The symbols in the Navajo creative activity narrative hold specific purposes or intentions. Unlike Christian mythology centered around a divine deity, this narrative called "Dine Bahane" follows evolution through four distinct universes, each presenting its own challenges. Initially transmitted orally as part of their oral tradition, "Dine Bahane" is renowned for its complexity and was eventually translated and written down after being passed on verbally for generations. To revive their culture's essence, Navajo people partake

in a special ceremony where they reenact the creation myth. This narrative serves as one way to preserve the memory of the creation myth today. Comparing it to Christian creation myths reveals similarities in symbolism, origins, and how both were initially presented and shared with their respective audiences.Despite the geographical distance between them, these unique creation myths have some noticeable similarities in common. However, despite these shared traits, there are also notable differences that set each narrative apart from the other. Nevertheless, regardless of which myth is favored, the question of how human life originated on Earth still remains unanswered.