Genesis And Other Creation Myths

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Apr 3 2004, 11:07 PM'] Whichever you prefer. Also, even though it would be more intresting to focus on their differences, I need to show what relvance they have to Pentateuchal studies. Therefore, highlighting the differences does not really focus on what they have to do with the Pentateuch. Besides, like I said, it has to be one page, so I have to condense definitions and show how they are important to Pentateuchal studies. Therefore, I don't have much room for making points as much as I do in defining and connecting.

Thanks

God Bless [/quote]
One page!! How dare they assign a paper like that! I always hated complex topic assignments with such restrictive page lengths. As if you can say what needs to be said in a mere page! I don't think I ever had a teacher who dared to assign less than 3 pages and even that is practically impossible to work with. Poor guy.

Perhaps finding a few related articles and some Biblical references would be better than sifting through a complete bibliography.

[Theologian in Training]

Whew! It is now 10 minutes to 12:00 A.M. and I have finally finished my paper. It is absolutely horrible and convoluted, but it is done, and that is all that matters.

I have now spent two straight days learning about Babylonian, Canaanite, and Egyptian myths and cultures, and now I am more than confused as to what to believe with regard to the bible. This is the trouble with the documentary hypothesis and historical critical, if you delve deep enough into them, you forget the supernatural.

Well, like I said, I am not going to post my paper because it is horrible mess, but I could post the many many links I consulted if you were really interested. There is this one link that I found that narrated on the website the creation myth that originated in Hermopolis and spoke extensively as to how Ptah created the world.

If you want the links, let me know. The majority of them are strictly academic, and some are just lists of Canaanite, Babylonian, and Egyptian gods, godesses, culture, and myths.

I feel that I must end in the name of the monotheisitic and Trinitarian true God.

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Where's the Athanasian Creed when you need it

[Theologian in Training]

Quicumque (Athanasian Creed)

Quicumque vult salvus esse, ante omnia opus est, ut teneat catholicam fidem:
Quam nisi quisque integram inviolatamque servaverit, absque dubio in aeternam peribit.
Fides autem catholica haec est: ut unum Deum in Trinitate, et Trinitatem in unitate veneremur.
Neque confundentes personas, neque substantiam seperantes.
Alia est enim persona Patris alia Filii, alia Spiritus Sancti:
Sed Patris, et Fili, et Spiritus Sancti una est divinitas, aequalis gloria, coeterna maiestas.
Qualis Pater, talis Filius, talis Spiritus Sanctus. Increatus Pater, increatus Filius, increatus Spiritus Sanctus.
Immensus Pater, immensus Filius, immensus Spiritus Sanctus.
Aeternus Pater, aeternus Filius, aeternus Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres aeterni, sed unus aeternus.
Sicut non tres increati, nec tres immensi, sed unus increatus, et unus immensus.
Similiter omnipotens Pater, omnipotens Filius, omnipotens Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres omnipotentes, sed unus omnipotens.
Ita Deus Pater, Deus Filius, Deus Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres dii, sed unus est Deus.
Ita Dominus Pater, Dominus Filius, Dominus Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres Domini, sed unus est Dominus.
Quia, sicut singillatim unamquamque personam Deum ac Dominum confiteri christiana veritate compelimur: ita tres Deos aut Dominos dicere catholica religione prohibemur.
Pater a nullo est factus: nec creatus, nec genitus.
Filius a Patre solo est: non factus, nec creatus, sed genitus.
Spiritus Sanctus a Patre et Filio: non factus, nec creatus, nec genitus, sed procedens.
Unus ergo Pater, non tres Patres: unus Filius, non tres Filii: unus Spiritus Sanctus, non tres Spiritus Sancti.
Et in hac Trinitate nihil prius aut posterius, nihil maius aut minus: sed totae tres personae coaeternae sibi sunt et coaequales.
Ita ut per omnia, sicut iam supra dictum est, et unitas in Trinitate, et Trinitas in unitate veneranda sit.
Qui vult ergo salvus esse, ita de Trinitate sentiat.
Sed necessarium est ad aeternam salutem, ut incarnationem quoque Domini nostri Iesu Christi fideliter credat.
Est ergo fides recta ut credamus et confiteamur, quia Dominus noster Iesus Christus, Dei Filius, Deus et homo est.
Deus est ex substantia Patris ante saecula genitus: et homo est ex substantia matris in saeculo natus.
Perfectus Deus, perfectus homo: ex anima rationali et humana carne subsistens.
Aequalis Patri secundum divinitatem: minor Patre secundum humanitatem.
Qui licet Deus sit et homo, non duo tamen, sed unus est Christus.
Unus autem non conversione divinitatis in carnem, sed assumptione humanitatis in Deum.
Unus omnino, non confusione substantiae, sed unitate personae.
Nam sicut anima rationalis et caro unus est homo: ita Deus et homo unus est Christus.
Qui passus est pro salute nostra: descendit ad inferos: tertia die resurrexit a mortuis.
Ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis: inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos.
Ad cuius adventum omnes homines resurgere habent cum corporibus suis: et reddituri sunt de factis propriis rationem.
Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam aeternam: qui vero mala, in ignem aeternum.
Haec est fides catholica, quam nisi quisque fideliter firmiterque crediderit, salvus esse non poterit. Amen.

[b]English[/b]
Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the Catholic faith.
For unless a person keeps this faith whole and entire he will undoubtedly be lost forever.
This is what the catholic faith teaches: we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity.
We distinguish among the persons, but we do not divide the substance.
For the Father is a distinct person; the Son is a distinct person; and the Holy Spirit is a distinct person.
Still the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty.
What the Father is, the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
The Father is boundless, the Son is boundless, and the Holy Spirit is boundless.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal.
Nevertheless, there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal being.
Thus there are not three uncreated beings, nor three boundless beings, but one uncreated being and one boundless being.
Likewise, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, and the Holy Spirit is omnipotent.
Yet there are not three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent being.
Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
But there are not three gods, but one God.
The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord.
There as not three lords, but one Lord.
For according to Christian truth, we must profess that each of the persons individually is God; and according to Christian religion we are forbidden to say that there are three gods or lords.
The Father is not made by anyone, nor created by anyone, nor generated by anyone.
The Son is not made nor created, but he is generated by the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit is not made nor created nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son.
There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, but not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
In this Trinity, there is nothing greater, nothing less than anything else.
But the entire three persons are coeternal and coequal with one another.
So that, as we have said, we worship complete unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity.
This, then, is what he who wishes to be saved must believe about the Trinity.
It is also necessary for eternal salvation that he believes steadfastly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The true faith is: we believe and profess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man.
As God He was begotten of the substance of the Father before time; as man He was born in time of the substance of His Mother.
He is perfect God; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh.
He is equal to the Father in His divinity, but He is inferior to the Father in His humanity.
Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ.
And He is one, not because His divinity was changed into flesh, but because His humanity was assumed to God.
He is one, not at all because of a mingling of substances, but because He is one person.
As a rational soul and flesh are one man: so God and man are one Christ.
He died for our salvation, descended to hell, arose from the dead on the third day.
Ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
At His coming, all men are to arise with their own bodies; and they are to give an account of their lives.
Those who have done good deeds will go into eternal life; those who have done evil will go into everlasting fire.
This is the Catholic faith. Everyone must believe it, firmly and steadfastly; otherwise He cannot be saved. Amen.

[url="http://www.pax-et-veritas.org/athanasi.htm"]Quicumque[/url]

Ahhh, much better...wash those gods away

[Theoketos]

The Holy Father in [i]Theology of the Body[/i] on pg 101 has a great section on what myth means.

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='Theoketos' date='Apr 5 2004, 03:03 AM'] The Holy Father in [i]Theology of the Body[/i] on pg 101 has a great section on what myth means. [/quote]
Yeah, it was from one of his audiences, if I am not mistaken.

BTW, did anyone want those links? If not, that is perfectly fine, was just curious.

God Bless

[Theologian in Training]

In thinking about this project more, I realize that there was some merit in undertaking this study. It never occurred to me before, but a lot of the beliefs held by the Babylonians, Canaanites, and Egyptians are the foundations from which a large part of the New Age movement has been derived. Although, I looked upon this project with much disdain because it, in my opinion, really did not focus on the aspects of the Pentateuch that were important, we were, in actual fact, being prepared to understand the direction many who have fallen from the faith, and even those that remain, though incredibly bankrupt of any real teaching of the Church, derive their beliefs.

Believe it or not, the Egyptian myths seem to be something that many people have begun to embrace. In fact, Akhenaten, the ankh cross, and other Egyptian figures and symbols have infiltrated themselves into our everyday life, and we are daily exposed without sometimes even realizing it. It is interesting to study symbols, because that sheds a lot of light on things that may be missed otherwise.

Granted, I am not going to become an Egyptologist, nor will I study too much, because, though this stuff is interesting and good to know, it is also important to realize the strength it has in inviting us to explore it so much that we forget what we were grounded in. Satan is very deceptive and much smarter than ourselves, which is why it is so important to guard oneself constantly, even when we don't think we are being duped.

God Bless

[MagiDragon]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Apr 8 2004, 12:33 PM'] BTW, did anyone want those links? If not, that is perfectly fine, was just curious.

God Bless [/quote]
if you have them, i'd be interested

[Theologian in Training]

[quote name='MagiDragon' date='Apr 8 2004, 04:56 PM'] if you have them, i'd be interested  [/quote]
These links were the fruit of many hours of labor researching Babylonian, Canaanite, and Egyptian myths. There are some from a Christian perspective, but the majority of them are strict definitions and lists. With that said, enjoy!!!

[b]Flood Narratives[/b]

[url="http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2004/0329gilgamesh.asp"]Gilgamesh and the Enuma Elish[/url]

[url="http://www.icr.org/pubs/imp/imp-285.htm"]floods[/url]

[url="http://www-learning.berkeley.edu/wciv/ugis55a/readings/gilgamesh.html"]Gilgamesh[/url]

[url="http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/gilgamesh.html"]Challenges to Flood Narrative[/url]

[b]Babylonian Creation Myths / Ugaritic texts[/b]

[url="http://www.specialtyinterests.net/ugarit.html"]Ugaritic Texts[/url]

[url="http://www.tektonics.org/babgenesis.html"]Babylonian Creation acct[/url]

[url="http://www.bibleandscience.com/index.htm"]General site dealing with these issues[/url]

[url="http://humwww.ucsc.edu/~gweltaz/courses/prophets/commentaries/Baal-epic.htm"]Epic of Baal[/url]

[b]Canaanite Creation Myths/Theology[/b]

[url="http://www.angelfire.com/pa/WoundedDove/canaanite1.html"]Canaanite gods[/url]

[url="http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze33gpz/canaanite-faq.html"]Canaanite myths[/url]

[url="http://www.bible.org/docs/ot/topics/baal.htm"]Baal and the OT[/url]

[url="http://www.cresourcei.org/baal.html"]Baal and the OT (more)[/url]

[url="http://www.cresourcei.org/historyculture.html"]Historical Context[/url]

[url="http://www.keyway.ca/htm2003/20030422.htm"]Asherah[/url]

[url="http://www.bibleresourcecenter.org/vsItemDisplay.dsp&objectID=22A97358-D7CC-4CB3-9C9E8A3798A1631D&method=display"]Ancient Myths and OT Parallel Sheet[/url]

[b]Egyptian Myths[/b]

[url="http://www.ancientroute.com/cities/heliopolis.htm"]Heliopolis[/url]

[url="http://www.touregypt.net/hermopolis.htm"]Hermopolis[/url]

[url="http://www.egyptianmyths.net/ogdoad.htm"]the OGDOAD OF HERMOPOLIS[/url]

[url="http://hemef.cfa.cmu.edu/egypt/proj/hermopolis/"]Really cool narrative of Hermopolis[/url]

[url="http://www.egyptianmyths.net/section-deities.htm"]General page on Egyptian myth[/url]

[b]General[/b]

[url="http://atheism.about.com/library/chronologies/blchron_ot1.htm"]OT timeline[/url]

[url="http://www.geocities.com/k9ocu/DH.htm"]Catholic refutation[/url]

[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/most/getwork.cfm?worknum=81"]Most's Commentary on Genesis[/url]

[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/most/getchap.cfm?WorkNum=8&ChapNum=3"]Most's Commentary on Creation[/url]

[url="http://www.ancientdays.net/histgeopenta.htm"]Historical Geography of the Pentateuch[/url]

[url="http://www.tempemasjid.com/maurice/23exodus.htm"]Exodus[/url]