Friday, September 19, 2014

Creation Myth


Genesis 1-4 represents the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity. Over the course of six days, God creates the sun, sky, light, water,land, fish, birds, plants and humankind. Then, He created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden of Eden where they could enjoy the beauty of the world but were not allowed to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the garden, Eve encountered a serpent that convinced her to eat the fruit because it would open her eyes to good and evil, which means that she would gain the knowledge of God. After both Eve and Adam ate the fruit, God banished them from Eden for disobeying Him and thus the history of humankind begins.

By making this choice, Adam and Eve left humankind with the ability to distinguish between the good and the bad. Even though the idea was suggested by the serpent, Adam and Eve made an independent choice to eat the fruit. That’s not the case in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”, as the Satan, disguised as a serpent, tempts her to eat the apple because it gave him the ability to think and talk. A number of identities are formed throughout the creation myth, such as women giving childbirth in pain, men working the ground to provide food, the serpent not having any legs or the length of the week being seven days long.

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