“It is God Who has created the heavens, the earth and all that is
between them in six eons, then firmly established Himself on the Throne of
Authority..”(Qur’an;32:4). “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that in them is,”(Exodus;20:11 ),
“..the heavens and the earth were once one entity, then We split them asunder?
And We have created every living thing from water..”(Qur’an;21:30 );“… Allah created the heavens and the earth
and all that lies between them for a just reason and for a specified
time..”(Qur’an;30:8).“And We created not the heavens and the earth, and all
that is between them, in play.”(Qur’an;44:38);“We shall surely test your
steadfastness with fear and famine, with loss of property, life and produce.
Give good news to those who endure with patience.” (Qur’an;2:155).
Introduction:
Man has always been
inquisitive about the origin and creation of universe to which earth is just a
small part. The whole cosmic system of matter and energy is called
universe.
Its main constituents
are the galaxies, within which are stars and stellar groupings and nebulae.
Earth’s Sun is one star among the billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.
All atoms, subatomic particles, and everything they compose are also part of
the universe. The universe is governed by four fundamental forces: the strong
force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and gravitation. The term creation refers to
the beginning of things, whether by the will and act of a transcendent being,
by emanation from some ultimate source, or in any other way. The fact remains
that even with advancement in science and technology the scientists have not
yet been able to resolve the mystery of Creation. Scientists have however proposed a number of theories
about the origin and structure of the universe, the most prominent theories
are; the ‘Big Bang’, ‘Expanding Universe’ and ‘Steady-State Theory’. While even the expanse of
universe still remains a mystery, the thinkers and theologians have also
evolved their own concepts and doctrine of creation of universe based on their
imagination, knowledge and superstition. This resulted in evolution of many
myths in different cultures but, their theories still remain speculative. While
most of Creation myths do not stand the scientific test, however the
Revelations given to messengers of God, specially mentioned in Qur’an, the last
scripture, stand up to the known scientific hypothesis of creation. Doctrines
of creation are philosophical and theological elaborations of the primal
traditional narratives of creation (myths) within a religious community. The
term myth here refers to the imaginative expression in narrative form of what
is experienced or apprehended as basic reality. The story of creation is the
symbolic narrative of the beginning of the world as understood by a particular
community. The later doctrines of creation are interpretations of this myth in
light of the subsequent history and needs of the community. Thus, for example,
all theology and thought concerning creation in the Abrahamic rooted faiths are
based on the Revealed narrative of creation in the biblical book of Genesis and
the last book of guidance, the Qur’an.
Common
Myths of Creation & Narratives:
The traditional narratives
of creation (or myths) refer to the process through which the world is centered
and given a definite form within the whole of reality. The cosmogonic (origin
of the world) myth is the myth par excellence. In this sense, the myth is akin to philosophy, but, unlike
philosophy, it is constituted by a system of symbols; and because it is the
basis for any subsequent cultural thought, it contains rational and nonrational
forms. There is an order and structure to the myth, but this order and structure
is not to be confused with rational, philosophical order and structure. The
myth possesses its own distinctive kind of order. The cosmogonic myth tells the
story of the creation of the world, it is never simply etiological, for it
deals with the ultimate origin of all things. The cosmogonic myth thus has a
pervasive structure; its expression in the form of philosophical and
theological thought is only one dimension of its function as a model for
cultural life. According to the Self Emergence myth: The creation seems to emerge through its own
inner power from under the earth. In this genre of myth, the created order
emerges gradually in continuous stages. It is similar to a birth or
metamorphosis of the world from its embryonic state to maturity. The symbolism
of the earth or a part of the earth as a repository of all potential form is
prominent in this type of myth. In some myths of this type (e.g., the Navajo myth of emergence),
the movement from a lower stage to a higher one is initiated by some fault of
the people who live under the earth, but these faults are only the parallels of
an automatic upper movement in the earth itself. Closely related to the same
type of narrative is the myth that states that the world is created as the
progeny of a primordial mother and father, called ‘World Parents’. The mother
and father are symbols of earth and sky, respectively. In myths of this kind,
the world parents generally appear at a late stage of the creation process;
chaos in some way exists before the coming into being of the world parents.
According to ‘Cosmic Egg’ tradition, the creation deity begins the act of
creation by placing two embryonic sets of twins in an egg. In each set of twins
is a male and female; during the maturation process they are together thus
forming androgynous beings. In a Tahitian myth, the creator deity himself lives
alone in a shell. After breaking out of the shell, he creates his counterpart,
and together they undertake the work of creation. A Japanese creation narrative
likens the primordial chaos to an egg containing the germs of creation. In the
Hindu tradition the creation of the world is symbolized in the Chandogya Upanisad by the breaking of an egg,
and the universe is referred to as an egg in other sources. The Buddhists speak
of the transcending of ordinary existence, the realization of a new mode of
being, as breaking the shell of the egg. Similar references to creation through
the symbol of the egg are found in the Orphic texts of the Greeks and in
Chinese myths. The egg is a symbol of the totality from which all creation
comes. It is like a womb containing the seeds of creation. Within the egg are
the possibilities of a perfect creation (i.e.,
the creation of androgynous beings). The egg, in addition to being the
beginning of life, is equally a symbol of procreation, rebirth, and new life.
In a version of the Dogon, one of the twins returns to the egg in order to
resuscitate the other.
The myths of ‘Earth Divers’
have two important elements: Firstly, the theme of the cosmogonic water
representing the undifferentiated waters that are present before the earth has
been created. Secondly, there is an animal who plunges into the water to secure
a portion of earth. The importance of the animal is that the creature agent is
a prehuman species. This version of the myth is probably the oldest version of
this genre. This basic structure of the earth-diver myth has been modified in
central Europe in myths that relate the story
of the primordial waters, God, and the devil. In these versions of the
earth-diver myth, the devil appears as God’s companion in the creation of the
world. The devil becomes the diver sent by God to bring earth from the bottom
of the waters. In most versions of this myth, God does not appear to be
omniscient or omnipotent, often depending on the knowledge of the devil for
certain details regarding the creative act, details that he learns through
tricks he plays upon the devil. In still different versions of this myth, the
relationship between God and the devil moves from companionship to antagonism;
they become adversaries, though they remain as co-creators of the world. The
fact that the devil has had a part in the creation of the world is one way of
explaining the origin and persistence of evil in the world. Mircea Eliade, a
noted 20th-century historian of religions, has pointed to another
theme in certain Romanian versions of this myth. After God has instructed the
devil to dive to the bottom of the waters and bring up the earth, the devil
obeys, diving several times before he is able to bring up and hold on to a
small portion of earth. After the creation of the world from this small portion
of earth, God sinks into a profound sleep. This sleep is a sign of mental
exhaustion, for only the devil and a bee know the solution to certain details
of the creation, and God must, with the help of the bee, trick the devil into
giving him this vital information. God’s sleep, according to Eliade, is a sign
of his passivity and disinterest in the world after it has been created, and it
harks back to certain archaic myths in which the supreme deity retires from the
world after its creation, becoming disinterested and passive in the
relationship to his work.
Creation by the ‘Supreme
Creator’ is a popular doctrine among many cultures, specially among the
Abrahamic faiths in its own distinct way. Though the precise nature and
characteristics of the supreme creator deity may differ from culture to
culture, a specific and pervasive structure of this type of deity can be
discerned. The six main characteristics tend to be common: Firstly; He is all
wise and all powerful. The world comes into being because of His wisdom, and He
is able to actualize the world because of his power. Secondly; The deity exists
alone prior to the creation of the world. There is no being or thing prior to
His existence. No explanation can therefore be given of His existence, before
which one confronts the ultimate mystery. Thirdly; The mode of creation is
conscious, deliberate, and orderly. This again is an aspect of the Creator’s
wisdom and power. The creation comes about because the deity seems to have a
definite plan in mind and does not create on a trial-and-error basis. In
Genesis, for example, particular parts of the world are created seriatim; in an
Egyptian myth, Kheper, the creator deity, says, “I planned in my heart,” and in
a Maori myth the creator deity proceeds from inactivity to increasing stages of
activity. Fourthly; The creation of the world is simultaneously an expression
of the freedom and purpose of the deity. His mode of creation defines the
pattern and purpose of all aspects of the creation, though the deity is not
bound by his creation. His relationship to the created order after the creation
is again an aspect of his freedom. Fifthly; In several creation myths of this
type, the creator deity removes himself from the world after it has been
created. After the creation the deity goes away and only appears again when a
catastrophe threatens the created order. Sixthly; The supreme creator deity is often
a ‘sky god’, and the deity in this form is an instance of the religious
valuation of the symbolism of the sky. In creation myths of the above type, the
creation itself or the intent of the creator deity is to create a perfect
world, paradise. Before the end of the creative act or sometime soon after the
end of creation, the created order or the intent of the creator deity is
thwarted by some fault of one of the creatures. There is thus a rupture in the
creation narrative. In some traditions this rupture is the cause of the
departure of the deity from creation.
In Greek philosophy and theology,
‘Logos’
is used to stands for the divine reason that orders the cosmos and gives it
form and meaning. The Greek word ‘logos’ means; “word,” “reason,” “plan”. The concept is
found in the writings of Heracleitus (540-480BC) and in Persian, Indian, and
Egyptian philosophical and theological systems as well. In the cosmology of
Heracleitus, fire forms the basic material principle of an orderly universe: he
called the world order an “ever-living fire kindling in measures and being
extinguished in measures,” and he extended fire’s manifestations to include the
ether in the upper atmosphere. The persistence of unity despite change is
illustrated by his famous analogy of the river: “Upon those who step into the
same rivers, different and ever different waters flow down.” Plato later took
Heracleitus to mean that all things are in constant flux, regardless of how
they appear to the senses. Later, the Stoics defined the ‘logos’ as an
active, rational and spiritual principle that permeated all reality. The
Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher, Judaeus Philo of Alexandria (15 BC-45 CE),
taught that the ‘logos’ was the intermediary between God and the cosmos, being
both the agent between God and the cosmos, being both the agent of creation and
the agent through which the human mind can comprehend God. The writings of Philo were preserved and
cherished by the Church, and provided the inspiration for a sophisticated
Christian philosophical theology. He departed from Platonic thought regarding
the ‘logos’ (Word) and called
it “the first-begotten Son of God”. Hence in Christian theology, ‘Logos’ is used to
describe the role of Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) as the principle
of God active in the creation and ordering of the cosmos and in the revelation
of the divine plan of salvation. The divinity of Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be
upon him) is claimed from interpretation of verses from Gospel according to
John: “In
the beginning was the ‘Word’, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God....And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and
truth...” (John;1:1&14). It is to be
kept in view that, these statements were not made by Prophet Jesus Christ
(peace be upon him), nor were they attributed to him by the author of the
Gospel according to John. Consequently, these verses do not constitute evidence
for Jesus’ divinity, especially considering the doubts held by Christian
scholars about the Fourth Gospel. The Greek term used by the anonymous author
of the Fourth Gospel for “word” is
‘logos’. In doing so, the
author identifies Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) with the pagan ‘logos’ of Greek philosophy, who was
the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and
meaning. The identification of Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) with
the ‘logos’, was further developed in the early Church as a result of attempts
made by early Christian theologians and apologists to express the Christian
faith in terms that would be intelligible to the Hellenistic world. Moreover, it was to impress their hearers
with the view that Christianity was superior to, or heir to, all that was best
in pagan philosophy. Thus, in their apologies and polemical works, the early
Christian Fathers stated that Christ was the preexistent ‘logos’. The Greek
word for ‘God’ used in the phrase “and the Word was with God,” is the definite
form ‘hotheos’, meaning
‘The God’. However, in the second phrase
“and the Word was God”, the Greek word used for ‘God’ is the indefinite form ‘tontheos’, which means ‘a god’. Consequently,
John;1:1, should more accurately be translated, “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” Therefore, if the Word was
a ‘god’ in the literal sense, it would mean that there were two Gods and not
one. However, in Biblical language, the term ‘god’ is used metaphorically to
indicate power. For example, Paul referred to the devil as “god” in 2nd
Corinthians;4:4. Moses is also referred to as “god” (messenger) in Exodus;7:1.
Prophet Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) has also been clearly mentioned as a
man and messenger of God: “Ye
men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto
you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of
you, even as ye yourselves know”(Acts;2:22).
Miraculous birth of Prophet
Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) through ‘Word from God’ has been mentioned in
Qur’an: “When the angels said “O Mary! God gives you the good news through a
Word from Him (kalimah min -hu) that you will be given a son: his name
will be Messiah, (Jesus Christ) the son of Mary...”(Qur’an;3:45 ); “She said: “O my Lord! how shall I have
a son when no man hath touched me?” He
said: “Even so: Allah creates what He Wills; whenever He decides to do
anything, He only says (word) it to ‘Be’ and it is!.”(Qur’an;3:47 ). Similarly, the act of creation is also
mentioned in Bible: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”(Genisis;1:3);
“And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven”(Genisis;1:20). Hence
the Word from God implies ‘order of creation’ by God through His ‘word’ or
‘Command’ or ‘announcement’. It is also mentioned in Qur’an: “..The Christ
Jesus, son of Mary, was but God’s Apostle – (the fulfillment of) His
promise which He had conveyed (kalimah, “word”) unto Mary - and a soul
created by Him….”(Qur’an;4:171); “To Him is due the primal origin of the
heavens and the earth: when He decrees a matter, He saith to it: “Be,” and it
is.(Qur’an;2:117.); “And Our command is but a single (Act),- like the twinkling
of an eye.”(Qur’an;54:50). The word or command of God can not be equated with
God as the Revelations to the messengers are words of God but not God. Thus the
‘Word’ is of God, it is His but not Him. If Mr. X says ‘pen’, the word ‘pen’
is the word by Mr. X but ‘pen’ is not Mr. X himself !
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