Do creation myths reflect the landscape of the creators of the myth?

In his book The Grand Design Stephen Hawking talks of the Boshongo people of central Africa who vomited up the universe after a really good lunch. And the Mayan gods who made different versions of Man before hitting on a model they liked.
Instead of these great stories the Christians settle for a god who is a deadly dull goody two shoes with zero personality. I wonder if this reflects the dull environment of the barren desert land that the inventors of Christianity inhabited. Far more boring than the exciting rainforests of Central Africa which led to such an infinitely more imaginative creation myth.
What does pwnd by Ray Balthazar mean? I have not come across that expression. Is he an american politician?
@Ariel I am sure the people of Central Africa have just as much faith in their vomiting god as you have in your dull god.
@Acid Zebra. Sadly not a pirate – just a humble atheist trying to make sense of a world corrupted for thousands of years by thoughts of gods. These easy-way-out godthoughts are so ingrained that it is difficult to erase them from our thinking in order to get at the truth. Fortunately the scientific method has shown us a way out of the mess we created.
@Gunter. The finest mind who ever lived was in my opinion Richard Feynman. A towering genius who added so much to the way we look at the world. I’m afraid your 2,000 year old desert amateur philosophers cannot hold a candle to the wisdom of present day scientists.
@MC2=E. If you are referencing Darwinian evolution I would point out that it says nothing about creation so your comment is meaningless. Thanks for attempting the question though.

11 Comments on “Do creation myths reflect the landscape of the creators of the myth?

  1. LOL you atheists are silly people only learned to read so they could read the bible.

  2. I disagree! Yahweh is a cruel and jealous killer, representing the harsh desert life of the Jews.

  3. the Christians settle for a god who is a deadly dull goody 2 shoes with zero personality.

    Murdering everyone on earth (the Flood) or incinerating whole cities (the cities of the plain) hardly makes a god ‘good’. You might also consider that desert gods do not do floods.

    It is clear that you are at heart a Christian, only pretending (for whatever reason) to be a sceptic.

    No actual atheist would ever be pwned by Ray Balthazar.

  4. Arr ye must be Scottish, so I will forgive you for your rudeness! This God who ye are not acquanted with is far more exciting than your dull vomited ridden imagination! How can these so called exciting stories help you. What I know every stupid word that you have uttered you will be reminded of. I don’t even need to defend my God, but ye me silly indiot better get a good lawyer because when ye appear before the great white throne I will be there and boy will it be exciting to watch your video on big screen before billions of witnesses. And you will tell us why ye think our God is an idiot, but for now swim for a while in your stupidity.

    Point to note. in Job it is written that he need not enquire but can humble these rulers without inquiry. Hey Gadafi scoffed at the Bible and called it corrupt because it didn’t have Muhammed on a visit to Uganda. Then he was crowned the King of kings by some confused people last year. That is a title rserved for Jesus. I told meself to watch what would happen next to this modern day Herod. You know the truth. If that is not exciting then I don’t know what excitment is!

  5. The most recent (150 year old) creation myth) is really no different to the others except that it’s believers are brain-washed into thinking that ‘looks like’ and ‘could be similar to’ are scientific facts.

    I am refering to the Darwinian ‘creation myth’ held so dear by so called scientists.

    [In a letter to Asa Gray, a Harvard professor of biology, Darwin wrote:] I am quite conscious that my speculations run quite beyond the bounds of true science.—*Charles Darwin, quoted in *N.C. Gillespie, Charles Darwin and the Problem of Creation (1979), p. two [University of Chicago book].

  6. Hello,
    Some of you dear people out there are practising idolatry of the first degree by blindly accepting the spurious reasoning of any imperfect human mind.
    Have you really ever examined the teachings of the greatest man who ever lived on earth, and compared them with the (let’s be polite) ‘views’ of some individuals alive today? How do you think any of your idols would fare during a conversation, debate, interchange of observations, with this perfect man. His reasoning was flawless, as shown many times when he put the learned men of his time to the test, often silencing them with his wisdom (John 8:28). Any of the learned men or women today must be respected in their views, of course, it is their prerogative to hold these. It doesn’t make them right or perfect, though. To put such views, or people, above the accurate knowledge of Jesus, who witnessed creation firsthand (Rev. 1:5), however, is futile idolatry, not leading anywhere. It is misleading many who perhaps would consider the real Jesus a very little closer. Dangerous undertaking, since he has been appointed ‘to judge the entire inhabited earth in righteousness’ (Acts 17:31).
    Kind regards, Günter

  7. My people believe the world was made by Carol Wilkinson in her spare time.

    (You ARE a pirate.)

  8. Thanks for not choosing an answer until those of us on the United States side of the Pond wake up. It’s. 6am here.

    Absolutely.

    Everything any 1 thinks is good or bad is determined by one’s environment….everything….even today….. And its topography was woven into stories that ancient folks told around fires they had either in some enclosure, or cave. The Great Jujubee of the Mountain I imagine, became some god, when the mountain either rumbled or puffed some smoke. Someone was always ready to step forward and interpret anything as a sign. Religion has been with man since his first glimmer of ideas.

    Ancient folk had no science, life was short, and hard, and mystery was everywhere. As soon as someone hit on the idea that maybe some big god/power/mind/person made all this the idea of gods in that environment were born. It was then natural for primitive tribes who then became first hunter/gatherers, then actual farmers to make these powers supernatural… and further, that maybe they would be influenced by such a thing as a sacrifice ….. of something valuable…The more we find value it it, the more some god will too.

    Which then lead to the sacrifice of children and people. These are talked about int the Old Testament, and we have mummies of young children high in caves in Peru…And they had been murdered.

    One would NEVER sacrifice something worthless to a powerful god 1 was trying to influence, would they????

    People who lived near the seas had gods that were sea god. Desert folks made gods of snakes and lizards, and as you suggested. We know this because of pictographs on stones.

    Richard Feynman… yes indeed a towering figure in physics. There are things on Youtube you might wish to see. plug in his name.

    One short but hugely interesting thing he was involved in was in Symphony of Science, 1 piece with Carl Sagan. Youtube it…. symphony of science + we’re all connected. I promise, beautiful…
    ++++++++++++

    And just as an additional thought…. 1 really cannot be too hard on folks clinging to ancient desert gods, arks, floating male Jewish zombies, navel-less people, and the other myths of the Hebrews and Christianity…………we are dealing here with folks who firstly, have never traveled, who are not the brightest tools in the shed, and as well, lack much more that a rather poor PUBLIC high school education….many not even that. And if they’re special ed kids, who are now adults, the IQ is, at least here in the US, seventy nine or below. Do not expect anyone with these qualification to even have a tenuous grasp of natural selection, DNA, and mutations…..a far more beautiful story than any god myths, but beyond their abilities. I even have a friend with a college degree who taught science, who leaves the door open to some sky daddy…some idea of creation.

    (But I’ll quickly add that he’s now stone deaf, reads little, is rather stuck trying to be involved in a conversation. He bemoans his deafness, but never bothered taking a class to learn to read lips as he was going deaf…… has always been a bit quirky and reasons poorly. As an example, the man wears a Confederate hat. Here in the US, the message would clearly be, that he is a state’s rights guy, and slavery likely was an okay idea. And that would be the message any Black person would get, even tho for him, all the Confederate hat means is I’m a rebel, against the establishment…..)

    And on your Science cable channel, there is a brand new star for the common man….Brian Cox, Ph. D in physics. He was hugely influenced by Sagan, and Feynman…. You may be able to get his discs done by the BBC at your library…..called, The Wonders of the Universe and The Wonders of the Solar System, done this year. There are snippets of him on Youtube….again, hugely interesting.