Creation Stories

  The Navajo creation story and Genesis are both equally false and equally true. They are false in that the two stories tell of events that science and reason prove (for now) are "impossible", therefore they are equally likely to have not happened. Or, on the other side of the coin, they have the same chance of being literally true. People in our society who were not raised on the Navajo teachings would almost always find them implausible, at best. However, Navajos who were not raised on Genesis would probably have the same reaction to Genesis's teachings that those raised on the Bible would have to the Navajo story: It could never have happened.  

  Now, all of the above deals with truth in the context of facts, and in spirituality the scientific facts are rarely the most important part of truth. People's belief in the stories makes for a different kind of truth, a truth that's only possible in the context of religion and spirituality. If a person fully believes in a religious teaching, then it becomes true for them in the way it affects their spiritual (and through that their "real") life. For a non-believing other person, such a teaching would be utterly false. The subjective nature of spiritual/religious truth would make both people equally right. Therefore, each creation story holds the same amount of truth and meaning (remember, this meaning could be metaphorical, not literal) for the people that believe in them, and for this truth both stories deserve equal consideration.

Creation Stories!!!

While both creation stories seem very unlikely to me, I think the one in the book of Genesis is more likely. The Navajo story says that people have always been on Earth, and it does not give any sense of beginning or creation of humankind, as the Bible does, by saying God put Adam and Eve on Earth. This is at least an explanation, albeit and unreliable and unlikely one. The Navajo story attributes the fleeing through the sky to lust and envy taking hold, but it does not explain why lust and envy didn't used to be a problem. They existed before but weren't a problem and didn't create violence? The Bible's explanation for feelings such as lust and envy come from Eve eating the forbidden fruit, so again, there is at least a reason for such emotions. Also, the Navajo stopped fleeing the evil worlds corrupted by lust, violence, and envy but they stopped at Earth. For the cycle of the story to continue they should have continued fleeing through the holes in the sky, since lust/violence/envy are very, very present on Earth. I do not understand why they didn't flee from Earth as they fleed from all of the other worlds. The Bible gives an explanation for many things it claims happened, such as people are on Earth because God put them there, and envy and lust exist because someone broke a rule and ruined it for everyone. If the first Navajo man who came to Earth was able to transform things into mountains and animals and hours, why wasn't every other man able to do the same? According to the Bible, all humans are mortal and do not have supernatural powers, which seems more likely to me. While both of these stories are very unfathomable for me, I like the Navajo one more because it is more interesting and pleseant, but I find the Bible creation story more likely, if only marginally.

Creation Story

I think this creation story can be just as true as the one we found in genesis. I think that everyone has their own beliefs about what happened in the beginning of time and who created the world so this story is just as valid as the next.
I don't know exactly what I believe happened in the beginning of time. I think after I hear about different cultures and their beliefs I might be able to form my own opinion. I always just assumed it was the Adam and Eve story because that is what I was taught but now I'm definitely starting to rethink it.

Pieces that just don't Fit

As I understand it, the Navajo people passed down their beliefs orally from generation to generation. There's something so much more credible about a book, especially if there are so many different writers attributed with its works. Of course, this isn't a logical reason to place more reason in the Bible.
What particularly irritated me was the claim about the 4 main types of colours. If there's anything that I value from my elementary to middle school education, it's the belief in the 3 primary colours: red, blue, and yellow. They are the most basic of colours, as they can create any other colour. Black is the absence of light, and white is the overwhelming presence of light. So, the Navajo Creation Myth loses points there.
There's another flaw in the Navajo Creation Myth that bothered me; the medicine. If the first man had this medicine to create all these physical phenomena, where did it go?
Lastly, the Creation Myth answers all but (arguably) the most important question. Where do we come from? The first man was a Navajo from one of the past underground worlds. All the people were from that underground world. They came from the previous underground world. But, where did the people come from before the first underground world, or perhaps more importantly, how and why did they come to being there.
The Bible addresses this issue by attributing our creation to God. It doesn't claim anything about nonexistent magical medicine, or about false primary colours, and it answers the questions we really want to know from a Creation Myth. That's why Genesis' Creation Myth seems more likely to be true.

Early creation stories

While both the Navajo creation story and the story of the beginning of human kind in the book of Genesis are unlikely to have happened scientifically speaking, I believe that the version in the book of Genesis is more true then the other. I just feel that even though neither story is exactly realistic the one in the book of Genesis is much less far fetched then that of the Navajo creation story. The Navajo one speaks of one man basically creating earth and everything that is within it including seasons, animals, and time. This is an extremely different idea then that in the book of Genesis which believes that God is the one who created earth and Adam and Eve. Even though the idea of god might not be exactly a scientific concept, my religion and beliefs tell me that this is what truly did happen.

Early Creation Stories

The Navajo Creation Story is quite different than the account we have in Genesis. According to the Navajos, the world where people first lived was deep within the world we inhabit now. It had no sun or moon, and contained only dim clouds, which moved to tell the hours. Life began peacefully, but then lust and envy took hold. The people become violent. The Navajo fled, climbing through a hole in the sky to an above world. This world also began peacefully, but the same evils happened. This process repeated itself until finally the first man and woman emerged on the present earth. The first man filled the world with the aid of a sacred bundle of medicine, transforming different items into mountains, animals, hours, and so on. Everything in this new world was balanced: four directions, four seasons, four basic colors of black, blue, amber, and white. An essential harmony, called hozho, then prevailed.

Is this creation story any more or less likely to be true than the creation story we find in Genesis?

POST DUE: Thursday, October 15 by start of class.
2 RESPONSES TO POSTS DUE: Monday, October 19 by the start of class.

Note: Remember to create your own post for your main response (your teacher modeled this in class). That way, people will be able to click on the word “comment” below your post to respond to what you said.

Magic and Pre-History Humans

Examine and share your basic beliefs about magic as defined in class. Do not confuse this with your belief in something like miracles. Do you believe in magic even a tiny bit? Are there things which you view as “extraordinary material”? Does the practice of magic still have a place in modern culture?

POST DUE: Tuesday, September 15 by start of class.

2 RESPONSES TO POSTS DUE: Friday, September 18 by the start of class.Note: Click on the word “comment” below, to post your initial response to the question(s).