CREATION MYTH

also called Cosmogonic Myth, a symbolic narrative of the beginning of the world as understood in a particular tradition and community. Creation myths are of central importance for the valuations of the world, the orientation of man in the universe, and for the basic patterns of life and culture. As the myth par excellence, the creation myth is the model for all other myths of the origins of cultural practices and artifacts. Many rituals may be thought of as dramatizations of the creation myth, performed to underscore and highlight the effectiveness of the myth in ordering and safeguarding the culture and its way of life. In addition, a culture's modes of artistic expressionthe gestures and dance of ritual and the imagery of the visual and verbal artsfind their models and meanings in the myths of creation. Although the creation myths are numerous, a few basic types may be distinguished. One of these, found in almost all parts of the world, is the belief in a supreme creator deity, usually characterized as omniscient and omnipotent, as having existed alone prior to the world's creation, and as having had a plan in creating the world. In many of these myths, the creator's plan is thwarted through some action of a creature. This rupture leads in some myths to the deity's departure from creation; in others it signifies the ambiguity of the world. In a contrasting cosmogonic view, the world emerges gradually through stages, as the fetus develops toward birth. In contrast to the supreme deity type, emergence myths emphasize the latent power in the earth and its components. A third type of cosmogonic myth is that which sees the world as the offspring of primordial parents. The world-parents, symbolizing the sky and the earth, usually appear late in the creation narrative. The union of the parents is disrupted by the offspring, the agents of separation and thus of creation. While reasons for this separation vary, it usually results in a cosmic order centred on the techniques and knowledge of human culture. Related to this type is one in which creation derives from a cosmic egg. This egg, like the world-parents, symbolizes unity and yet contains the possibilities of separation or creation. A fifth type of cosmogonic myth tells of an animal or devil who, at the bidding of the deity, dives into the primordial waters to secure a portion of earth on which life can survive. In most religious communities, philosophical and theological doctrines have developed as explications of or complements to the cosmogonic myths. In those myths in which creation occurs by the word or action of a high god, the transcendence (otherness or qualitative difference) of the creator is a subject for theological speculation and argument. In some cases the deity's transcendence must also be related to its immanence or presence in the world; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all confront these issues. The cosmogonic theme of emergence is related to the doctrine of creation through emanations from a single principle, a concept found in some so-called primitive religions (e.g., Polynesian) and in Taoism. In addition to doctrines of creation, skepticism about the knowability of the origins of the world is present in several religious traditions. In some this unknowability refers to the plan and purpose of creation, as in those myths in which the deity retires after the work of creation. The Buddha's refusal to answer questions concerning the eternality and finitude of the world also betrays a kind of skepticism, one that is also found in other religious communities. Skepticism about the ultimate origin of the world has led some theologians to depend on a notion of revelation in response to these questions. In these cases, however, the notion of revelation presupposes a relationship between creator and created and therefore implies a doctrine of creation. also called cosmogonic myth philosophical and theological elaboration of the primal myth of creation 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 (see also myth). 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. Additional reading Cosmogonic myths Charles H. Long, Alpha: The Myths of Creation (1963), gives examples of various types of cosmogonic myths from different cultures. For ancient Near Eastern myths, see Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, ed. by James B. Pritchard, 3rd ed. with suppl. (1969). Johannes Pedersen, Israel, 4 vol. (Eng. trans. 192640), is a cultural-religious study that shows the relationship between creation myth, land, and kinship system. For the nature and structure of myths and symbols, see Ernst Cassirer, Philosophie der symbolischen Formen, 4 vol. (195356; Eng. trans., The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, 3 vol., 195355); and Joan O'Brien and Wilfred Major, In the Beginning: Creation Myths from Ancient Mesopotamia, Israel, and Greece (1982). The development and structure of Greek myths John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, 4th ed. (1930, reprinted 1963), is a well-written interpretation of the pre-Socratic myths of creation. Arnold Ehrhardt, The Beginning (1968), shows the common structure of the cosmologies of the Gospel According to John and pre-Socratic thinkers. Christian doctrine For a theological history of the Christian doctrine of creation in its variety and continuity, see Jaroslav Pelikan, Development of Christian Doctrine (1969), The Christian Tradition (1971), and Historical Theology: Continuity and Change in Christian Doctrine (1971). John Macquarrie, Principles of Christian Theology (1966), presents a structural and systematic analysis of the elements of Christian theology, showing how the doctrine of creation fits into theological systems. Islam De Lacy O'Leary, Arabic Thought and Its Place in History, rev. ed. (1939, reprinted 1963), deals with the internal and external sources of Arabic philosophy and cosmology. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines (1964), explicates a tradition in Arabic thought that expresses creation in symbolic and cosmological images. Zoroastrianism Several Zoroastrian myths and doctrines of creation are found in R.C. Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism (1961). Chinese philosophy Arthur F. Wright (ed.), Studies in Chinese Thought (1953), brings together 10 essays on various aspects of Chinese thought; most valuable is Derk Bodde, Harmony and Conflict in Chinese Philosophy, pp. 1980. For a history of Chinese philosophical speculation as it relates to cosmogony and cosmology, see Fung Yu-Lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (195253). Indian philosophy Speculations about creation in the various schools of Indian philosophy can be found in Surendranath Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy, 5 vol. (192255). Alain Danielou, Le Polythisme hindou (1960; Eng. trans., Hindu Polytheism, 1964), is a description and interpretation of the gods of Hinduism in relationship to their philosophical meaning. T.R.V. Murti, The Central Philosophy of Buddhism (1955), is an explication of the Madhyamika system of Buddhist philosophy that denies creation. Comparative works Hajime Nakamura, Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples (1964), is a comparative work showing the similarities and contrasts between Indian, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese modes of thought especially as they concern creation. C.F. von Weizsacker, The Relevance of Science: Creation and Cosmogony (1964), deals with the evolution of thought about creation from myth to scientific theory. Charles Hartshorne and William Reese (eds.), Philosophers Speak of God (1953), explores the rational bases for several conceptions of God and creation in Eastern and Western thought.