Thursday, 7/30, our Bible Study discussion topic is creation stories in the Bible (yes, there's more than one) and how they compare to other religions'.
 Join us, 7:30-8:30pm, on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/703956236.  

Here is a visually easier way to read the two different accounts of God creating the world that occur back-to-back at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 1-2. (Not endorsing the writer's comments on the link above, was just an easy-to-read bible parallels version I found.)  Genesis 3 follows with the story of the serpent and fruit which in the NRSV often has the title "the first sin and its punishment." (Remember, passage titles/headings are the editor's addition.)

  • What does it mean to you that there are two different stories of creation?
  • Do you see them as one story told two different ways?
  • Does it matter?
  • What implications do you carry forth theologically from the creation story?  
    • Do the categories of "good" and "bad" get implicitly or explicitly stamped from this story - and on what?
    • What's God's relationship with and action toward creation in these stories, and implied now from these accounts?
  • In these Bible passages themselves,
    • what questions do you have?
    • what details do you wonder about?
    • what do you find comforting, or challenging?


Now, as for other religions and cultures, here's a six-minute listen (or read the transcript) of a quick NPR interview from a scholar who works on the topic: Exploring the World's Creation Myths.
This site provides a good overview of different common themes between global creation stories of different cultures/religions.  (Don't mind that it was done by a student and is outdated web design - it checks out and it was hard to find a good comparison page.)

  • How do you feel about the commonalities/differences between these, or other cultures' creation stories?
  • How does your scientific understanding of the origins of the world interact with how you understand/believe these stories (including scripture)?
  • Can something be true without being scientifically correct?  What truths are these stories trying to express?