Recovering a Creation Mythology: Reading Genesis in the 21st Century

This paper will seek to examine the benefits of reading Genesis 1 and 2 from a mythological perspective rather than a scientific perspective. Because science is by its nature limited to the study of the material world, it can describe how the universe operates, but it cannot offer answers about why the universe functions the way it does, or about what is outside the universe. Mythology offers answers to these types of questions. This paper will discuss three mythological aspects of creation in Genesis 1 and 2: 1) The ancient Near Eastern idea of creation as separation, naming, and assigning function, 2) Creation as drawing order out of chaos, and 3) Humanity as co-creators with God. Additionally, each of these points will briefly look at the history of the idea in its ancient Near Eastern context, the continuation of the theme through the rest of the Bible, and how that theme can impact ministry today. Such an examination will seek to show that a mythological reading of the creation account provides answers, ministry opportunities and hope that a purely scientific perspective cannot. The universe is made of stories, not of atoms