What is the "Genesis" of other religions?

Gulliamo · 29th June 2004, 08:46 PM

I know of the Christian Genesis story and the beliefs and creationist that it has spawned. My question is how do Mohammedans, Hindus, Buddhist, and other religions claim the world began? Do they even make such a claim? Do they also have a "seven day plan"? Do they have hard-line creationist like Christians or are they primarily evolutionist?

espritch · 29th June 2004, 08:59 PM

Islamics generally agree with the Genesis creation scenario and there are Islamic creationists. Hindus regard the current world as just another in an endless cycle of worlds that have been created and destroyed. There are fundamentalists Hindus who claim the Vedas are full of advanced science, so you might consider them as a sort of Hindu version of creationists though they don't hold with any seven days scenario. Buddhism grew out of Hinduism so they may view the universe similarly. The difference is that they regard the world with it's endless cycle of rebirth as a kind of illusion people must strive to transcend. I don't think there is a Buddhist equivalent to creationism, but I could be wrong.

FireGarden · 30th June 2004, 12:24 AM

Islam certainly borrows a lot from the biblical Genesis. But the details aren't all in one chapter, they're spread about all over the Quran. That makes it a little harder to find them!

On creationism/evolution,
That's actually a good example to bring up in any "science in the Quran" debate. It shows how interpreting the text the way you want to is important since, while there are Muslims who believe that evolution is false, there are also some Muslims who reckon the Quran describes evolution (God driven, obviously) and will quote verse like [56:61-62] "Nothing can hinder us from replacing you by others like yourselves or transforming you into beings you know nothing of." (translation by NJ Dawood)

It's not clear to me whether that second group believes in an initial creation followed by evolution, or just simply evolution as the means of creation. (Not that they're all going to agree, of course!)

EDIT: to say I mean the creation of humanity.
Evolution has nothing to do with creation of the universe, obviously.

StaticEngine · 30th June 2004, 01:32 PM

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/creation_myths.html

I think it's important to know as many as possible, since that enables you to refute with "Well, how do we know the Earth wasn't birthed from the great Sky Vagina? It's been sung about by the HoDoUoDo Tribe for centuries, so it must be true!"

Which is about as reasonable as any claim of biblical accuracy.

29th June 2004, 08:46 PM	#1
Gulliamo Critical Thinker Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: NYC Posts: 488	What is the "Genesis" of other religions? I know of the Christian Genesis story and the beliefs and creationist that it has spawned. My question is how do Mohammedans, Hindus, Buddhist, and other religions claim the world began? Do they even make such a claim? Do they also have a "seven day plan"? Do they have hard-line creationist like Christians or are they primarily evolutionist?
	__________________ Understand, you have a right to a belief and a theory, but when they are contradicted by observation, you probably should reconsider them. -Doctor X "I'll pray for you." -Kirk Cameron (Evangelist) "I'll think for you." -Brian Sapient (Rational Responders)

29th June 2004, 08:59 PM	#2
espritch Graduate Poster Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,380	Islamics generally agree with the Genesis creation scenario and there are Islamic creationists. Hindus regard the current world as just another in an endless cycle of worlds that have been created and destroyed. There are fundamentalists Hindus who claim the Vedas are full of advanced science, so you might consider them as a sort of Hindu version of creationists though they don't hold with any seven days scenario. Buddhism grew out of Hinduism so they may view the universe similarly. The difference is that they regard the world with it's endless cycle of rebirth as a kind of illusion people must strive to transcend. I don't think there is a Buddhist equivalent to creationism, but I could be wrong.
	__________________ "I'm the master of low expectations." - G. W. Bush

30th June 2004, 12:24 AM	#3
FireGarden Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Spannungsbogen -- without a visa Posts: 5,043	Islam certainly borrows a lot from the biblical Genesis. But the details aren't all in one chapter, they're spread about all over the Quran. That makes it a little harder to find them! On creationism/evolution, That's actually a good example to bring up in any "science in the Quran" debate. It shows how interpreting the text the way you want to is important since, while there are Muslims who believe that evolution is false, there are also some Muslims who reckon the Quran describes evolution (God driven, obviously) and will quote verse like [56:61-62] "Nothing can hinder us from replacing you by others like yourselves or transforming you into beings you know nothing of." (translation by NJ Dawood) It's not clear to me whether that second group believes in an initial creation followed by evolution, or just simply evolution as the means of creation. (Not that they're all going to agree, of course!) EDIT: to say I mean the creation of humanity. Evolution has nothing to do with creation of the universe, obviously.
	__________________ When Americans talk about freedom, it’s our secular code word for salvation. There’s no salvation outside the church; there’s no freedom outside the American way of life. -- James Carroll B'tselem Tony Karon's blog

30th June 2004, 01:32 PM	#4
StaticEngine Scholar Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 113	http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/creation_myths.html I think it's important to know as many as possible, since that enables you to refute with "Well, how do we know the Earth wasn't birthed from the great Sky Vagina? It's been sung about by the HoDoUoDo Tribe for centuries, so it must be true!" Which is about as reasonable as any claim of biblical accuracy.