Enuma Elish and Creation

How do we understand the Creation stories?

The video on the next slide shows the owner of the Creation Museum explaining his views on the creation stories in the Bible and science. His ideas are being challenged by Bill Maher.
Pay attention to the different perspectives on the Creation stories

Multiple Choice

Which of the following opinions would Ken Ham, owner of the Creation Museum in Kentucky, agree with?

• The creation account in Genesis should be understood as a metaphorical or allegorical story meant to convey theological truths, not as a literal, historical record of events.

• God initiated the Big Bang and used the process of evolution over billions of years to bring about all life, meaning dinosaurs became extinct millions of years before humans ever existed.

• God made land animals and humans on the same day, therefore dinosaurs and humans lvied together and modern scientists who say otherwise are reblling against God and the truth of history.

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​If working outside class, find the chart here

​You can tell that the authors both come from the same area. They both mention the same rivers.
It is likely that perhaps the Genesis author had read Enuma Elish and was aware of it when they wrote the creation stories in Genesis.

• ​Both narratives begin with a description of a formless, watery, and dark state before the world as we know it was organized.

• Both texts explicitly name the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as fundamental features of the created world.

• Both describe a time before there were plants and shrubbery on the Earth. The Enuma Elish says "before meadow-land... and reed-bed was to be found" and Genesis says "there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field ahd sprouted."

Multiple Choice

What is the babylonian exile?

• The Babylonian Exile was the forced relocation of Jews to Babylon after they were conquered

• A trade agreement between Babylon and Egypt that lated for nearly 670 years.

• The construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Jerusalem.

• A period of peace in ancient Babylon in which they signed treaties with the Jews.

A Potential interpretation of How Genesis came about

"Imagine you are a Jewish priest living 2,500 years ago. Your home, Jerusalem, has been conquered and destroyed by the most powerful empire in the world: Babylon. The Temple, the very place you believed God dwelled on Earth, is in ruins. You and your families have been marched hundreds of miles into a foreign land as exiles, as refugees.

Every day in the city of Babylon, you are surrounded by the conquerors' culture. You see their massive temples and hear their stories. They have a story about how the world began, and it speaks of how creation came from violence and how the humans are created to be slaves to God and are fashioned from the blood of a dead traitor god. Their story is the one we looked at last class: the Enuma Elish. Perhaps a possible interpretation: In the face of that dark and violent story, the priests and scribes of Israel, guided by the Holy Spirit, formed a powerful response. They didn't write a history book or a science book. They wrote a theological proclamation. They retold the creation story to declare who their God truly is and what he has revealed to them"

​Day 2:
Complete this chart on paper.


(Available here digitally if working outside class)

When finished, see my answer key here

Open Ended

Based on the differences between Genesis and Enuma Elish, what do you think the author of Genesis 1-2 had in mind as a goal?
What did he most want his reader to know?

Open Ended

Write a statement that uses symbolic language

"337 God himself created the visible world in all its richness, diversity and order. Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a succession of six days of divine "work", concluded by the "rest" of the seventh day...

How to read the account of the fall

390 The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man."

Read the Catechism passages below. Explain how the Catholic Church reads Genesis differently than the Literal Creationists (Creation Museum owner)

​The biggest mistake people make with Genesis is reading it like a science textbook. It’s not!
Like any good story, it starts out by introducing the problem/tension of the story: At the very beginning, the Bible says the world was 'formless and empty.' A better way to say that is it was a big, messy, empty blob. disorganized and had nothing in it. So, God's first job is to fix those two problems. He will first fix the formlessness by giving the world forms/shapes. Then he will fill those forms with things so it isn't empty.

Fixing the "Formless" Problem

First, God gives the world some shape. Think of it like building a house. Before you can put furniture in, you have to build the rooms, right? That’s what God does in the first three days.

If you look at the left side of the drawing, you’ll see Days 1, 2, and 3.

Day 1: He makes the first "room": Time. He does this by creating day and night.

Day 2: He makes the next "room": Space. He separates the sky from the sea.

Day 3: He makes the last "room": Habitat. He creates a place for things to live.

So now, the world isn't a messy blob anymore. It has structure. It has form. Problem #1 is solved. But everything is still "empty". There is nothing in sea, air, or land.

Fixing the "Empty" Problem

So, what does God do next? He fills the forms with stuff!

Now look at the right side of the drawing, at Days 4, 5, and 6. Notice how they match up perfectly with the first three days.
Day 4: He fills the "room" of Time with the sun, moon, and stars.

Day 5: He fills the "room" of Space with birds and fish.

Day 6: He fills the "room" of Land with animals and people.

Problem #2 is solved. The world is no longer empty!
The 6 days of creation is likely a symbolic tool the author uses to describe God as an orderly creator as opposed to a scientific description of how the world was actually created.

Open Ended

What problem does the Genesis author present in the exposition of the 1st Creation Story?

Categorize

Options (2)

Day 1-3

Day 4-6

Match the Days to what problem they are resolving

Fixing Formlessness

Fixing Emptiness

Are the creation stories real or symolic?

Both.
Historical events described with symbolic language.

Are the creation stories fiction?

No. Fiction is like Harry potter where none of those events actually took place.
The creation stories are describing real historical events using symbolism.

It's Theology, not Science

• God made the universe and is in control of all things

• God created the first two humans in his image and likeness and gave them a human soul

• All of creation reflects the goodness of God

• All of creation is seen as very good by God.

• Did God create over 7-24hr periods? Probably not. Probably symbolic language

Multiple Choice

According to Catholic theology: Genesis is fictional

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

According to Catholic theology: Genesis uses symbolic language

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

According to Catholic theology: Genesis describes historical events

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

What is made in God's image and likeness?

• Animals
• Angels and Humans

• Plants
• Humans
• All of creation

Open Ended

Exit Ticket:
1) How would you respond to Young Sheldon's questions about Genesis creation stories?

2) What would you say to Ken Ham, the owner of the Creation Museum?

Multiple Choice

Mr Wessel will not be reading every single one the written responses in this Wayground lesson. If you want feedback, please email him to look over your responses.

• Okay, I'll email Mr Wessel if I want feedback on my responses.

• Click the other one