Egyptian, Babylonian, And Hebrew Religions Essay -- essays research pa

Egyptian, Babylonian, and Hebrew Religions Egyptians, Babylonians, and Hebrews have similarities yet also differences in their religions. The importance is not in the similarities as much as it is in the differences that distinguish the cultures from each other and their views on life. I would like to point out each civilization's creation and flood story. By analyzing these stories we can come to a better understanding of their world views. The Hebrew creation story from the book of Genesis is one that most people know well. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form and void. God said, "let there be light," and there was light. He then separated the light from the darkness. He also created the land, plants, and animals. He saw everything he created and, behold, it was good. The heavens and earth were completed and all that dwelled within them. On the seventh day he rested. The earth was complete, but there was nothing to take care of this creation. So, God created man in the image of himself. Man was created from the dust of the ground. God gave him the breath of life and the man became a living soul (Moses 1:1-2:7). With the background of that story, one should look at the Egyptian interpretation of the beginning. At first there was nothing but chaos that contained the seed of everything to come. In this confusion the sun god dwelled. By an effort of his will he emerged from chaos as Ra and gave birth to Shu, the god of a...