In a coherent world like ours people are questioning their religion and not knowing whether to believe in creation by God or evolution, Through out my research I have found four possible answers to this question to incorporate both theories . Which prove neither wrong and belief in both at the same time One approach would be to believe that when God when created the trees in 4004 BCE, he would have formed them complete with growth rings. So too with other plants, animals and minerals. Everything in the world would then appear as if they had existed in the period of time prior to creation.

In other words, God created the world as if it has had a past. One would interpret the evidence to show that the world was created only a few thousand years ago, but that it was created looking as if it had evolved over billions of years . A second approach would involve a relatively small change in the belief system of the “Genesis believing” creation scientists. The change would be to accept the Genesis account of creation as God’s initial creation message which He revealed to the ancient Israelites who lived in a pre-scientific age.

This would have been the only type of explanation that they could understand at the time. This would require one to abandon the literal interpretation of Genesis in favor of the belief that it is a historical myth. One could argue that Jesus used parables to make a point about human nature; the parables did not necessarily describe real people. Perhaps the authors of the Hebrew Scriptures adopted some existing parables about creation and the flood from nearby Pagan cultures in order to make a point about God’s creative power and rejection of evil behavior.

Perhaps God gave humanity the intelligence to eventually develop the skills to find out the reality of evolution. Most Christians believe that God’s revelation has been gradually released to humans. There is ample evidence in the Bible for this. Evolution may be one more example. A third approach would be to define the “days” in the first chapter of Genesis as hundreds or thousands of millions of years in duration. This would allow time for the various evolutionary processes to occur.

However, this concept has some serious flaws. some plants which depend upon birds, ants, etc. for pollination could not survive the hundreds of millions of years between the creation of plants and the creation of birds and animals. A final approach is to accept the established findings of science. This requires that the first few chapters in Genesis be seen as creation myths – similar to myths of many other religions worldwide. This approach obviously requires that one abandon Biblical belief

“Where did man come from? Where did time begin? Who, or what, created all things? ” These are questions that mankind has sought to answer from the beginning of existence as it is known today. Many stories and fables have been told and passed down from generation to generation, yet two have survived the test of time and criticism. The Biblical account in Genesis, probably written by Moses around 1500 B. C. , and the story of creation and flood in Ovid’s Metamorphosis, written somewhere between 8 and 17 A. D. , have weathered the criticism and become the most famous.

The Genesis account, however, may be the ost prominent of the two accounts. Within these accounts, are many similarities, as well as differences, which make these two writings well respected, while holding their own in the literary world. Though both accounts of the creation and flood are well respected on their own, when compared side to side, they are drastically different. Ovid’s purpose for writing the creation story is geared more towards explaining creation as it happens, in his opinion, whereas the Bible stresses the fact that the God of the Hebrews is responsible for the world’s existence today.

Overall, Ovid is very detailed in explaining the formless mass, creation of the earth, waters and land metaphorically. The Biblical account seems to be more plain, simple, and organized; not spending time on intricate detail. There seems to be no specific time frame for creation in Ovid’s writing, whereas, the Bible states that it takes God six days to complete His creation; resting on the seventh. In Metamorphoses, the creation story is seven stanzas, a compilation of eighty lines. It takes Moses thirty- one verses of Old Testament history to complete his story of creation.

There are a few discrepancies in detail as well. The water, in Ovid’s, “[holds] up, [holds] in the land,” while, in Genesis, the land “[separates] the waters from the waters” (549; 1:9). In Metamorphoses the air, land, light and water (as humans know it) seems to form at one instant when “God, or kindlier Nature, [settles] all”(549). In Genesis however, light; heaven; land and vegetation; stars, sun and moon; fish; animals and man are created on separate days. Though these two writings are different in many respects, they are strikingly similar as well.

Both are great and beautiful poems that contiue to stand the test of time. They are also written for the purpose of explaining or nswering some question, whether that be who, what, or how time and existence, as it is known today, came to pass. Both poems give credit for creation to a supreme being or supernatural beings. Ovid states that “the gods, who [make] the changes, will help me–or I hope so–with a poem”(548).

Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God [creates] the heavens and the earth. In both accounts, each describe a “shapelessness” and the earth being “formless and void”(549;1:2). There is also “no sun to light the universe,”(Ovid, 549) so “darkness [is] over the surface of the deep”(Genesis 1:2). There is lso water, but “water, which no man [can] swim,” in….. both accounts(Ovid, 549). In Genesis, the “Spirit of God [is] moving over the surface of the water,” before any of creation exists(1:2). Much like the stories of creation in the Bible and Metamorphoses, the accounts of the flood in each are very similar while holding firmly to their differences.

Like the creation story in Metamorphoses, the flood story gives no specific time frame for the length of the flood. However, Genesis gives a detailed time frame for this event. The rains last “forty days and forty nights”(7:12). When the rain stops, “the water [prevails] upon the earth for ne hundred and fifty days”(7:24). After ten months, the mountain tops [become] visible(8:5). At the end of one year, one month, and twenty- seven days, Noah, his family, and the various animals exit the ark(8:13-18).

Another very obvious difference is the descriptiveness in Ovid’s story, whereas Moses simply explains that all are breathing creation dies, except for those set aside by God. The biggest difference between these two account comes in explaining existence after the flood. In Metamorphoses, Deucalion and Pyrrha, the two survivors, throw stones over each of his and her shoulder. The stones that Deucalion throw become men, and the ones that Pyrrha toss, turn into women(Ovid 559). In Genesis all of the earth is populated by Noah, his wife, Shem, Ham, Japheth, along with their wives(9:1,7).

In Ovid’s tale, the animals of the earth form, or evolve, from heat and water amongst the mud(559). The creatures of the earth repopulate themselves in Genesis(8:17). Just as these stories have had their differences, they also share features and qualities. The flood, in each story, is sent upon mankind because of immorality and disobedience to God or the gods in which the subjects worship. It is also very strange that the deity, or deities, in control, decide to destroy mankind with flooding. In both accounts, only one family is “chosen” or “spared” to continue existence of the human race.

In Metamorphoses it was Deucalion and Phyrrha. And Noah’s family is chosen by God in Genesis. Both families seem to be in a right standing with God, or the gods, when the flood occurs. It is very interesting to notice that in both accounts, as soon as the families are delivered safely from the flood, each worship and show reverence to God, or the gods, in ultimate control(556; 8:20-22). Also, both accounts of the flood, give some explanation, though very different, for the survival of the human race and animal species.

As one can see, when comparing each of the accounts of the flood and creation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Genesis, there are some very similar actions or events that take place in each of these accounts, while separating themselves a great deal by putting emphasis on very different messages. It is because of these variations in writing and technique that each of these poems have acquired and maintained the respect they truly deserve through many years of evaluation and criticism.