Brynn+-+Are+Religions+Similar?

Are religions similar?

For some people, religion is part of every day life. They go to their place of worship just to practice what they believe in. What most people haven’t noticed is how similar the old religions are to the ones we practice today. Creation myths, stories on how the universe or Earth was created, is an example of how some are close. Another is the Eschaton, or end of time, myths are another thing that is similar. If the religion is monotheistic, the god is usually similar to other monotheistic gods. If it is polytheistic then each separate god can be compared to one of a different religion with the same titles.

Creation myths are myths about how Earth was created. Most religions start with nothing was made. It was empty other than chaos, and possibly not even that. Most Gods just happen to appear out of no where. In Norse mythology nothing was there but the worlds. When the fire world met the ice world Ymir, the giant, was made. From him was created other giants. When Ymir was killed, most of the other giants were drowned in the abyss. His body then made Earth. In Greek mythology only chaos was there, and then Erebus and Night appeared. In Christian mythology, God is said to have been alive and then he created everything within six days. In Islamic mythology, God also creates everything.

There are some people who believe the religions are not similar at all just based on their creation myths. There are differences, Ymir is a giant in a world already made. And then in Greek mythology gods just appeared out of no where and waited for the Earth to appear. And then in Islamic and Christian religions, God created everything. Religions couldn’t be similar based on their creation myths, it wouldn’t be possible.

Eschaton myths are myths about the destruction of our world. Christian and Islamic eschaton myths are very similar. In Christian God brings all the ones who believe in him up to heaven. The rest burn in the lake of fire with Satan. In Islamic eschaton myths, the people will be judged and they will suffer or be happy for the rest of eternity. In Egyptian mythology, a giant snake will swallow the sun. The Egyptian eschaton myth is very different from the rest since a snake eats the sun. The people aren’t judged and aren’t sent to eternal happiness or damnation.

The gods of the religions can be very similar. If we look at monotheistic religions, religions that only worship one god, there are plenty of similarities. Same with polytheistic religions, religions that practice more than one god, Greek and Roman are very similar.. Probably because the Roman’s copied the Greek religion. They both have a god named Apollo, original right? Even though these gods are similar, they are also different. Even though the Roman’s copied the Greek’s, the gods don’t all have the same abilities. The Roman gods are much more violent than their Greek counterparts. So anyone could say they are not similar at all.

I believe religions to be similar. They are not the same by all means, but they are similar. In the creation myths one god makes the world and the god(s) appear out of no where. In the eschaton myths the sun was swallowed whole or the dead rose and went to their eternal damnation or happiness. The gods are somewhat similar since one religion copied another. But just because of what we find here, it does not mean these mythologies and religions are the same. They are just similar in several categories.

Sources:

- Dictionary.com, (2014). // the definition of religion //. [online] Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion [Accessed 8 May. 2014]. - Facstaff.gpc.edu, (2014). //Egyptian Mythology and Religion//. [online] Available at: http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/literature/world_literature/classprojects/egypt/mythology.html [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Dictionary.com, (2014). //the definition of mythology//. [online] Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mythology [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Gill, N. (2014). //Myth vs. Science and Religion//. [online] About.com Ancient / Classical History. Available at: http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/whatismyth_2.htm [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Eridu.co.uk, (2014). //Myth-Religion//. [online] Available at: http://www.eridu.co.uk/Author/myth_religion/myth_religion.html [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Harris, A. (2014). //Flood Myths in the Religions of the Ancient World//. [online] Academia.edu. Available at: http://www.academia.edu/1427821/Flood_Myths_in_the_Religions_of_the_Ancient_World [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Murtagh, L. (2014). //Creation Myths//. [online] Dept.cs.williams.edu. Available at: http://dept.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths.html [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Delgado, J. (2014). [online] Kean.edu. Available at: http://www.kean.edu/~eslprog/accents/2003/page2003_7.html [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Turner, R. (2014). //Was the resurrection story of Jesus borrowed from pagan mythology?//. [online] Available at: http://carm.org/was-resurrection-story-borrowed [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. - Houdmann, S. (2014). //What is the difference between Christianity and Judaism?//. [online] GotQuestions.org. Available at: http://www.gotquestions.org/difference-Christianity-Judaism.html [Accessed 14 May. 2014].