My Beliefs

1401301117 – For many people, creation stories are a source of meaning and significance. What is your culture’s creation story? Is it supported by science or archaeological records? If not, does the story still have value? Why or why not?

My family is mainly Protestant Christian, and therefore they believe the Earth was created in 6 days by the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent god Yahweh. However, this story is not supported by scientific or archaeological records, which is part f the reason I have stopped believing it recently; the story holds no value to me. I am not sure what to believe, but my aim is to believe only the closest thing to the demonstrable truth. The Genesis story does not seem to have any correlation with anything to do with reality and the way things work in the present, so I see no reason to believe it. However, it holds value to the rest of my family because they believe the bible and everything in it, so to them the story of Genesis holds true.

Here are some examples of creation stories derived from First Nations cultures:

The Turtle With The Earth On Its Back



Iroquois Variation



Mik'maq Creation Story

Part 1


Part 2


I'm not not sure whether or not the nations that share these stories actually believe them to be factual, but there is a difference between the First Nations creation stories. The Christian God is believed to be an all-knowing, all-powerful, vengeful god whose sole mission on this earth is to be worshiped and feared by all humans. "His" laws are the basis for many real life laws around the world today. The god of the Middle East is Allah, the Muslim god, and the premise for Allah is generally the same - worship him, convert the world into worshiping him, and obey his laws, or you will be punished. The consequences of disobeying either the Judeo-Christian of Islamic gods are civil and mainly effect the people of those religions personally. For this reason, there is much debate, fighting, and sometimes even violence that occurs between disagreeing religions.

The First Nation religions do not revolve around people; they revolve around the Earth. The "creator" or "creators" are believed to be a part of nature, and the consequences for not obeying the rules of the indigenous religions generally have to do with damage to the environment, extinction of animal species, drought and sickness. From my experience, their religions are taught in a peaceful manner, and are not self-serving.

That is my view on First Nations religion vs. the mainstream religions  of the world. But regardless of my point of view on beliefs that are outside my own, I acknowledge that I, in interacting with individuals who hold such beliefs, must be respectful of and open to hearing their beliefs, and not be quick to judge or debate them. Religion is a huge part of a persons identity - it gives them their sense of purpose and direction; for this reason, it is not easy for an older youth or an adult to shift belief systems once they are deeply rooted. As a teacher, I want to be the one to build people up, not tear them down through insensitive speech. Though I may challenge some beliefs from time to time, I will make sure I approach such topics delicately and with poise and rationality.