An Instruction, a Sin and the Consequence

Many creation myths consisted of at least one of three elements; an order or instruction from the creator to the creations, a sin and a consequence which must be faced. The consequence is often what causes pain, hunger, disease and all the other evils that plaque the earth.

In the Greek myth, when Pandora was brought to Epimetheus she was given a box which Zeus orders her not to open. Not only did Zeus give her the box, but also curiosity, which became her temptation to sin. Overcome by the curiosity of her nature, Pandora took a peak inside the box and all of the troubles of the earth flew out of the box. For her sin the whole human race had to suffer. This was the consequence humans were forced to face for accepting Prometheus' gift of fire.

The African Bushmen were instructed not to build a fire. They disobeyed this command and for that sin their peaceful relationship with animals was destroyed.

The Australian Aborigines believed that the Sun Mother told the animals she had created to live together peacefully. Instead envy crept into their hearts and they began to quarrel. She returned to earth and in order to make them happy gave them the power to change their shape into what they wanted it to be for eternity. The result was an odd assortment of creatures. The Sun Mother decided to create two humans who would be superior to the animals. Because the animals disobeyed the Sun Mother's instruction their superiority was taken away.

Genesis 2:4-3:24 of the Bible tells the story of how suffering entered the world. God gave Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden to live in, with the order never to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. They disobeyed him and the price of this sin was banishment from the garden into the outside world with all its troubles.