There are really only two creation myths.

There are only two creation myths: 1. says a power made the matter from itself - this started the universe, and the other 2. that the universe has always existed - it did not begin it has always just been.

Recently, whilst listening to a series of lectures on Ancient Egypt, the author Bob Brier suggested that there are really only two creation myths. In the classic myth, there is a story that says there was an entity (perhaps a being) that made mater and cause it to move apart – this was the creation of the world and the universe. Although the details change between religions and creeds, the underlying theme remains the same.

The alternative interpretation is to say that matter has always existed, so to suggest that anything could be created from nothing is to misunderstand the issue.

There is one thing that links them however, and which I believe shows the two theories to be driven by the same thing underling assumption – energy. In the first myth, you could say that “energy get’s the idea to change itself into matter.” In the other myth energy, that was always there, changes itself into matter more like what we know today.

The two creations are thus fundamentally in agreement and mutually compatible. One places greater emphasis on change, the other on similarity; but they are both coming from the same place.