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SAY: This week’s episode of The Story of God focused on the creation stories found in the

traditions of Judeo-Christians, Muslims, Mayans, Aboriginal Australians, Hindus, and an ancient people group who lived in what is now Turkey. For this discussion, we’ll look at the beliefs

described in the episode. But before we get into the conversation . . . ASK:

Think about the stories you just heard—what stood out to you as surprising or important?

Do you feel your beliefs about creation were represented in this episode? Why or why not?

[SPECIAL NOTE: This discussion guide does not follow the same order presented in the episode itself. The intention is to group together the 3 major religious perspectives highlighted in the

episode—Judeo-Christian, Muslim, and Hindu—for an easier flow of conversation.]

JUDEO-CHRISTIAN

SAY: Morgan Freeman traveled to Jerusalem and Rome to explore Judeo-Christian ideas of

creation. In Jerusalem, archeologist Jodi Magness shared about the Garden of Eden and showed Mr. Freeman the Chapel of Adam, telling him about how some Christians believe the blood of

Christ resurrected the body of Adam. In Rome, Morgan Freeman discussed the theory of the Big

Bang with Monsignor Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and Father Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, an astronomer and scientist at the Vatican

Observatory.

ASK: What stood out to you about these conversations? Was there anything surprising about these perspectives of the Judeo-Christian creation story?

LISTEN:

[Even if it takes several students to piece together the answer, encourage your students to share their thoughts on these questions. Be sure to leave enough time that everyone who

wants to talk is able.] MEMORABLE MOMENTS + QUOTES: [Remind students about specific moments in this story, and ask what they think about them.]

“[Jerusalem] is one of the oldest cities in the world. There’s evidence of people living around here for more than 7,000 years. Today, it’s the religious center of the Jewish

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world. It was here that Genesis was first written down, about 2,500 years ago” (Morgan

Freeman). “Many Christians believe [the Church of the Holy Sepulchre] is the site where Jesus was

crucified and buried. But another ancient tradition says it’s also the burial place of Adam” (Morgan Freeman).

“There’s a tradition, which goes way back in Christianity, which connects this spot to Adam, the first man. When Jesus was crucified on top of the rock above us, his blood flowed down through a crack in the rock. And Adam—the first man—lay buried

underneath, and when Jesus’ blood flowed onto Adam, Adam was then resurrected” (Jodi Magness).

Jodi Magness: “The version of the story that ended up in the book of Genesis seems to place the Garden of Eden somewhere in Mesopotamia, which is the area of modern

Iraq.” Morgan Freeman: “But how do you think the tradition of Adam gets to be here in

Jerusalem?”

Jodi Magness: “Well, I think Adam probably does have a very special connection with Jerusalem. The Garden of Eden—where paradise becomes conceptualized as the spot

where the presence of God dwells. In early Judaism—in the time of Jesus—the presence of God dwelled in the temple on the Temple Mount, and hence Jerusalem was

conceived of as Eden—as paradise.” Morgan Freeman: “So you’re saying Eden could also be a metaphor?”

Jodi Magness: “Right. Well, yes, of course, Adam was the first human, and in Hebrew the word . . . adam just means ‘man.’ . . . Also, the name Adam, if you take off the A and

you just leave D-A-M, in Hebrew, dam, that means ‘blood.’ Or if you add an A-H to the end, adamah means ‘land.’”

“The Big Bang is not creation exactly, because we don’t know what was before the Big Bang. . . . And for this reason, creation is nothing to do with the Big Bang. The other thing is that the idea of the Bible is not a scientific idea of creation. . . . We say in the Bible is the idea of creation, but in the geological sense of creation—not the scientific sense of creation” (Monsignor Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo).

“The Catholic church no longer sees the book of Genesis as the literal description of creation. In fact, the first scientist to propose the Big Bang, Georges Lemaître, was a priest and a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences” (Morgan Freeman).

“Creation from a theological point of view is perfectly compatible with the Big Bang, because you need always a first cause. God the creator is outside space-time. It’s before

any time, so the act of creation is an everlasting act, because creation is the way in which God continuously holds the universe” (Father Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti).

“For Giuseppe and others like him, cosmology not only allows room for divine creation, it offers new ways to understand God as the master of space and time” (Morgan

Freeman).

“I like what Father Giuseppe says about creation as a continuum—that it didn’t begin

and end with the Big Bang—that it is God’s ongoing activity, which includes evolution.

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Think what he was saying is God does not exist outside space and time—God is space

and time” (Morgan Freeman).

ASK: [These are some questions you may choose to ask in order to spark conversation.]

What Judeo-Christian beliefs about creation were left out of this episode?

Which ideas about creation do you agree with the most? Why?

Did you hear anything else you agree or disagree with?

OTHER NOTES: [Use this section to take notes about any memorable moments or about anything you’d like to

ask the students to respond to.]

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ISLAM

SAY: To understand what some Muslims believe about creation, Morgan Freeman met with Harvard historian of Islam Ahmed Ragab at the Al-Hussein Mosque in Cairo, Egypt. They

attended a prayer service at the mosque and then visited El Fishawy, the 2,500-year-old coffee shop across the street. ASK: How did Ahmed Ragab describe the Islamic concept of creation?

LISTEN: [Even if it takes several students to piece it together, encourage the students to summarize this part of the episode. Be sure to leave enough time that everyone who wants to share is able.]

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MEMORABLE MOMENTS + QUOTES: [Remind students about specific moments in this story, and ask what they think about them.]

“Islam has deep roots in science. Muslim astronomers were charting the heavens soon

after the time of Mohamed” (Morgan Freeman). “In Islam, the beginning of the story starts with this massive cloud of smoke from which

the heaven and earth are pulled from inside the smoke. And then the earth after that

gets formed into what it looks like before the beings are created” (Ahmed Ragab). “So this idea about these massive clouds and things coming out of them is actually very

powerful in a lot of mythological traditions around the world, and it is part of this Islamic narrative of creation” (Ahmed Ragab).

“In Islam, the moment of creation exists alongside the scientific view of earth’s formation. The same is true for traditions much older than Islam” (Morgan Freeman).

ASK:

[These are some questions you may choose to ask in order to spark conversation.]

What stood out to you about the Islamic understanding of creation?

Have any of you ever talked with someone who is Muslim about his or her perspective of creation?

Did you hear anything during this part of the episode you agree or disagree with? OTHER NOTES:

[Use this section to take notes about any memorable moments or about anything you’d like to ask the students to respond to.]

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HINDUISM

SAY: The third largest faith in the world, Hinduism, contains a large catalogue of different creation stories. The story that Morgan Freeman focused on in this episode centers around the

Ganges River. Mr. Freeman journeyed to Varanasi, India, to meet with historian Binda Paranjape and learn about this specific creation story.

ASK: What do you remember about this particular creation story? LISTEN: [Even if it takes several students to piece it together, encourage the students to tell the story in their own words. Be sure to leave enough time that everyone who wants to share is able.] MEMORABLE MOMENTS + QUOTES:

[Remind students about specific moments in this story, and ask what they think about them.]

“In the beginning, Hindus believe Ganga flowed in the heavens, but she was held captive by the creator god, Brahma. Then Brahma decided to send the River Ganga down to

earth” (Morgan Freeman). “But there is one problem: that Ganga has got such mighty force, and if she comes on

the earth, the earth will drown” (Dr. Binda Paranjape). “So the god Shiva blocked Ganga’s fall, gathering her waters in the locks of his hair”

(Morgan Freeman). “So Shiva just opened one lock of his hair, and the Ganga flowed” (Dr. Binda Paranjape).

“This holy river came from the river in heaven that we call the Milky Way” (Morgan Freeman).

“Hindus do not believe in one creation—they say that these are cycles of creation. And the primordial creation could be something like 8.6 billion years old. Actually, this whole creation, it is very difficult to comprehend, because we say that gods like Brahma has created the universe, but then they ask a question, ‘Who created Brahma?’” (Dr. Binda Paranjape).

“They say that the sages when they were in their trance, they got that revelation, that how the creation happened. But since it isn’t that level of consciousness, you and me—

we commoners—will not understand it, so we believe that it’s beyond us” (Dr. Binda

Paranjape). “The Hindu philosophy is not to try to solve the riddle of creation that happened long

ago—it’s to give thanks every day to the forces that allow us to be here and continue to sustain us, including the River Ganges” (Morgan Freeman).

“They have this great saying from the Rigveda about the beginning: ‘There was neither non-existence nor existence.’ It’s saying the idea is beyond human definition—beyond human intellect. Just accept it” (Morgan Freeman).

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ASK:

[These are some questions you may choose to ask in order to spark conversation.]

What stood out to you about this Hindu story of creation? What do you think about Hinduism having so many creation stories?

Did you hear anything you agree or disagree with?

OTHER NOTES:

[Use this section to take notes about any memorable moments or about anything you’d like to ask the students to respond to.]

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MAYAN SAY: Morgan Freeman traveled to Guatemala to explore an ancient people group’s beliefs

about creation. There he met with archaeologist Richard Hansen, who described the Mayan creation story while he and Mr. Freeman walked through the ruins of El Mirador and the

temples in Tikal.

ASK: What do you remember about the Mayan creation story? LISTEN: [Even if it takes several students to piece it together, encourage the students to tell the story in

their own words. Be sure to leave enough time that everyone who wants to share is able.] MEMORABLE MOMENTS + QUOTES: [Remind students about specific moments in this story, and ask what they think about them.]

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“At a site called El Mirador, Richard found the remains of an ancient city the Maya knew as the ‘Snake Kingdom’” (Morgan Freeman).

While at the ruins of El Mirador, Dr. Hansen showed Morgan Freeman the stucco art that was carved hundreds of years before Christ and depicts all the stories that made up the Mayan religion.

“This is the oldest version of the Maya’s sacred story of creation that’s ever been found. The focus is on two swimmers carrying a severed head” (Morgan Freeman).

“We think [the severed head] is Hunahpu. This is the father of the Hero Twins that starts the whole process of creation” (Richard Hansen).

“The ritual recalls the saga of the Corn God being tricked into going down to the underworld, where he’s decapitated. His sons, known as the Hero Twins, set off to

rescue him, but they can only get to the underworld by being burned to ash. . . . As their ash sinks into the subterranean waters, the Hero Twins regenerate. They return to earth

with the Corn God’s head and plant him in the ground. It is from this corn that the first Maya people are made” (Morgan Freeman).

“We don’t perform rituals to celebrate Adam and Eve, but the Hero Twins were crucial to Mayan culture. Their story of death and rebirth was tied to the growth of their staple crop, corn, an act of creation that the Maya depended on every year. And, Richard tells me, their architecture also focused on creation. It mirrored a source of power they saw in the heavens” (Morgan Freeman).

“The temples [in Tikal] are arranged in groups of three—a triad” (Morgan Freeman).

“Richard and other experts believe this arrangement of stone temples is a deliberate echo of a triangle of stars in the constellation Orion. At the center of the three stars is a

fiery Nebula, a cosmic cloud of star creation” (Morgan Freeman). “We know that they were very aware of three primary stars, so the Maya were able to

replicate that pattern with these three stones and these three structures , and that is replicated over and over and over again. They’re tying us to the heavens—they’re

letting us see the creation symbolically” (Richard Hansen).

ASK: [These are some questions you may choose to ask in order to spark conversation.]

What stood out to you about the Mayan understanding of creation?

Did you hear anything you agree or disagree with? OTHER NOTES:

[Use this section to take notes about any memorable moments or about anything you’d like to ask the students to respond to.]

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ABORIGINAL

SAY: Morgan Freeman traveled to Australia to meet with Duane Hamacher, a cultural

astronomer who tries to connect Aboriginal creation stories to modern science, and Warren Williams of the Arrernte people. Together they traveled to Tnorala, a bowl-shaped basin where the Aboriginal people believe the world began. ASK: Let’s try to retell the Aboriginal creation story. Who wants to begin? LISTEN: [Even if it takes several students to piece it together, encourage the students to tell the story in their own words. Be sure to leave enough time that everyone who wants to share is able.]

MEMORABLE MOMENTS + QUOTES: [Remind students about specific moments in this story, and ask what they think about them.]

“The story takes place in an era called the Dreaming, when the sky gods lived in the

Milky Way” (Morgan Freeman).

“The Dreaming is a period of creation when everything was beginning, when the ladies

were dancing at a ceremony, and one of them had a little baby in her arms. So she put the baby in a turner—like a . . .wooden cradle—but all the dancing started vibrating,

shaking the Milky Way, and the turner fell down. And it fell to earth and created the crater that we see now” (Warren Williams).

“In Western astronomy, we call [the turner] Corona Australis. That constellation means the ‘southern crown’” (Duane Hamacher).

“[The star baby landed] right in the center of the meteor impact crater geologists called Gosses Bluff” (Morgan Freeman).

“Science has never really considered some of these old creation stories to have any validity, and what we’re finding out is that the creation story from the Aboriginal

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perspective and from the scientific perspective, here at Tnorala, are identical. They’re

exactly the same” (Duane Hamacher).

ASK: [These are some questions you may choose to ask in order to spark conversation.]

What stood out to you about the Aboriginal story of creation?

Did you hear anything you agree or disagree with?

OTHER NOTES:

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ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS: Çatalhöyük & Göbekli Tepe

SAY: Morgan Freeman traveled to Turkey to learn about the ancient civilizations Çatalhöyük

and Göbekli Tepe. At these sites, Mr. Freeman met with archeologists Amy Bogaard and Lee Clare as well as anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse to discuss what they think these people

groups believed about creation. ASK: What significant things do you remember about the 9,000-year-old settlement, Çatalhöyük, or the structures at Göbekli Tepe?

LISTEN: [Even if it takes several students to piece it together, encourage the students to summarize this

part of the episode. Be sure to leave enough time that everyone who wants to share is able.]

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MEMORABLE MOMENTS + QUOTES: [Remind students about specific moments in this story, and ask what they think about them.]

“At its maximum extent, [Çatalhöyük is] 13 hectares. That would be like 20 football

pitches” (Amy Bogaard). “Çatalhöyük was a city with no streets. The people who lived here walked across town

over the rooftops. Roofs were also where they worked. The people of Çatalhöyük were

some of the world’s first city dwellers, but I want to know whether they were also some of the first believers” (Morgan Freeman).

“[The hiding places beneath the sleeping areas] are actually burial places. Those are burial pits. . . . The way they can fit mature adults in pits like that is to bind them up

very, very, very tightly in a flexed position. And the holes are periodically reopened and new individuals added through the lifetime of the house. People are buried under the

platforms so that people are literally living with ancestors” (Amy Bogaard).

“We know that there were very interesting rituals surrounding the burial of human remains, but those objects would be periodically—in many cases—brought out. What they were doing with them we don’t really know, but in many cases they were put back very carefully and replaced. It’s almost as if this isn’t just a domestic dwelling—this is

like a kind of living temple” (Harvey Whitehouse). “What is a temple, you know, if not a sort of an environment in which the ritual life of a

community is conducted? And I think that’s what is going on in these houses” (Harvey Whitehouse).

“[Göbekli Tepe is] an 11,000-year-old site that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates

rivers, the biblical location of Eden” (Morgan Freeman).

“Stone Age architects built 20 monumental sectors here made from large T-shaped

pillars” (Morgan Freeman). “The two central pillars stand in the middle of a round oval building and the wall

surrounding it. At regular intervals, we see smaller T pillars” (Lee Clare). “Fearsome animals were carved into some of the pillars, but the stones’ T shapes may

represent the human form. They could be men, or they could be gods” (Morgan Freeman).

“If you look closely around the top, the T is the head, and then we have on the side—the broad side—the arm coming down. You can see a belt buckle here. They could be mythological ancestors. Alternatively, they could be really the first deities —first gods—that these people were possibly worshiping in this circular structure” (Lee Clare).

“Lee and most archeologists believe these stone circles were used for rituals, but no one appears to have actually lived here. The people of Göbekli Tepe were roaming hunter-gatherers, not settled farmers. So why did they build a permanent place of worship tied to one spot?” (Morgan Freeman).

“Now the thing is, at this time, the communities were growing larger and larger, and there was more stress on the local resources. And because communities were growing,

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there was obviously a risk of conflict. People have problems keeping track of

relationships—keeping track of networks” (Lee Clare). “The growing population meant that people who scarcely knew each other had to work

together. That was a recipe for conflict. The religious rituals at Göbekli Tepe may have eased those conflicts. Possibly for the first time in human history, people from different

groups came together around shared beliefs. And in those first formative moments of religion, they may have shared stories about where they all came from—stories that

celebrated a shared past and drove them together to the future” (Morgan Freeman).

ASK: [These are some questions you may choose to ask in order to spark conversation.]

What stood out to you about these two civilizations and how they may have understood creation or God?

Did you hear anything you agree or disagree with?

OTHER NOTES:

[Use this section to take notes about any memorable moments or about anything you’d like to ask the students to respond to.]

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A SMALL SELECTION OF BIBLE VERSES:

These selections are only meant to be a quick reference of verses. There are many different understandings of these selections of Scripture, so be sure to review each of them in context, using necessary commentaries and other biblical resources.

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless

and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. . . . (Genesis 1:1-2—continue reading until Genesis 2:3)

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when

the Lord God made the earth and the heavens . . . (Genesis 2:4—continue reading until Genesis 2:25)

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14)

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2) For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. (Hebrews 3:4) Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17)

Do you not know?

Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. (Isaiah 40:28)

Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds

among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter,

‘What are you making?’ Does your work say,

‘The potter has no hands’? (Isaiah 45:9)

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Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

(John 1:3)

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and

divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20) For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)

But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. (2 Peter 3:5) You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created

and have their being. (Revelation 4:11)

SUGGESTIONS FOR FINAL QUESTIONS:

[These are some questions you may choose to ask in order to spark conversation.]

Did any of these faith perspectives surprise you? If so, which ones and why?

We’ve looked at a small selection of Bible verses about creation. What stands out to you in these verses? Is there anything that doesn’t make sense to you? Is there anything that makes more sense now that we’ve had this discussion?

Do you feel as if any beliefs featured in this episode of The Story of God weren’t

accurately represented?

In light of the stories in the documentary and the cross section of Bible verses, what final thoughts or questions do you have about creation?

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This discussion guide based off of National Geographic’s series The Story of God is written by

Jacob Eckeberger, edited by Heather Campbell, and digitally published by Youth Specialties.

For more great youth ministry resources, visit: http://YouthSpecialties.com