My Dad’s side of the family is Buddhist, while my Mom’s side is Christian. I have been a youth leader at a local church in East Vancouver when I was nine or ten years old. Even though I stopped going to church after I turned eleven, I do believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that there is a God. I am also Buddhist. For me, Buddhism is a way of life, but Christianity is my faith. The creation stories I am familiar with are “Genesis” and the “Big Bang Theory.” Although I prefer the “Sky Diver” creation story to “Genesis,” I am most intrigued by “Genesis.” The reason for this is not because I am Christian, nor is it because it is a story shared by three big global religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I am most intrigued by “Genesis” because it is also a story that explains “everything,” from gender dynamics, to sufferings, to sin. There are major differences between the ethos of the way “Genesis” was told to me, and the story King tells in The Truth About Stories, I will try to compare and contrast these differences. I will also compare “Genesis” to “The Sky Diver.” However, I suspect I will end up describing how I, as a casual, amateur, and non-baptized Buddhist-Christian, reacted to how Thomas King tells the story “Genesis.”

“Genesis” is a part of the bible, it tells a story about how humans irreversibly sinned and acquired knowledge. “Genesis” does not explain what humans should do with sin; “Genesis” does not explain how the Holy Trinity will help us with sin, however, the rest of the bible does. I am not preaching Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; I want to express my dissatisfaction with a part of a religious text being retold casually.

King could have used the same amount of time and pages to explain the Bible as he did with the Aboriginal story. He could have said “God made everything; He made the Earth, the animals, Adam and Eve, and they lived in the Garden of Eden, where everything was perfect. Adam and Eve were ignorant before, and loved God because they knew of nothing else. Satan tricked Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, which gave them knowledge and sin. For this action, they were banished and punished. This is why there is hunger in the world; this is why humans have to work; this is why it hurts woman to give birth, all because we are no longer in Eden. With knowledge, humans now also had to deal with sin; this is why there is evil in the world. Humans should put in our best effort not to sin, because sinning would result in having to join Satan in Hell. Sin and Satan are powerful; sometimes, humans will sin. Jesus Christ willingly died at the cross by human sins, for human sins. This will allow humans to reunite with the Holy Trinity in heaven after death. Now some of us love God because we choose to; filial freedom is the tradeoff for being banished out of Eden. By trying our best in life, and having faith in God, one day humans can return to Heaven. Even if humans sin, humans can return to Heaven because of Jesus’ sacrifice. If one decides not to reunite with God, one can go to Hell if he or she wishes as well.

To answer the blog question, the ethos of “The Story About Charm” and “Genesis” are different because one story explains why there are terrible things on Earth; one does not. Both stories explain how Earth was created; however, to be fair, “Genesis” should have ended after the first line if it only needed to serve the sole objective of explaining how Earth was created. Thomas King introduces “Genesis” by describing it as “a perfectly serviceable creation story” (21). King is right, “Genesis” is a serviceable creation story and he tells the story as if the audience has already heard it before. He also mentions that there are multiple faiths that believe in multiple editions of this story with the line about the Russian Orthodox version. King illustrates how “Genesis” may be responsible for misogyny in this world, or at least inequality between man and woman, since God created Adam first, and Eve at the forbidden fruit first. King ends this story with the cruelty of God in banishing Adam and Eve out of Eden and into a life of “sickness and death, hate and hunger” (22). In his telling of Genesis, King describes the mistake of eating the forbidden fruit as “unavoidable” (22.) I would like to know why he thinks that. Is it because of King believes that Lucifer is all-powerful, or does King think God give Adam and Eve a test He knew they could not pass? Maybe Thomas King read Milton and decided that Adam and Eve were meant to embark on an epic quest, no one knows.

I agree with that Charm’s story is cooperative and fun, a creation story I would prefer every culture and society to accept. But religious texts are powerful and dangerous; the various crusades and various modern wars hold testimony to that. Religious texts are so prone to interpretation and disagreement, Thomas King gave his interpretation and I am disagreeing. Although I believe in God, I take “Genesis” as a creation story only. Although some people take advantage of religious texts, these texts can also promote good in people. The way Thomas King almost ridicules it really benefits nobody. In my previous blog, I wrote how Thomas King is doing society a service by promoting “The Sky Diver;” in hindsight, I take that back. By clearly making one religious text seem better than the other, he may end up contributing to the negativity in this world caused by differences.

King, The Truth About Stories, Chapter One: You’ll Never Believe What Happened Is Always a Great Way to Start.

Milton, John. “Paradise Lost.” Milton: Paradise Lost. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2014.