Help for the Creationists

Hi folks. It's public service time here at the Corner. Recently conservative Christians have been trying to do their civic duty to make sure that high school text books reflect a fair and balanced view of society, and to that end they are insisting that evolution, which is only a theory, be placed next to creationism to allow students a broader picture of the universe. To that end I have done some research to help them to further that goal by supplying some creation stories from some other religions.

The Hopi indians believe that Tawa (the sun god) and Spider Woman (the Earth goddess) divided themselves to create the other gods, then sang a magical song to create the Earth. Then they made clay figures of animals and people, and worked mighty magic to give them life. Students could try building their own animals and/or people out of Play-Doh(tm) and then try to sing them to life.

According to the Huron indians, a divine woman fell from a tear in the sky. Two loons, recognizing her divinity, caught her and called for help, for there was only water below. Snapping Turtle commanded all animals to dive deep and bring up some Earth. Many tried, but only Toad succeeded, and the woman took the Earth and packed it around Turtle's shell, where then grew the Earth, which still resides on Turtle's back. Students could be assigned to study sattelite imagery to try and locate Turtle's mouth, and devise lettuce launch strategies, since he must be hungry by now.

A primary Hindu creation Veda tells us that Purusha- the being beyond all beings- selflessly created the universe out of himself. His body is the castes of India; his mind the moon, his eye is the sun. The Sorm god Indra, and the fire god Agni came from his mouth, as does the wind. His head is Heaven, and his feet are the Earth. His navel is the atmosphere. Have your students plot out a plan to create a giant Tic-Tac and toss it down the holy throat for as much as to make the wind minty fresh.

There are far more stories out there, but this should get them started. Now I'm off to show how that pesky atomic theory, being just a theory, is misleading. Everyone knows that lightning is really Thor playing Lawn Darts with Loki.