I support the theory where many world religions could have shared something in common. (not all, but many)
I got curious of the name of the "creator" deity so i decided to
search it up.
(There are many many different types of creator gods stories, some a plural, some single... some plural and single-Trinity, anyone?....) XD
Rough research sampling from wiki and a few sites.
North America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Great Spirit
The
Great Spirit, also called
Wakan Tanka among the
Sioux, the
Creator or the
Great Maker in
English, and
Gitchi Manitou in
Algonquian, is a conception of a
supreme being prevalent among some
Native American and
First Nations cultures. According to Lakotah activist
Russell Means a better translation of
Wakan Tanka is the
Great Mystery.
The Great Spirit or Great Mystery is generally believed to be personal, close to the people, and immanent in the fabric of the material world. Lakotah prayers refer to Him as Grandfather; however, not all Nations assign gender, or only one gender, to the Great Mystery. Chief Dan Evehema, a spiritual leader of the
Hopi Nation, described the Great Spirit as follows:
- "To the Hopi, the Great Spirit is all powerful. He taught us how to live, to worship, where to go and what food to carry, gave us seeds to plant and harvest. He gave us a set of sacred stone tablets into which he breathed all teachings in order to safeguard his land and life. In these stone tablets were inscribed instructions, prophecies and warnings."[citation needed]
Old Man
"Old Man" is how the Great Mystery is "known" by the Blackfoot people. Old Man personally created all things and personally instructed the Blackfoot people on how to attain spiritual wisdom in daily life:
Ababinili
Ababinili personally created all things and personally instructed the Chickasaw people on "how to live long and healthy lives:"
South America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ViracochaViracocha is the great creator god in the pre-Inca and
Inca mythology in the
Andes region of
South America. Full name and some spelling alternatives are
Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra and
Con-Tici (also spelled Kon-Tiki) Viracocha. Viracocha was one of the most important deities in the
Inca pantheon and seen as the creator of all things, or the substance from which all things are created, and intimately associated with the sea.
[1] Viracocha created the universe, sun, moon and stars, time (by commanding the sun to move over the sky)
[2] and civilization itself. Viracocha was worshipped as god of the
sun and of storms. He was represented as wearing the sun for a crown, with thunderbolts in his hands, and tears descending from his eyes as rain.
Africa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Autm- Eygpt
Atum's name is thought to be derived from the word 'tem' which means to complete or finish. Thus he has been interpreted as being the 'complete one' and also the finisher of the world, which he returns to watery chaos at the end of the creative cycle. As creator he was seen as the underlying substance of the world, the deities and all things being made of his flesh or alternatively being his
ka.
Atum was a self-created deity, the first being to emerge from the darkness and endless watery abyss that girdled the world before creation. A product of the energy and matter contained in this chaos, he created divine and human beings through loneliness: alone in the universe, he produced from his own semen Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture. The brother and sister, curious about the primeval waters that surrounded them went to explore the waters and disappeared into the darkness. Unable to bear his loss, Atum sent a fiery messenger to find his children. The tears of joy he shed on their return were the first human beings. Sometimes he also is shown as a
serpent, the form which he returns to at the end of the creative cycle and also occasionally as a
mongoose,
lion,
bull,
lizard, or
ape.
Unkulunkulu is the
creator god in the language of the
Zulu people.
Unkulunkulu is believed to be father of
Jesus and the term "Nkulunkulu" simply means "God". Other names include uMdali "Creator", uMvelinqandi "Before everything" also is uMvelinqangi in
isiXhosa language. In the
isiZulu language, the name means "the very great/high one".
The creation stories of uNkulunkulu tell that he came from the reeds, and from them he brought forth the people and the cattle. He created everything, from land and water to man and the animals. He is considered the first man as well as the parent of all people. He taught the Zulu how to hunt, how to make fire, and how to grow food
Mid-Asia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allah (source:
http://www.godallah.com/)
"Allah" comes from the Arabic word "elah"a god' or something worshiped. - (Arabic) means '
This word (elah) can be made plural (gods), as in "aleha" and it can be male or female just as the word in English can be "goddess."
"Allah" comes from "
elaha" but it brings more clarification and understanding. (see related words of the time for comparison, I can't confirm this spelling.)
Allah = Has no gender (not male and not female)
"He" is used only out of respect and dignity - not for gender
Allah = Always singular - Never plural
"We" is used only as the "Royal WE" just as in English for royalty
Allah = Means "The Only One to be Worshipped"
-----------------------------------
Elyon (
Biblical Hebrew עליון';
Masoretic ʿElyōn; traditionally rendered in
Samaritan as
illiyyon[citation needed]) is an epithet of the
God of Israel in the
Hebrew Bible.
ʾĒl ʿElyōn is usually rendered as English "God Most High". The
Septuagint translation is
ὕψιστος "highest". It derives from the Hebrew root
ʿly "go up, ascend".
Elyon and
Yahweh is strangely two different names referring to the same deity in the Christian bible text.
Both Elyon and Yahweh are listed in the gods of
Canaanite religion, dates back all the way to bronze age. (and the direct competition is Baal, the god of fertility, hence the jealousy/competition of the gods.)
Yahweh
God of Israel as described in the
Hebrew Bible.
[2] The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the
Hebrew יהוה, transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the
Tetragrammaton, for which the actual pronunciation is disputed. The most likely meaning of the name may be “He Brings Into Existence Whatever Exists"
Exodus 3:13-15 is the first recorded instance of God naming himself. An etymologization of the name, connecting YHWH with the root HYH, occurs when YHWH, asked by Moses for his name, provides three names: "I Am That I Am", followed by "I Am," and finally "YHWH." He states that this is his name forever and a memorial name to all generations. (The name also means "He is" or "To be" )
East- Asia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esege Malan - Mongol
Esege Malan, according to
Mongol myth and the belief of the
Buriats is the great
Creator of all living things. His son is
Solobung Yubin, a spriritual morning
star which if offered sacrifices will reward the
Mongol people with greater harvest yields and prosperity. As chief of the sky-spirits, Esege Malaan calls meetings of them "in the
Pleiades and on the moon"
Pan Gu -Chinese myth
Translated:
What is the origin of the universe?
They created a myth of Pan Gu. It is said that the universe was originally a mass of chaos, like a big egg. Pangu our ancestors in which to nurture. After eighteen thousand years, suddenly one day, Pangu opened his eyes, surrounded by a dark, damp, cloudy air made him feel oppressed, and he struggled to make the chaotic world torn. He punched and kicked in some under the original air mass began to break down, light and clear the air to rise into the day, heavy and wet air to sink into the ground. Separation of Heaven and Earth, fear they will be closed Pangu to-day with his head, feet over the ground, standing between heaven and earth. Days increased ten feet per day, to every ten feet thick, long day Pan Gu's body is also high ridge. This took another eighteen thousand years, day rise very high, and to become very thick, and Pan Gu's body can grow very long. How long is it? It is said that nine miles long. In other words, between heaven and earth the distance of nine miles.
Shang-Di -Chinese (or The Utmost Emperor)
Shang Di,
God, or Heaven, Haotian God [1] and so on, the Chinese intended to dominate the world refers to the God of the universe, the highest supernatural God, for days or equivalent days
God [3], and proclaimed himself emperor, the Emperor of Heaven, Haotian God, also known as the god [4], Lord [5], the Great Emperor [6], the heaven of God, Emperor Emperor days [7], with anthropomorphic God Concept. "Dictionary ": "God: who also brings all things. " "Emperor " and later used to refer to the emperor, king, emperor. On the one hand that the dwelling place of God Haotian North Star, "that the Emperor Haotian God the Great, North Star Star. " On the other hand, heaven and God will distinguish that Haotian for the day, "Mao Biography ": "vitality Hao Large, called Haotian. hyperopia green and called heaven. This is Cang Hao days for the body, would not join the list of stars. "Haotian god, is called naturalization Haotian, heaven, day [8] Some papers also known as "The one" [9], "Heaven" is the most common view, also known as Heaven, High Heaven, High Sky, My old Heaven, My heaven, etc.,
(My old heavens! LOL, english translation sounds funny.)
such as "Cangtianzaishang","Heaven has eyes, ""Kill carrier "," Wrath of God, "" I'm Born with ","My God "in" days. "Spring and Autumn when the progressive thinking, rational human spirit to thrive, quarter Leung said: "Cardiff people the Lord God, is holy Wang Xiancheng people, then committed to God. " [10] God is man-made, people are the ancestral , The ancient mystical concept of fading, "God" concept gradually from the natural "days"instead of, the day of moral opinion of the incarnation, which constitutes the future generations of Chinese cultural beliefs as a foundation, and "Respect worship ancestors, " is the Chinese culture The most basic elements of faith. [11] [12]
Chinese folk beliefs and myths Confucian belief in the mainstream culture, Emperor, Emperor of Heaven, God, God Haotian, in Taoist mythology, the Jade Emperor God evolution [13]. In Taoist belief, the Jade Emperor God, that is, the Jade Emperor, for heaven, the spirit world of the emperor, but he is not the highest god of Taoism, is considered a master of the universe of civil supreme god.
天地是怎樣開闢的？宇宙的起源是什麼？這是一個從古到今都引發無限遐想的問題。中國的先民是如何猜想的呢？
他們創作了一個盤古開天闢地的神話。據說，宇宙本來是一團混沌，好像一個大雞蛋。我們的老祖宗盤古就孕育在其中。過了一萬八千年，突然有一天，盤古睜開了 眼睛，周圍一片漆黑，潮濕的、渾濁的氣流令他憋悶，他掙扎著要把這個混沌世界撕開。在他一番拳打腳踢之下，這原始的氣團開始破裂，輕而清的氣流向上升，變 成了天，重而濕的氣流往下沉，變成了地。天與地分開之後，盤古怕它們還會合攏，就用頭頂著天，腳踏著地，站在天與地之間。天每天升高一丈，地每天加厚一 丈，盤古的身子也每天長高一丈。如此又過了一萬八千年，天升得很高了，地變得很厚了，盤古的身子也長得極長了。有多長呢？據說有九萬里那麼長。也就是說， 天與地之間有九萬里的距離了。
上帝，或稱
天帝、
昊天上帝[1]等，
中文本意泛指
主宰天地宇宙的神，超自然的最高的
神，代表天或者等同於
天
上帝
[3]，又称帝、天帝、昊天上帝，亦稱
天神[4]、
天主[5]、
天皇大帝[6]、
皇天上帝、
皇皇帝天[7]等，具有擬人化的
神的概念。《
說文解字》：「神：引出萬物者也」。“帝”后来又用来指
天子、
帝王、
君主。一方面認為昊天上帝居處北辰，「昊天上帝謂天皇大帝，北辰之星。」另一方面，將天與帝區分開，認為昊天為全天，《
毛詩傳》：「元氣昊大，則稱昊天。遠視蒼蒼，則稱蒼天。此則天以蒼昊為體，不入星辰之列。」昊天上帝，更自然化則稱為昊天、皇天、天
[8]，部分文獻又稱“
太一”
[9]等，“天”是最通常的说法，又称苍天、上天、上苍、老天、老天爷等，如“苍天在上”、“老天有眼”、“奉天承运”、“天谴”、“天生我材必有用”、“我的天啊”中的“天”。
春秋战國之時，思想進步，人文理性精神勃發，
季梁曰：「夫民，神之主也，是以聖王先成民，而後致力於神。」
[10]神為人造，民為神主，則上古神秘觀念漸消，「上帝」之概念漸由自然之「
天」取代，天為道德民意之化身，這構成了後世中國文化信仰的一個基礎，而「敬天崇祖」是中國文化中最基本的信仰要素。
[11][12]
中國民间神话信仰和主流文化
儒教信仰中的帝、天帝、上帝、昊天上帝，在
道教神话中演化为
玉皇上帝[13]。在道教信仰中，玉皇上帝，即玉皇大帝，为天界、神界的皇帝，但祂並非道教中的最高神，在民间则被认为是主宰宇宙的至尊天神。
