Ah, fair enough (and I'm sorry to read that it bothers so); offhand, I don't think that I've read any of her work.
edited 6th Jul '14 9:51:13 AM by ArsThaumaturgis
My Games & Writing
I hope it's not too late to write something.
One key thing to remember about creation myths is that they are often heavily influenced by the environment in which they first germinated. A major influence of people's interpretation and understanding of the divine is their environment.
For instance, Egyptian mythology has a lot to do about water, sand, and mud, as well as the concept of Ma'at (Cosmic Order and Justice) versus Isfet (Chaos and Anarchy). For instance, in one version of the myth, Atum rose from a pile of mud that arose out of the primordial waters. This is because of the major influence that the Nile. The Nile was the major source of food for the Ancient Egyptians, and as such it had a big impact on their mythology. In addition, their mythology reflects the importance the Ancient Egyptians placed on social order and heirarchy. For the Egyptians, serving the pharoah was the equivalent of saving the universe and upholding civilization, as the pharoah gave laws that protected people from anarchy and lead armies against foreign raiders.
Another example is Norse mythology. The Norse were a very warlike people who expected very short life-spans. The average summer activity for the Norse was going raiding. They lived very harsh lives. As such, their mythology is heavily emphasized with the theme of defiance against certain doom. To the Norse, the bad guys would win, but what mattered was how one faced ones fate.
Therefore, when designing your own creation story or myth, please remember the context in which such belief systems arose. The myths that tend to be the most popular among the people tend to be the one's that the people can identify with. It can add a lot of flavour. People ascribe to gods properties that they wish humans would emulate. To quote, "If Horses were Gods, then they would look like horses". How the people view the divine, and the stories they tell about the divine, can tell you a lot about the people and their culture.
Also, remember that scientific advancements, and shifting social norms, have an effect on religious beliefs. According to the wikipedia article on Mortimer J. Adler, " theology and religion are living things, there is nothing intrinsically wrong about efforts to modernize them. They must be open to change and growth like everything else." Creation myths and stories, and people's interpretation and understanding of said myths and stories, will change over time.
edited 17th Oct '14 4:36:00 PM by Coinage
As much as I love Tamora Pierce, her pantheons often suffer from this. Her Tortall universe is pretty generic if you're an actual pagan.
edited 5th Jul '14 8:52:25 PM by Sharysa