Choosing Our Universe (Comprehension Passages and Question-Answers)

Comprehension Passages

 According to the Boshongo people of central Africa, in the beginning, there was only darkness, water, and the great god Bumba. One day Bumba, in pain from a stomachache, vomited up the sun. In time the sun dried up some of the water, leaving land. But Bumba was still in pain and vomited some more. Up came the moon, the stars, and then some animals: the leopard, the crocodile, the turtle, and finally man. The Mayans of Mexico and Central America tell of a similar time before creation when all that existed were the sea, the sky, and the Maker. In the Mayan legend the Maker, unhappy because there was no one to praise him, created the earth, mountains, trees, and most animals. But the animals could not speak, and so he decided to create humans. First, he made them of mud and earth, but they only spoke nonsense. He let them dissolve away and tried again, this time fashioning people from wood. Those people were dull. He decided to destroy them, but they escaped into the forest, sustaining damage along the way that altered them slightly, creating what we today know as monkeys. After that fiasco, the Maker finally came upon a formula that worked and constructed the first humans from white and yellow corn. Today we make ethanol from corn, but so far haven’t matched the Maker’s feat of constructing the people who drink it.

1, Who was Bumba? What did he do at the beginning of the universe?

Ans. Bumba, according to one of the myths related to the Boshongo people of Central Africa, was the great god at the beginning of the creation. Bumba, in pain from a stomachache, vomited up the sun, moon, the stars and then some animals and finally man.

 

 2. What is the tale told by Mayans of Mexico and Central America?

Ans. Mayans too believe that the Maker created the earth, mountains, trees and humans.

 3. Why was the Maker unhappy in the Mayan legend?

 Ans. The Maker in the Mayan legend was unhappy because he was living all alone with no one to praise Him.

 4. Why were the people made from mud and earth dissolved by the Maker?

 Ans. The people made from mud and earth were dissolved by the Maker because they only talked nonsense.

5. What was the final formula that Maker came upon?

Ans. The Maker finally constructed the first humans from white and yellow corn.

6. Use the words ‘creation’ and ‘sustain’ in sentences of your own.

Ans. Creation: The myths related to creation are extremely interesting. Sustain: It is significant to sustain all life on earth in a respectable manner

Answer the following questions in about 50 words each.

1. Describe the myth believed by the Boshongo people of Central Africa about the creation of the universe?

2. What is the creation myth in the Mayan legend?

3. What is the Old Testament’s belief about the creation of the universe?

4. What is the belief about the creation of the universe that has been apparent even in early times?

5. How can it be concluded that the universe is expanding?

Ans1. Boshongo people of Central Africa believed that the beginning of the universe consisted of only the darkness, water, and the great god Bumba. The universe was then created by Bumba, who, in pain from a stomachache, vomited up the sun, the moon, the stars, some animals and finally man.

Ans2. The Mayan legend of Mexico and Central America similarly believes that at the beginning of the universe, there was only the sea, the sky and the Maker, who, out of his unhappiness at being left all alone, created the earth, mountains, trees, animals and finally human beings.

 Ans3. The Old Testament believes that God created Adam and Eve within only six days of creation. Bishop Usher goes to the extent of prescribing an exact date for the origin of the world. He asserts that the universe was created at 9. A.M on October 27, 4004 BC. According to the Old Testament, the origin of the universe goes back much earlier than humans, which is a recent creation.

 Ans4. The belief that has been apparent even in early times was that either the universe has been created very recently or else human beings have existed for only a small fraction of cosmic history. If the human race had been created much earlier, it would have been much more advanced in its mastery of knowledge and technology.

Ans5. That universe is expanding can be concluded through Edwin Hubble’s observation that nearly all galaxies are moving away from us and those galaxies are moving faster and farther away from the earth. Hubble published law in 1929 relating the rate of recession of galaxies to their distance from the earth.

 Answer the following questions in about 150 – 200 words each.

 1. Explain the main idea contained in “Choosing Our Universe?”

 Ans. “Choosing our Universe” dwells upon the various myths prevalent in different parts of the world related to the creation of the universe. Boshongo people of Central Africa and the Mayan legend of Mexico and Central America believed that at the beginning of the universe there was only the darkness, sea, and the sky. Then the great god Bumba and the Maker created the sun, the moon, the stars, some animals and finally human beings. According to the Old Testament, God created Adam and Eve within only six days of creation. Bishop Usher even prescribed an exact date for the origin of the world to be at nine in the morning on October 27, 4004 BC. The Old Testament believes that the origin of the universe goes back much earlier than humans, which is a recent creation. The belief apparent even in early times was that either the universe has been created very recently or else human beings have existed for only a small fraction of cosmic history. If the human race had been created much earlier, it would have been much more advanced in its mastery of knowledge and technology. The first scientific evidence that the universe had a beginning came in the 1920s with the observations by Edwin Hubble who determined that nearly all galaxies are moving away from us and those galaxies are moving faster which are farther away from the earth.

2. Elaborate upon the contribution of Edwin Hubble in providing scientific evidence about the beginning of the universe.

Ans. Edwin Hubble made a very significant contribution in providing scientific evidence about the beginning of the universe in the 1920s which refuted the belief in a static universe that had existed earlier also. He could provide this scientific evidence on the basis of his indirect observations made with the 100-inch telescope on Mount Wilson, in the hills above Pasadena, California. Through the analysis of the spectrum of light emitted, Hubble determined that nearly all galaxies are moving away from the earth, and the farther away they are, the faster they are moving. In 1929 he published a law relating their rate of recession to their distance from the earth and concluded that the universe is expanding. This goes on to prove that the universe must have been smaller in the past and that sometimes in the distant past, all the matter and energy in the universe would have been concentrated in a very tiny region of unimaginable density and temperature. If one attempts to go back still farther enough, it is possible to arrive at a time of the beginning of the universe in the form of the event now called as big bang theory.

3. How do Creation myths attempt to answer the question regarding the existence of the universe the way it exists?

Ans. There are various Creation myths that attempt to answer the questions regarding the existence of the universe in their own unique ways. The Boshongo people of central Africa believe that in the beginning there was only darkness, water, and the great god Bumba and that it was Bumba, who in pain 6 from a stomachache, vomited up the sun which on drying up of the water was turned into land. But Bumba, still in pain, vomited some more in the form of the moon, the stars, and then some animals like the leopard, the crocodile, the turtle, and finally human beings. The creation myth of Mayans of Mexico and Central America similarly assert that before creation, there existed only the sea, the sky, and the Maker and that the Maker, out of his unhappiness and loneliness, created the earth, mountains, trees, and most animals. But the animals could not speak, and so he decided to create humans. First, he made them of mud and earth, but they only spoke nonsense. So he dissolved them away and tried making people from wood who appeared too dull. So when he decided to destroy them again, they escaped into the forest, sustaining damage along the way that altered them into the monkeys. After that fiasco, the Maker finally constructed the first humans from white and yellow corn. This is how the above creation myths attempt to answer the questions regarding the origin of the universe. Man’s ability to address such questions has grown steadily over the past century and equipped with the background of ancient times combined with the advancement in the field of science, human beings are now able to find a possible answer to these questions.