The Myth Maker

He is lauded as an American hero and a great symbol for immigrants escaping the restrictive land of despots. But historians recognize that Christopher Columbus became an icon not by lifting himself up, but by being elevated in the eyes of those who needed a discoverer who faced the unknown sea and triumphed over the dangers of a wilderness.

Washington Irving popularized Columbus through a biography written in 1829, which was more romance than fact. Columbus wasn’t interested in establishing the land of the free and the home of the brave as much as moving forward European imperialism and advancing the economy of Spain. Many now believe he spearheaded a massive slave trade and brought disease and warfare that decimated thousands of natives.

The Creation narratives in Genesis are viewed by many as mythology or allegory. Evolutionists claim that science reveals that the idea of our world being created in six days is impossible. Even some Christians try to wed evolution with Creation, claiming that God started some forms of life and then let them evolve.

But these popular views do not square with Scripture. As much as some scientists want to make Darwin an icon of how our world was created, the Bible strips away these views and gives us the truth. “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:11).

The Word of God rejects a mythical interpretation of Genesis. Job speaks of the transgressions of a real person named Adam (Job 31:33). Solomon affirms that man was created “upright” in the beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:29), not bent over as some lower form of life. Jesus plainly speaks of the creation of mankind (Matthew 19:4, 5).

Ever since Creation, Satan has sought to create a myth over the work of God and has confused many about the origins of humanity. But the student of the Bible knows that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth … for he is a liar” (John 8:44).

Apply It:

Think of a childhood fairytale you once believed and later discovered was a myth.

Dig Deeper:

Isaiah 42:5; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9