John Ponnusamy
Summary by Greg A. Foraker, CSP
Washington, DC

Dr. John Samuel Ponnusamy invited us to consider how the creation stories of different world religions offer the potential to further the vital work of ecumenical and interreligious awareness and dialogue. He offered a thoughtful and balanced reflection, considering the convergence of the creation stories of Hindu, Jewish, Christian and Islamic faith, and how that convergence might further our ecumenical sensitivities.

Ponnusamy grounded this task by recalling the anthropological and mythological roots of all four of these enduring world religions. Beginning with story, humans have always shared their new understanding of how the world works and how the world came to be with one another. As these stories endured, these primitive stories took on a mythological character as humanity witnessed and engaged with the powerful forces of nature and the created world. Ponnusamy reminded that these myths were passed from person to person and generation to generation, emerging in distinct settings and cultures as the great religions of the world.

Hinduism is a religion that has incorporated a remarkable sense of plurality, according to Ponnusamy. Primal man finds no pleasure in aloneness, and so divides into male and female, beginning a process destined toward plurality; in harmony with the cosmic mind that is the origin of the universe in Hindu tradition. The entirety of the created world is the fruit that is born of this first creative act.

The Upanishads begin by asking the fundamental questions of a humanity coming to terms with their participation in a wondrously created world. What is the cause of creation? From where did we come? Where do we live? Who watches over us in our joy and sorrow? Existence alone was at the beginning. Conceiving an idea, existence propagated itself, and in so doing, created fire, water and subsequently food. The very action of creation brought inherent plurality and diversity the world.

This action of creation was not simply an exercise in technological consequentiality, the creator, the perfect being, was “only due to the desire of God to know himself,” Ponnusamy explained. Hinduism brings forth three dominant views that further an ecumenical exploration of creation: that God is a dynamic principle; that creation is a sport, the activity of the divine; and that this creation is the overflowing of the perfection of God. These ideals reflect well the time-honored Hindu tradition to explore the relationship between creator and creation, and the meaning for humanity of this inherent relationality between the divine and our pluralistic world.

Building upon his reflections on the creation schema of Hinduism, Ponnusamy recalled the richness of the creation stories of Judaism. Considering the two creation accounts that begin the book of Genesis, he noted that both stories emphasize the fundamental relationality of God and creation, a relatedness in a continuing process of developing intimacy.

The Jewish creation stories affirm the unity of all of humanity, and indeed, of all of creation. In this understanding, the created realm is the perfect, ongoing activity of God, and while humans are created in the image and likeness of God, they have experienced a fundamental brokenness through their own failures and actions. The conflict of humanity with evil within Judaism occurs within the human person, making a clear contrast to other Near Eastern myths including the Gilgamesh epic and the Enuma Elish.

Creation is understood as full of mysteries within Judaism, according to Ponnusamy. The creation stories of Judaism are myths which reveal the mystery and timelessness of the human journey with God. The Hebrew Bible is the written account of the Jewish people’s encounter with this mystery and reflects what they have engaged in the ongoing process discovering the hidden forces that underlie creation throughout their history. The relationship between the Jewish people and God reflects the mutually desiring, symbiotic relationship between the creator and the human.

Christianity accepts the Hebrew Bible and so draws heavily on Jewish understandings of Creation, Ponnusamy notes. God is the creator, the first and last in the created order. This understanding makes clear that creation and history have a purpose, that is revealed in and through Christ.

The New Testament reflects a developing Christology, culminating in the belief that Christ reveals the purpose of creation. Christ is the uniting symbol of all things under heaven, according to Ponnusamy. Christians hold that earth is fallen as a result of the sinful nature of humanity. The eschatological trajectory of Christianity reveals Christ as the fulfillment and redemption of this broken created order.

Christians differ with regard to the place of evolution in the process of creation. While conflicts in reconciling evolution with creationism brought conflict, especially during the 20th century, these views are increasingly seen as complementary and mutually reflective of the creative work of God.

The Quran provides the basis for understanding of creation within Islam. Ponnusamy notes that the Islamic creation story is very similar to that offered in Hebrew scriptures. Khalaq is the term for creation, indication that which is smooth, polished and without any cracks. This word also means “to form, shape, or to fashion,” and serves as the basis for the understanding to originate or bring a thing into existence.

The Quran teaches that all creation originates from the will and intention of God. As God breathed into the mud, human beings were created. Humans are fundamentally inspirited beings, endowed with soul as brothers and sisters. As God called to the created universe, humanity alone received God’s message. Responding through free will, human beings enter relationship with God.

The human mission on earth is to join in and fulfill God’s creative work of bringing unity to all creation. Because the human is created of both the material earth and God’s enlivening spirit, an inner conflict rages in the human person. Working out the struggles of this conflict reflects the purpose of humanity as part of God’s web of nature expressed and coexisting with the richness of the cosmos.

Ponnusamy concluded his remarks with the realization that the emerging ecological crisis in the world demands a renewed interest in the creation stories of the great religions of the world. Contemporary theologies, including the feminist perspective encourage consideration of creation in a new light. Globalization has revealed the need for sharing of the earth’s natural resources for the common good of all the inhabitants of the planet.

Creation narratives are key in this reflection because they express our fundamental understanding of nature, goodness, diversity and abundance, according to Punnusamy. Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all remind humanity that we have one origin in God and God is the uniting source of creation. In our current age, it is imperative to reclaim the timeless, eternal truths of our creation stories for the hope and perseverance of all of humanity.

John Ponnusamy is lecturer at the TamilNadu Theological Seminary, Arasaradi, Madurai.  

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