"The whole business with the fossilized dinosaur skeletons was a joke the paleontologists haven't seen yet."

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth,starting first with the light, and then proceeding to make the oceans and the land. The fifth day heralded the bringing of sea creatures, and the on the sixth came the land animals. And then God also decided to make a creature in his own image, to rule over all the other creatures that he had already made. This man he named Adam; upon finding that Adam was alone, he made Eve out of his rib, and called her a woman because he had come from a man. He then allowed them to live in the garden, where they had everything provided for and were allowed to live and eat as they please, so long as they did not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But then a serpent comes and convinces silly Eve to eat the fruit, and Adam eats them without argument. Then they suddenly realized that they were naked and it shamed them, so they hid from their God when he came into the garden. When he realized that they were ashamed, he connected that they had eaten from the forbidden tree, and as such he cast them out of the garden of Eden.

I can't say that I've always wondered this, though it has been a thing from some time now: I've wondered why it is that the creation story found in the Bible is followed by millions of people, and yet if one were to replace the name of "God" with Zeus or Odin, suddenly this story would seem all kinds of weird. God creates everything out of nothing, okay, yes, but Eve is literally made out of Adam's rib bone. Let's not say that weirder things haven't happened in classical mythology, but why is it that Christianity is toted as the rational answer by so many people, when really it makes no more sense than any story toting the names of Odin and Thor?

That issue, of course, comes more out of my confusion, or lack thereof, in regards to religion. I was raised Christian, but having said that, I no longer consider myself one. I'd find it hard to stick around with these beliefs when, upon any close reading, they suddenly gain an air of whimsy. I suppose it makes just as much sense, then, that Christianity is such a common religion, when Greek mythology is but mythology, and that which the Cherokee believe is no more than a few bed time stories for many people; anything that is not Christianity is looked down upon as sheer lunacy -- at least by Christians themselves.

That isn't to call out anyone who believes in this particular creation story; faith is the key here, I know. And I certainly do not have it. But for others that do, that's their business. I just wonder why this religion, and not another. Why would so many people look at this not as an interesting cultural study, and rather as plain and true fact, something that actually took place. That, really, is what amazes me.

(All of that stated, my favorite book ever could pretty accurately be called Bible fanfiction, and would at least be referred to as one giant allusion to the Bible, with the first few chapters telling how all of this REALLY happened. Supposedly. It's also where the title to this post came from.)