This paper is about the comparison of two separate ways of looking at nature and man's relationship with nature, the Mesopotamian and Egyptian version alongside the Hebrew and Christian version. We will first examine the backgrounds of these three cultures, then we will try to judge the whys and wherefores of the differences between cultures.
             Egyptian culture and religion were dominated by the Nile. The river was the springboard of life for the civilization, but unlike certain other rivers (as we will see in the next section) the Nile was quite predictable, flooding at regular times. This allowed the mighty river to be used by rulers as an example of their power, overreaching its banks only at their explicit command. Civilization in the West declares, "As divine incarnation, the king was obliged above all to care for his people. It was he who ensured the annual flooding of the Nile, which brought water to the parched land." This bit of trickery allowed transmutation of the river's power into one all powerful person, yet despite all his incantations the Nile (or basically nature itself to these people) was still ruler over all. The Egyptians had many gods of the river, which they regularly appeased with offerings of agricultural produce. Egyptians attitude toward nature and the river may be seen in this following passage from The Book of the Dead (circa 16th century B.C.) "I have not mistreated cattle... I have not cut down on the food in the temples... I have not damaged the bread of the gods... I have not snared the birds of the gods." These excerpts from this prayer emphasizes the Egyptians belief that agriculture was basically the god's property, and that they were merely the caretakers of this property.
             Mesopotamian beliefs are even more interesting than Egyptian. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers which they were located between are very much unlike the ped...