Creation

1. Creation Creator of heaven and earth Basic Theology, Part 3

2. Creation in the Old Testament • The theme of God as creator is found throughout the Old Testament • Two distinct contexts • Contexts which reflect the praise of God within Israel’s worship • Contexts which stress that the God who created the world is also the God who liberated the people of Israel from bondage

3. Creation in the Old Testament • Creation as ordering • Creation as the imposition of order on a formless chaos • Creation as God’s victorious conflict with a series of chaotic forces

4. Creation in the Old Testament • Differences with other ANE creation accounts • It is these differences that are significant • They show God’s mastery over the universe • Also demonstrate that nature is not divine

5. Creation “out of nothing” • Gnosticism often imagines 2 distinct “Gods” • The God who redeemed humanity from the world • An inferior creator deity, sometimes known as “the demiurge” • Christians believe that the God who created is also the God who redeems

6. Creation “out of nothing” • Does God create “ex nihilo” (out of nothing) • In Pagan theology, “god” simply imposes order on a material world that is pre-existent • Evil thus exists on the basis of the intractability of the preexistent matter • Creation is limited by the poor quality of the raw materials

7. Creation “out of nothing” • Does God create “ex nihilo” (out of nothing) • Christians believe that God created everything, including the raw materials • According to Irenaeus, this affirms the inherent goodness of creation • Tertullian (155-230) emphasized the divine decision to create the world

8. Creation and Dualism • Dualism sets up a fundamental tension between the spiritual realm, which is seen as being good, and the material realm, which is seen as being evil • Christians believe that the material world was created good by God, despite its subsequent contamination by sin

9. Creation and Dualism • In the Creed, we affirm that God is the maker of heaven and earth, affirming the divine creation of both the spiritual and material realms.

10. Creation and Dualism • Fourth Lateran Council (1215) • We firmly believe and openly confess that there is only one true God…the one principle of the universe, Creator of all things invisible and visible, spiritual and physical, who from the beginning of time and by his omnipotent power made everything from nothing (ex nihilio)

11. Creation and Dualism What are the implications of a Dualistic vs. a Christian view of creation? Has Dualism infected the modern Church?

12. Implications of the doctrine of creation • A distinction must be drawn between God and the creation • Calvin wanted to develop a world-affirming spirituality to counter the general monastic tendency to renounce the world • Thus, creation must be honored, respected, respected, and affirmed • In that it is fallen creation, it is to be criticized with the object of redeeming it

13. Implications of the doctrine of creation • Creation implies God’s authority over the world • The Creator has authority over the creation • Human beings are the stewards of the creation rather than the owners of it • What are some of the theological implications of this view?

14. Implications of the doctrine of creation • God as Creator implies the goodness of creation • Even though the world is fallen through sin, it remains God’s good creation, and capable of being redeemed • This is why we reject the notion of a purely spiritual kingdom of God

15. Implications of the doctrine of creation • Creation affirms that human beings are created in the image of God • “You made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you” (Augustine of Hippo)

16. Emanation The creation of the world can be regarded as an overflowing of the creative energy of God God is to the universe as the sun is to light An organic connection between God and creation Models of God as creator

17. Weakness of Emanation It is involuntary It is impersonal Models of God as creator

18. Construction Conveys the ideas of purpose, planning, and deliberate intention to create The character of the creator is expressed in the natural world Models of God as creator

19. Weakness of Construction Portrays creation as involving preexistent matter Models of God as creator

20. Artistic expression Creation is the handiwork of God Speaks to the personal nature of God as creator Models of God as creator

21. Weakness of artistic expression Can encounter the same problem with preexistent matter, but not necessarily Models of God as creator

22. Models of God as creator • Do any of these models speak to you? • What other models might we use?

23. Humanity and Creation: The Image of God • Although human beings are not divine, we enjoy a special relationship with God that is different from other creatures • Humanity bears the image of God • This is an affirmation of responsibility and accountability towards the world in which we live • Several models have been developed to help us understand this concept of human beings as the image of God

24. The sovereignty of God This image is a reminder of the authority of God over humanity To be created in God’s image means being accountable to him Those who bear God’s image must dedicate themselves to him Humanity and Creation: The Image of God

25. Human correspondence to God The image of God refers to some kind of correspondence between human reason and the rationality of God as creator Humanity and Creation: The Image of God

26. Human correspondence to God “The image of the creator is to be found in the rational or intellectual soul of humanity…[The human soul] has been created according to the image of God in order that it may use reason and intellect in order to apprehend and behold God.” - St. Augustine Humanity and Creation: The Image of God

27. Human correspondence to God Polkinghorne - There seems to be some kind of “resonance” or “harmonization” between the ordering of the world and the capacity of the human mind to discern and represent it Humanity and Creation: The Image of God

28. Image and relationality The image of God is about the capacity to relate to God We were created with the specific goal to relate to God If we are made for God and God alone then there is nothing else that can satisfy us - The God Shaped Hole Humanity and Creation: The Image of God

29. Image and storytelling We are created with some narrative template within us, which means that the image of God is imprinted and reflected in the stories that we create The human instinct to tell stories of meaning was grounded in a Christian doctrine of creation Humanity and Creation: The Image of God

30. Humanity and Creation: The Image of God • What do you think it means to be created in the image of God?

31. Creation and natural theology • There is some correlation between God as creator and the observable world of nature as the creation • Something of the wisdom of the God who made the world can be known through the world that was created

32. Thomas Aquinas - Summa contra Gentiles (1259-61) There exists a fundamental “likeness to God” within the created order as a consequence of God being the cause of all created things Essentially, we can see God’s physical and metaphysical fingerprints within creation Creation and natural theology

33. Creation and natural theology • “Meditation on [God’s] works enables us, at least to some extent, to admire and reflect on God’s wisdom…We are thus able to infer God’s wisdom from reflection upon God’s works…This consideration of God’s works leads to an admiration of God’s sublime power, and consequently inspires reverence for God in human hearts…This consideration also incites human souls to the love of God’s goodness…If the goodness, beauty, and wonder of the creatures are so delightful to the human mind, the fountainhead of God’s own goodness (compared with the trickles of goodness found in creatures) will draw excited human minds entirely to itself” - Thomas Aquinas

34. John Calvin General knowledge of God may be discerned throughout the creation Two main grounds of such knowledge Sense of Divinity Experience of and reflection upon the ordering of the world Creation and natural theology

35. Revelation Scripture reiterates what may be known of God though nature, while simultaneously clarifying this general revelation and enhancing it Revelation is focused upon the person of Jesus Christ God may thus be fully known only through Jesus Christ, who may in turn be known only through scripture Creation and natural theology

36. Karl Barth Rejected the need for natural theology or “points of contact” “The Holy Spirit…needs no point of contact other than that which that same Spirit establishes.” Creation and natural theology

37. Creation and Creationism • Four distinct positions on “Creationism”

38. Creation and Creationism • Young earth creationism • Earth was created in its basic form between 6000 and 10,000 years ago • Created in six 24-hour periods • All things created simultaneously

39. Creation and Creationism • Old earth creationism • Understands the term “day” to refer to a long period of time rather than a specific 24-hour period • Concedes that there may be a considerable gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2

40. Creation and Creationism • Intelligent Design • Argues that biological life shows an “irreducible complexity” which makes it impossible to explain its origins and development in any other way than by intelligent design by a creator God • Rejects Darwinism’s view that evolution has no goal

41. Creation and Creationism • Theistic evolution • Sees creation as referring to an ongoing process, not a one-off event • God initiates a process which leads eventually to the emergence of humanity

42. Creation and Creationism • To which of these views do you subscribe? • Are any of them incompatible with Christian theology?