Israelite Belief in God as Creator

The earliest view of Yahweh is as Savior (Deuteronomy 26:5-10), and especially in reference to Exodus and the gift of the land. The God of the covenant (Exodus) brings salvation by His power. Yahweh has power over all nations and elements of the world--both nations and nature. Thus, Yahweh is the God of Creation and the Creating God (Gen1-2)

• Creation is the basis for God's sovereignty.
• God the Creator is at work in nature and directs history (historical perspective is primary; cosmic is secondary); the cosmic power of God is invoked to guarantee the efficacy of the historical manifestation.
• Therefore creation appears "as a projection toward the past of the power of God already at work in history, and thus as the first act in the history of salvation."⁽¹⁾

Belief in creation was an extension of faith in Yahweh as the God of the covenant, of history and of the promises. God's act of creation was viewed as analogous to the covenant: "creation is also considered as a force dominating history . . . a promise ordained to fulfilment. It is entirely caught up in the relationship between God and [humanity], of which eventful history salvation is the goal. Hence the one word [bara] can indicate the original creation, God's actions in history and his final salvific intervention."⁽²⁾

God as Lord over all

God as creator of the universe

• Isa. 40-55
• Genesis 2:4b-25
• J tradition
• concentrates on the creation of humans
• assumes the existence of heavens and earth
• humans are the center of creation
• ha 'adam names the rest of creation (i.e. assigns each creature its place in the order of things)
• woman is of the same nature as man, both are differentiated from generic "humanity" (ha 'adam)
• affirms the goodness of marriage

• Genesis 1:1-2:4a
• P tradition
• shows primitive world view
• literary form uses 7 days
• humans are created in God's image and likeness (v. 24f), not `according to their kind' like the other creatures (v. 11f)
• after God's special deliberation; thus,
• they are the high point of creation.
• underlines divine institution of the week, and Sabbath rest
• uses verb "bara." This shows God as the origin of all things.
• God creates by word, a personal action. (This is a type of demythologization of the ANE myth Enuma Elish)
• II Macc 7:23-29
• God created us and can re-create us (resurrection of the just)
• creation ex nihilo
• Development in the NT
• John 1
• Colossians 1

Early Christian tradition

discussion with Greek philosophy brought:

1. Distinction between God and creation
2. Affirmation of goodness of creation against pantheism and dualistic systems, respectively (cf. Irenaeus, adv. Haer.)
3. Distinction between uncreated and created, rather than between intelligible and sensible

Systematic Summary of
Christian Doctrine of Creation

The Biblical terms for this idea are:

• (Greek), "to make habitable," "to found" (a colony, a city)
• creare (Latin), "to beget"
• bara´ (Hebrew), a term reserved for divine action which designates God's action on the world, on Israel and in the establishment of eschatological salvation. This consistent usage is characteristic of the biblical doctrine of salvation.

Cosmology & Protology v. History of Salvation Approaches

• Augustine of Hippo (late 4th-early 5th century AD) linked these two approaches in his discussion on the nature of time; there he demonstrated the unity of creation and of conservation, thus, his doctrine of creation was not a totally protological concept.
• The Scholastics emphasized causality, thus, their main emphasis was protology. However, the great Scholastic theologians (e.g. Thomas Aquinas & Bonaventure) correlated and enriched this by the notion of "participation." Including the notion of participation in their doctrine of creation allowed for the same link between protology and conservation (God's continuing, sustaining presence in the world through each creature) as did Augustine. It also created the link between the strictly cosmological/protological approach and the contributions of the salvation history approach to the doctrine of creation.
• Modern theologians, in reflecting on the doctrine of creation, learn from Augustine and the great Scholastic theologians when they suggest that "creation implies a comprehensive action of God on the world and a total relationship of the world to God ...."⁽⁴⁾ "Creation is an act of the present instant, and remains true to itself till the hour of eschatological salvation. . . . It is part of the magnalia dei and a salvific act, since it founds and sustains the whole history of salvation."⁽⁵⁾ See the association of creation, conception and resurrection in 2 Macc 7:22-29 and Rom 4:17.

Christ is the efficient, exemplary, and final cause of creation

"In the man Jesus Christ, God's creative word is fully uttered, and his plan of creation definitively accomplished in his saving acts. . . . Here the ultimate truth of the ancient theological proposition, that [humanity] is the goal of creation, is displayed to the full. Here it can also be seen that creation is obedience, partnership in a covenant. This mystery also affirms the unthinkable proximity of the creature to the creator: the Son who is in the bosom of the Father is a [human]. Creation is oriented to this mystery.

Creation is history, because it makes [humans] and [their] whole world responsible to the creative will of God and thus involves all creation in the drama of refusal and forgiveness (Rom 8:19-21). All things are from God, and look for his Lordship, when he will be all in all (1 Cor 15:28)."

Creation as a type of divine manifestation, a word of God

"The knowledge of God through the contemplation of the created world is revelation in a certain sense; for it is a gift of God and a manifestation of God which calls for religious homage on the part of [humanity]." (See Rom. 1:19f, Acts 14, Ps. 19:1-2.)

• It is first of all a gift of God.
• In this knowledge everything is free gift: God is the Author of the world, the Author of human nature, the Author of the light which allows us to interpret the world.
• It is not our mind that rises up towards God; it is God who, through creation, descends toward us.
• The initiative in this manifestation comes from God, as Saint Paul remarks: `God manifests himself to humans so that they can know Him' (Rom. 1:19).
• The demonstration is ours, but the sign which invites and permits the demonstration, the light which authorizes it, all come from God. God makes the sign.
• What is more, this forward step of reason is normally accompanied by actual graces which help to undo the mystery and make God's presence seen.

Creation is a certain manifestation of an unknown God.

• The universe, actually, is not only a thing, but a creature. It is a sign that points towards its Author: not an artificial sign, set up as an after-thought, by convention, but rather a natural, necessary sign, based on the objective relationship between Creator and creature.
• It is no arbitrary decree on God's part when He invites [humanity] to discover His invisible perfections in the visible works of creation, but rather the ontological bonds that join Him with the world. If God is the Creator of all things, it is impossible that there should be no resemblance between creature and Creator, for the creature owes [its] whole existence and [its] being to the First Cause which brought [it] into being.
• If God is the fullness of being and perfection, every creature must have received something of this fullness and this perfection. In material creation, the spiritual God shines through, although only obscurely. By its power, immensity, order, and beauty, the universe points to its Author, clearly demonstrating His presence and letting us see some of the attributes of His person, source of all perfection.
• [Humans] primarily, mind and will, far more than the physical world, [reflect] the perfection of [their] Author: [they bear] the traits of God in [themselves], [they are] in God's image. What is more, since God has created this image of Himself according to a determined nature, and according to a determined relationship with God, in the very fact of creation He reveals His will regarding [humanity].
• And [humanity], a spiritual and conscious being, must discern, in the particular character of [its] being, the expression of God's will for this rational creature composed of body and soul. The will of God, expressed in the physical laws of the inanimate world, is expressed for [humanity] in the natural law.
• [Humanity], like the whole universe . . . is a revelation of God in action. But, in the interior of this revelation in action, which is an implicit language, God addresses humanity with an explicit and personal word, to sanction, explain, and complete this first form of divine manifestation.

Finally, the manifestation of God through creation implies, for [humanity], the obligation of rendering the religious homage which is due to God through glorification and thanksgiving. `Inexcusable' are those who have not recognized God and have not given him this homage (Rom. 1:20; 2:14-16; Wis. 13:1, 8)."⁽⁶⁾

In the last analysis, what distinguishes the two forms of revelation is the fact that in the revelation of pure grace [especially, in Jesus Christ], the notions of word and testimony are verified in the strict sense. ". . . Creation betrays the presence of God, manifests His perfections. It speaks of God, but God Himself does not speak; God does not enter into a dialogue. He is like a person present but silent. And thus the encounter between [person] and universe does not terminate in the assent of faith, but in an existential attitude: that of homage and adoration. . . . Natural revelation does not have this characteristic of word and testimony [personal call to covenant in faith]."⁽⁷⁾
 

Doctrine & Interpretation

• Summary of the doctrine:
• There is One God, Creator of heaven and earth (i.e. of all), things seen (material) and unseen (immaterial).
• God creates in freedom. Thus, there is no foundation for dualism, thus, the body is not evil but good.
• The human person is comprised of both body and spirit. Each individual has a spiritual destiny to be lived in a concrete human life. Both body and soul are necessary, and they are united in working toward this destiny/call.
• Each human being is called to responsibility toward world and society. Thus, work, culture, history, & society are all essential elements in God's process of bringing the work of creation to completion (that is, of human salvation).
• Primary and secondary causality.
  • The phrase "productio rei ex nihilo sui et subiecti" does not deny secondary causality on the level of created beings [e.g. Occasionalism, as Malebranche, successor to Liebniz, Descartes]⁽⁸⁾ but affirms that God is the primary cause of all existence and continuation in existence (i.e. Divine conservation and concursus)
• thus, God is acting in human activity, but on a different level than humans act.
• Creatures are not co-eternal with the Creator
• The affirmation of "§creation in time" means that creation had a beginning -- though, in the strict sense, time did not exist before creation. (God's eternity is not infinite duration but a reality which surpasses duration.)
• Thomas Aquinas separated the idea of creation from the idea of the eternity of the world. He affirmed that philosophy could prove the createdness of the world, but that it could not demonstrate that the world had a beginning (since the world could be dependent upon God, who is above time, and still be eternally existing in dependence upon Him). Therefore, that the world had a beginning must be believed by faith alone.
• Question: Is creation "in time" strictly de fide (absolutely essential to the faith) or only proximum fide (close to the essential doctrine)? This question is still open for discussion; it has yet to be decided by the magisterium. Yet, it seems that the notion of creation "in time" could only be considered proximum fide rather than strictly de fide, especially given Thomas' suggestion of the creation's causal dependency upon God even if this is not linked with God's temporal priority. However, the question itself stretches the limits of human language and logic, since time cannot exist before change. Hence, unless God is to be considered subject to change (a notion which tradition denies), then time did not exist before creation, yet, God alone is "eternal" in the strict sense of the term. The "Big bang" theory and the laws of entropy would seem likewise to militate for a temporal beginning of the universe. The Christian conception of salvation history would seem to point to this as well.

Creation of Humanity & the Theory of Evolution

• Humani Generis (Pius XII, 1950) points out that the theory of the evolutionary origin of the species is not incompatible with the Christian doctrine of creation. However, if evolution is seen as the true way in which human beings came to be the way they are, and the manner in which the rest of creation develops and progresses, then God must be seen as directing and sustaining this process along every step of the way. When something qualitatively higher than the previously existing cause is produced, this "+" is correctly understood as a creative act or provision by God.
• Creation has to do with the lasting relationship between God and reality, especially God and human creatures. It is an act of divine self-giving and is a continuous process of movement from lower to higher levels of being. God actualizes the immanent experience of God in us beyond its own status into a new dimension of existence and into a new religious state of consciousness called sanctification. We can accept or reject this self-communication of God. God's self-revelation to the human spirit creates a change in the human consciousness ("inner illumination") and, through grace, opens a new horizon of understanding of being and of self, a new perspective (an "Ahah!" experience).
• In dialogue with evolutionary theory, this fact about creation can be seen not only on the level of individual growth, but also on the level of the species as a whole developing into the fullness of what God calls each aspect of creation to be. A static notion of creation (i.e. one which neither allows for evolutionary theory nor participationist metaphysics nor divine concursus) gives birth to an idea of `pure nature'--i.e. what we are apart from our call to divinization, apart from our capacity to hear and respond to God's call to us (the potentia obedientialis). "But pure human nature does not exist. We are, from the beginning, open to divine grace."<sup>(9)</sup>
• In an analogous sense, this can be applied to all aspects of the created order (though in a less complete sense than to humanity). Thus, a modern can say with the ancient Israelites, that history itself exists due to God's primordial and continuing activity of creation; for, in fact, "history" (in the sense of salvation history) and "creation" are merely two ways of speaking of the same reality of God's penetrating and persuasive call to what is higher, deeper, more real, more true, more beautiful--that is, to Himself. Our words and actions are our self-expression, our `coming to appearance'-- even when we are not speaking of ourselves--our going out of ourselves to the other. The result of God's creative activity is an analogous realization of Himself.⁽¹⁰⁾ Therefore humans, being made in the divine image, are sketches of God's likeness. The image of God in us is dynamic, and becomes fully actualized when turn to God in believing and loving.⁽¹¹⁾
• the peculiaris creatio hominis
• The question for people today is how to relate the creation of the soul (directly by God) and the evolution of the body. The peculiaris creatio hominis (the special/unique creation of humans) is not restricted to the spiritual soul but also extends, in some way, to the human body.
• One way of discussing this would be to recognize that God-consciousness and world-/other-consciousness go together. God-consciousness is element of human self-consciousness (which, in reality, comes to us only through our bodily senses). Transcendence toward others/world mediates our encounter with God, the Divine Thou. The inherent relation to God (which is a concommitant of our humanity as image) is the point of correspondence which is the point of departure for the divine self-communication. Individuals are "led beyond [the] natural experience of God because of the character of transcendence which renders [them] open to God."
• Our human origin gives us the capacity for the supernatural, the ability to be led beyond all ordinary experience, beyond our own immanent possibilities, and to transcend ourselves in our inner depths. Therefore, God's revelation/mystery inevitably "becomes the very inner self" of the human person. And, this process of God becoming the heart of human reality requires both the personal development of each human soul (a sort of personal `evolution') as well as the physical evolution of the human body to a point where it is able to mediate and encourage this process of spiritual development.⁽¹²⁾
• Ontogeny and creation
• What is the role of human procreation (ontogeny) in creation of the individual--or, what is the role of God in human procreation? This question is open for discussion.
• Phylogeny and creation
• An even more difficult duality to reconcile is the "natural" and "divine" aspects of phylogeny. This question is likewise open for discussion.
• Monogenism or polygenism? The doctrine of creation cannot make a distinction between monogenism and polygenism, therefore, faith cannot impose monogenism. An argument from convenience/conservation may support monogenism. But, what is "convenient" is not always what happens in fact. From both a theological and a scientific point of view, the issue is still open (but most scientists tend to support the idea of polygenism).⁽¹³⁾

1. Rene Latourelle, S.J. Theology of Revelation, 330.
2. Pieter Smulders, Sacramentum Mundi, "Creation," 23.
3. Pieter Smulders, Sacramentum Mundi, "Creation," 23.
4. Michael Schmaus, Dogma 1: God and Revelation, 26.
5. Ibid.
6. Latourelle, 337f.
7. Latourelle, 339.
8. Descartes' dualism saw man as bodily substance + spiritual substance, connected by the pineal gland in the back of the brain.
9. Mc Brien, Catholicism, 225.
10. Schmaus, Dogma I, 21.
11. Schmaus, 22.
12. Schmaus, 23.
13. For discussion of whether the doctrine of "original sin" requires monogenism, see "Original Sin."