Creation, pt 2

So, we saw from the last post that Judaism had a very firm concept of God as the Creator of all things. But, what did Gentile Christianity add to the equation? And how did those theories continue to develop over time?

Because most people conclude that creation requires a Creator, Paul used natural theology to identify the God about whom he testified to the Gentiles. Thus, in Acts 14:15, Paul responds to those who wish to worship him because he healed a lame man by saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” Paul’s desire is that the citizens of Lystra cease worshiping created things, rather turning their hearts to the one who created. Paul does not try to describe his God in an abstract or metaphysical way. Instead, the way he distinguishes God from the idols whom these people worshiped is by referring to his role as Creator. Similarly, Paul’s address to the Areopagus council begins by identify the Athenians’ unknown God as the Judeo-Christian God of creation. Natural theology, then, was a great evangelistic tool even in early church missiology.

What is clear is that Judaism and early Christianity assumed that Genesis 1-2 contained a valid account of creation, so they gave primary emphasis to the implications of their theological. However, when Christianity began to spread to those with a background in Greek philosophy, problems quickly arose. Platonism insisted that the spiritual realm was the true world with physical creation being little more than a shadow of reality. Marcion and the proponents of Gnosticism taught that the physical realm is evil and, in the case of Marcion, that the Creator must also be wicked. In response to such claims, Irenaeus wrote of the intrinsic goodness of creation. Tertullian stressed the intentionality of God creating nature in response to the rampant Aristotelianism of his day.

The Council of Nicea and several councils during the middle ages concluded that creation was indeed good. Some later monastic leaders such as Thomas a Kempis held a negative view of the world, suggesting that the only way to true holiness is to deny all worldly pleasures. Replying to their claims, Calvin wrote that although creation should not be equated with God, it is still one of God’s good works. In recent centuries, Matthew Fox and other scholars have written of the goodness of creation and its primary importance in understanding the nature of God, though such scholars tend to devalue mankind in the process. Also, apologetic works abound that defend God as Creator against those in favor of the Big Bang theory and Evolutionary Darwinism.

Next, we'll look at HOW God created all things.

-Matt