THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION

THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION

Virgil Warren, PhD

          The doctrine of creation is unique to the Judaeo-Christian and Islamic heritages.

    I. Biblical Materials

            A.  Genesis 1:1; 2:4; Isaiah 45:18; note other statements about “made” heaven and

                  earth (Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:24-25; Exodus 20:11; Psalm 146:6; Hebrews 1:2;

                  Revelation 14:7; 1 Peter 3:5)

            B.  John 1:1-3: “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was

                  made that was made.”

      C.  Colossians 1:15-17: “In [the Firstborn] all things were created in the heavens

                  and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, first causes,

                  or powers. All things have been created through him and to him.”

            D.  Hebrews 11:1-3: “Through [the Son] [God] made the worlds.”

   II. Alternatives to Creation from Nothing

            A.  Eternality of matter

                  1.  Big bang plus collapse into black holes plus another big bang (the “pulsating

                        universe”)

                  2.  Entropy plus “anti-entropy” as ongoing principles in tension

            B.  God’s creating the material universe out of himself

            C.  Emanationism: the physical realm is to God like a ray from the sun

   III. The Scope of Creation (presumably all that is not God)

            A.  People

            B.  Angels

                  1.   The word angels refers to

                  a.   Messengers in general (Luke 7:24; 9:52; James 2:25)

                  b.   Supernatural spiritual beings, messengers of God (Matthew 1:20, etc.)

(1)    Guardian angels (Matthew 18:10; Acts 12:15?)

                              (2)    Good angels: Gabriel (Luke 1:19); Michael (Jude 9)

                              (3)    Bad angels = demons (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6)

                        c.   Evangelists (? Revelation 2:1, 8; 1 Corinthians 11:10?; etc.)

                        d.   Spirit of a dead person (Acts 12:15?)

                        e.   Angel of the Lord = deity in Judges 6:19-24: “And the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And Gideon saw that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, ‘Alas, O Lord Jehovah, for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.’”

            2.   That angels are created beings seems clear from Psalm 148:2 + 5 (cp. 2 Kings

                  21:3; Jeremiah 33:22; Daniel 7:10; Zephaniah 1:5) and Colossians 1:16

            3.   Satan (2 Corinthians 11:14)

      C.  Impersonal/material universe

     IV. Creation and the Principle That “From nothing nothing comes” (nihil ex nihilo)

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