Book Review: Creation and the God of Abraham

Creation and the God of Abraham is a compilation of fourteen articles by different authors on the subject of creation ex nihilo. The work is the result of a Vatican Observatory sponsored workshop, a faith and science dialogue, called “Creatio ex Nihilo Today,” held July 2006. The authors have diverse backgrounds, spanning all three Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—as well as theology, philosophy, history, and life- and physical-sciences. According to the editors, the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo has been largely overlooked by the modern science and religion dialogue (p. xi). This compilation “explores how we might now recover a place for the doctrine, and with it a consistent defence of the God of Abraham in philosophical, scientific, and theological terms” (p. 1).

The assumption for the study is that creatio ex nihilo is a foundational teaching of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The authors define the phrase creatio ex nihilo as meaning creation out of nothing—no preexisting matter, space, or time (p. 1). Cogliati lays the groundwork for the idea in the introductory chapter by briefly outlining each chapter and then pointing out basic assumptions and remarks on the topic. He says that “creatio ex nihilo is a metaphysical concept, not a physical event; it accounts for the existence of things, not for the change in things” (p. 8). He also points out it is a metaphysical doctrine and not a scientific theory (p. 9). He concludes by saying, “The aim of this volume is to identify such an account with creatio ex nihilo, which we find to be also consonant with the biblical revelation of the God of Abraham” (p. 10). For a person interested in the theology of creation, Cogliati's remarks in the introduction alone make this book worth reading.

Each chapter has its own focus. Chapter 1, by Ernan McMullin, examines the early history of creation ex nihilo. He looks at the doctrine in the Old Testament and in the early Church and concludes with Augustine's view of creation and his contributions to the ex nihilo doctrine. Janet Soskice focuses on Jewish and Christian foundations of creatio ex nihilo in Chapter 2. She examines various passages that support the doctrine. However, what I found most interesting was her compelling argument involving the Divine Name “ywhw” from Exodus 3 as supporting this doctrine (pp. 26ff). Chapter 3, by David Burrell, focuses on the theology of creation. His perspective is through that of Thomas Aquinas but he interacts with Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle. Alexander Broadie looks at creation ex nihilo in the Middle Ages and Enlightenment in Chapter 4. He focuses on the works of Scotus, Kant, and Hume, and emphasizes the concept of univocity of being (p. 55). Creation in the context of theology and science in Maimonides and Crescas is the focus of Chapter 5. Although Maimonides and Crescas were at odds, Daniel Davies focuses upon their commonality that all creation is dependent upon God and not vice versa (p. 65), that is, God is uncaused (p. 66).

Three chapters examine Islamic tradition. Rahim Acar presents and analyzes the medieval Persian philosopher Avicenna's position on creation in Chapter 6. Avicenna's position is that creation is “related to God only with regard to being, not in regard to time” (p. 78). In Chapter 7, Pirooz Fatoorchi looks at four different views of creation that Islamic scholars hold and their compatibility to seven accounts of the origins of the universe (p. 91). He concludes by comparing the four views with modern scientific theory for compatibility. Ibrahim Kalin discusses why God created the world in Chapter 8, using Islamic philosophical tradition as his basis.

In Chapter 9, Simon Oliver discusses creation in terms of the doctrine of God, specifically the Trinity (p. 135). He builds his argument from Aquinas's idea of creation as motion. William Stoeger argues that creatio ex nihilo, the Big Bang theory, and quantum cosmology are in harmony in Chapter 10. He argues that they all help us understand the universe. Simon Morris asks “What is written into creation?” in Chapter 11. He sees consciousness as a part of creatio ex nihilo. James Pambrun discusses the theological and scientific approaches to creation as intelligible dual causality in Chapter 12 and attempts to bridge the gap between the two approaches with philosophy. In Chapter 13, Thomas Tracy looks at the creative activity of God and the role of the created as participants in creation. The book concludes with Eugene Rogers's chapter on Thomas Aquinas's view of contingency as a creative agent and the theology of science.

Creation and the God of Abraham is written for the academic and the informed, not for the novice. This work is a deep read, engaging the audience on every page and provoking thought. Therefore, it is not a fast read, since the reader will want to stop and ponder any insights gleaned. The book offers a variety of perspectives on the subject, written by the best scholars in the field. I found it intellectually and theologically stimulating and I highly recommend it.