Abstract
The kalām cosmological argument is a philosophical argument in favour of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing ), which states that God brought the universe into existence out of nothing or without the use of pre-existing materials. In this chapter I discuss the theological background of the kalām cosmological argument, first, by evaluating whether there is any biblical support for creatio ex nihilo and, second, by examining several ancient influential Jewish and Christian thinkers who affirmed creatio ex nihilo .
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Notes
- 1.
Michael Chase (2013:40–41) maintains that the debate of the eternity of the world goes back to at least the pre-Socratic thinkers in the sixth-century BC, such as Pherecydes of Syros and the Orphics, and that ‘[t]hese sixth-century thinkers, in turn, may well have been inspired by Oriental myths that were very ancient indeed.’
- 2.
The doctrine of creatio ex nihilo is often divided into two categories: creatio originans (originating creation) and creatio continuans (continuing creation). The former concerns God’s initial act of bringing the universe into existence, while the latter concerns God’s continuous conservation of the universe in existence. Unless otherwise indicated, I shall hereafter use the term creatio ex nihilo in the former sense.
- 3.
2 Maccabees 7:28 states, ‘I beg you, child, to look at heaven and earth. See everything that is in them and know that God made these things from nothing, and created humankind in the same way’ (CEB).
- 4.
For example, according to Paul Gavrilyuk (2013:28), ‘The statement that gives the strongest biblical backing to the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo appears in 2 Maccabees’. Similarly, Rodney Holder (2013:68) claims that ‘the doctrine of creation out of nothing …is first found clearly in 2 Maccabees 7:28’.
- 5.
Another Hebrew term that refers to God’s creative act is qānâ (or qānâh). However, unlike bārā’, qānâ is seldom used in the OT to mean ‘create’ or ‘Creator.’ The term is used three times to refer to God’s creating something (Deuteronomy 32:6; Proverbs 8:22; Psalm 139:13) and twice to refer to God as Creator (Genesis 14:19, 22). Therefore, since bārā’ is the more prominent term, I shall focus exclusively on its meaning in this section.
- 6.
For example, Copan and Craig (2004:49–59) spent a considerable amount of time arguing that bārā’ in Genesis 1:1 implies creatio ex nihilo .
- 7.
Genesis 1:1, 21, 27 (x3); 2:3, 4; 5:1, 2 (x2); 6:7; Exodus 34:10; Numbers 16:30; Deuteronomy 4:32; Psalms 51:10; 89:12; 89:47; 102:18; 104:30; 148:5; Isaiah 4:5; 40:26; 41:20; 42:5; 43:1; 43:7; 45:7 (x2), 8, 12, 18 (x2); 48:7; 54:16 (x2); 57:18–19; 65:17; 65:18 (x2); Jeremiah 31:22; Ezekiel 21:30; 28:13, 15; Malachi 2:10; Amos 4:13.
- 8.
Ecclesiastes 12:1; Isaiah 40:28; 43:15.
- 9.
Even if bārā’ were sometimes used in a context in which pre-existing materials are mentioned, this would not affect our conclusion that the verb may signify a creation out of nothing . For example, if we try to stretch the immediate context of Genesis 1:27 (which states that ‘God created [ bārā’] man in His own image’) to include Genesis 2:7 (which says that ‘the Lord God formed [yāṣar] the man of dust from the ground’), then, in light of all the other contexts of bārā’, this would still not prove that bārā’ denotes creation in terms of (A2) and that bārā’ cannot mean creatio ex nihilo .
- 10.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible.
- 11.
A merism is a rhetoric device that uses two contrasting parts to refer to an entirety. For example, the phrase ‘high and low’ in the sentence ‘I searched my office high and low’ is a merism referring to everywhere.
- 12.
Cf. Jeremiah 51:15, 19: ‘He [the Lord] made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. …He is the Maker of all things’ (NIV).
- 13.
Kitab al-Hudud (Book of Definitions, date unknown) 42–45.
- 14.
Judah ibn Tibbon was the first to translate Duties of the Heart into Hebrew in about 1160.
- 15.
Hegyon ha-Nefesh ha-Atzuvah (Meditation of the Sad Soul, date unknown), part 1.
- 16.
Sefer ha-’Ikkarim (Book of Principles [1425]) 1.23.
- 17.
Mifalot Elohim (Works of God [1503]) 1.3.
- 18.
Neweh Shalom (1574) 1.3.
- 19.
Derek Emunah (The Path of Faith [1521]) 3.1.
- 20.
For example, in his Church History 3.4, Eusebius of Caesarea (AD c. 260–c. 340) remarks that Clement ‘was appointed third bishop of the church at Rome’ and that Clement was Paul’s ‘co-laborer and fellow-soldier.’
- 21.
Despite the fact that 1 Clement does not claim to be written by Clement of Rome, I am following tradition in attributing the letter to him. For a brief discussion on the authorship of 1 Clement, see Ehrman (2003a:21–23).
- 22.
Eusebius refers to 1 Clement as a ‘remarkable merit’ that ‘has been publicly used in a great many churches both in former times and in our own’ (Church History 3.16).
- 23.
Unless otherwise indicated, quotations of the early Christians are taken from Schaff (1885).
- 24.
This quotation is taken from Bart D. Ehrman’s (2003a:93) translation of 1 Clement.
- 25.
This quotation is taken from Michael W. Holmes’ (2006:70) translation of 1 Clement.
- 26.
Holmes (2006:52) translates this passage as follows: ‘the ever-flowing springs, created for enjoyment and health, give without fail their life-sustaining breasts to humankind.’
- 27.
Cf. 1 Clement 60.1, where Clement declares that God created the world, certainly including its fountains.
- 28.
I am indebted to Michael W. Holmes for bringing this reference to my attention.
- 29.
Clement’s expression resembles Wisdom 7:17–18, where the author of Wisdom claims to have received from God knowledge of the composition and structure of the world and the beginning and end of times.
- 30.
Lona (1998:599, note 4) points out that the term ἀέναος, which is used in 1 Clement 60.1, should not be translated as ‘eternal’, but rather ‘everlasting’, because the former translation is associated with a world view that is foreign to the author. However, the term ‘everlasting,’ unlike the term ‘eternal,’ may denote a complex composite that has, nevertheless, been created.
- 31.
See Ode 24.
- 32.
The Jewish odes are 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14–16, 18, and 20–21; the Christian odes are 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 17, 19, 22–24, 27–29, and 31–42; and the rest of the odes are both Jewish and Christian (Cf. Charlesworth 2009:xviii–xix).
- 33.
Unless otherwise indicated, quotations of the Odes are taken from James H. Charlesworth’s (1985:735–771) translation, which is also available online from http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/odes.html [Accessed October 09, 2014].
- 34.
This quotation is taken from Ehrman’s (2003b:237) translation of Hermas.
- 35.
Schaff (1885) translates this passage as follows: ‘First of all, believe that there is one God who created and finished all things, and made all things out of nothing. He alone is able to contain the whole, but Himself cannot be contained.’
- 36.
Both versions of the Apology, as translated by D.M. Kay, are available in parallel online from http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/aristides_02_trans.htm (Accessed November 15, 2014). Quotations of the Apology are taken from this translation.
- 37.
Address to the Greeks 5.
- 38.
Apologia ad Autolycum (Apology to Autolycus) 2.4.
- 39.
Embassy for the Christians (c. 177 AD), Chapter 4.
- 40.
Embassy, Chapters 10, 19, and 24.
- 41.
Cf. Adversus haereses 2.10.2; 2.10.3; 2.11.1; 2.14.4; 2.28.7; 2.30.9; 4.20.2.
- 42.
Adversus 19.
- 43.
Adversus 33; De Praescriptione Haereticorum (Prescription against Heretics) 13.
- 44.
De Principiis (On First Principles) 2.1.4.
- 45.
Cf. Proposition 37: ‘That the first principle is not the proper cause of eternal things except metaphorically, because it conserves them–that is, because unless it existed, they would not exist’ (Tempier 2010:543).
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Erasmus, J. (2018). The Doctrine of Creatio ex Nihilo . In: The Kalām Cosmological Argument: A Reassessment. Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, vol 25. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73438-5_2
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