Creation

In Plantinga's second chapter, he discusses various aspects of Creation. One topic he talks about is why God created the earth and its inhabitants. I agree with Plantinga that there are two schools of thought that are incorrect. One is that God was bored or lonely. I don’t believe this is true: because God was engaged in what the Greeks called perichoresis, the divine dance among the His three Persons. God cannot be lonely, as he inherently exists in community. The second incorrect school of thought is that God needed us. This is an even more grievous mistake than the first. God is not in any way dependent on us. He is independently omnipotent. God doesn’t need to be entertained or comforted by us; we please him, but we are not necessary. So the question remains: why did God create the universe? Plantinga offers an answer. He says, “Given God’s interior life that overflows with regard for others, we might say creation is an act that was fitting for God.” In other words, it was part of God’s creative character to form the world; it was an overflowing of his love into a physical manifestation. This can be likened to an artist, who doesn’t paint because he is bored, or because he needs to, but simply because it is part of his character to paint.

Another topic I found interesting is rooted in Genesis 1:26. It states, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” For years, those following Judaism or Christianity have taken this to mean that we can do whatever we want with the world; it was given to us as a gift. However, I see it also as a responsibility. After all, this same verse talks about how we are in God’s likeness. Doesn’t that mean we should act like God? God rules over us, yet he uses providence to do so; that means that everything he does is for our good. He cares for us. We should reflect this care by ruling over the earth and its lesser inhabitants in such a way that benefits the planet rather than in one that harms it. While I believe Calvin College overemphasizes this idea by stressing it more than any other biblical principle, we should still keep in mind that we are caretakers and ought to reflect God in this way.