Rusty Reno had some sharp observations on the importance of creatio ex nihilo in a paper giving a preview of his theological commentary on Genesis. He said that it fit with the overall Scriptural polemic against idolatry, and demonstrates that idolatry is fundamentally nihilism ?Edevotion to nothing, what does not exist. It also manifests what Reno elegantly referred to as the Bible’s “ontological parsimony.” Instead of the crowded gnostic ontology, full of intervening beings and levels between the High God and this messy material world, the Bible has only God and the creation. This ontological parsimony, further, is the presupposition of Nicene Christological fullness. Who is Jesus? If we assume creatio ex nihilo , there are only two possible answers: Either He is a man pure and simple or He is incarnate God. He cannot be some “intermediate” being, for no such exists.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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