“Over against Greek philosophy, Augustine staunchly defended the biblical concept of creation. God’s work of creation, said Augustine, is voluntary and purposive. Creation is not of necessity (as in Greek thought), nor is the material world eternal. The universe had a beginning. There was a “time” when the universe was not. […]
According to Augustine, God created all things ex nihilo, “out of nothing.” Augustine was not violating the maxim Ex nihilo nihil fit, “Out of nothing, nothing comes.” He did not argue that once there was nothing and suddenly there was something. This notion of self-creation is irrational, and only the credulous affirm it. For something to create itself, it must exist before it existed, a manifest violation of the law of noncontradiction, as the thing must be and not be at the same time and in the same relationship. Before creating the world, the eternal God existed, so creation ex nihilo does not mean creation by nothing. […] Since God is good, all that he originally created was good.”
R.C. Sproul – The Consequence of Ideas. p61-62
Yes, good. Good and very good.
And yet … there in the garden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Perhaps the goodness of the created garden was not only in the goodness after six days, but also in the good hope of the seventh day, which looks forward to a greater, heavenly rest.
thanks roj. good point.
blocher has some good stuff in “in the beginning” along those lines… incidentally he quotes augustine the whole way through the book.
haha – some people have landing here from google australia searching for “augustine where do we come from”… good luck with your exam!!!
;)