CREATOR:
A Theological Interpretation of Genesis 1
By Peter J. Leithart
IVP. 340 pages. £32
ISBN 978 1 514 002 162
Peter Leithart is a prolific author, but realised that one vital area was underrepresented: the doctrine of creation, hence this volume and two proposed companion volumes on creation and man.
The aim of this volume is stated as follows: ‘Creator is largely a theological commentary on portions of Genesis 1:1-2:3 and attempts to articulate a fundamental theology explicitly and rigorously controlled by the Bible’s first chapter.’
This is a remarkable book, but some readers might feel that it does not entirely deliver what is on the tin. It is not a line-by-line look at Genesis 1. For example, it has a tantalisingly brief section on the days of creation. At times when reading this book I was thinking: ‘When will we get to Genesis 1?’
The seven densely argued chapters mainly focus on the nature of God. Leithart suggests that it is not until we have established who the Creator is that we can make sense of His creation. Leithart claims that theologians have failed to integrate creation into the doctrine of God. The author seeks to address this issue and, in the process, takes the reader down a number of fascinating theological rabbit-holes. Leithart interacts with Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato, medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas and a myriad of ancient and contemporary theologians in his search for a theology of the Creator. Leithart helpfully reflects on the language we use about God, exploring what it means for God to use anthropomorphisms to describe Himself, explaining that this is not accommodation: ‘He is never faced with a world that is not of his own making, and so does not need to adjust to it. Rather, he arranges the world to be just the sort of world he wishes to speak into.’
Leithart jokes about his adult Sunday School class, which is a venue for him to ‘millimetre my way through the text’. Leithart suggests that the words: ‘In the beginning, God created…’ contain ‘enough issues to occupy many minds and countless books’. Leithart reminds us that even to utter the word ‘God’ requires the interpreter to navigate a range of complex questions.
To catch a flavour of the rich thinking in this volume, have a taste:
‘If all Scripture is about Jesus, then it is also about the Father of the incarnate Son and the Spirit by whose anointing Jesus is the Christ. Just as we search for Jesus on every page of Scripture, so we expect to find the other divine persons on every page.’
‘Creation is the site of a fundamental, inevitable clash between the Bible and Greek metaphysics.’
‘The theologian who uses philosophy should not mix water and wine, but imitate Jesus by turning water into wine.’
‘We can, we should, start with the Bible to formulate theologies of everything.’
If you have been feeling a big sluggish during the long dark months of January and February, why not treat yourself to a session in Leithart’s theological gym? It will stretch you intellectually, but also give you a vision of the God whose simplicity and immensity lead us to worship.
