Creation "Ex Nihilo" and Modern Theology

While confessing belief in God ‘the maker of heaven and earth’ launches the ancient creeds of the Christian church, the classical concept of creation ex nihilo has been neglected recently. It is thought by many to have little to say about our current needs and circumstances. In these 12 essays, leading scholars from around the world take a fresh look at the concept of creation ‘ex nihilo.’ The contributors provide a thorough historiography of the concept, paying particular attention to the views of Aquinas, Dante, Luther, Merleau–Ponty, and Bulgakov. They examine the philosophical and theological implications of ‘ex nihilo’ and its place in modern theology. Delving into topics as varied as prayer, providence, beauty, divine presence, our relation to other creatures, freedom, and grace, this book highlights the ways in which this ancient concept remains vital for the health of modern theology.

Introduction (Janet Martin Soskice) 1. Creatio Ex Nihilo Recovered (David B. Burrell) 2. Creation in Early Christian Polemical Literature: Irenaeus against the Gnostics and Athanasius against the Arians (Paul Gavrilyuk) 3. Nothing Is Not One: Revisiting the ex nihilo (Virginia Burns) 4. Thomas Aquinas’s Understanding of Prayer in the Light of the Doctrine of Creatio Ex Nihilo (Rudi te Velde) 5. Contemplation, Charity and Creation ex nihilo in Dante’s Commedia (Vittorio Montemaggi) 6. Luther’s Topology: Creatio Ex Nihilo and the Cultivation of the Concept of Place in Martin Luther’s theology (Jon Mackenzie) 7. The Wonder of Immanence: Merleau–Ponty and the Problem of Creation (Andreas Nordlander) 8. Creatio ex nihilo and the Divine Ideas in Aquinas: How fair is Bulgakov’s critique? (John Hughes) 9. Creation Ex Nihilo as Mixed Metaphor (Kathryn Tanner) 10. “Love is also a lover of life”: creation ex nihilo and creaturely goodness (John Webster) 11. Creation and the Glory of Creatures (Janet Martin Soskice) Index

Janet Soskice is Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Cambridge, UK. Within the philosophy of religion, she specializes in religious language and naming God. She is author of Sisters of Sinai (2009) and The Kindness of God (2008) and co–editor of Creation and the God of Abraham (2010).