Chapter VIII treats of the CREATION,
I. To the treatment of which our AUTHOR approaches by a suitable Transition, § 1.
II. It is treated,
A. With respect to the Term, and its,
א. Etymology,
ב. Synonymy, to which also pertains the language of doing, עָשָׂה, ποιεῖν, γίνεσθαι, against the Socinians, § 2.
ג. Homonymy, whereby it is attributed,
α. To men,
β. To God, and thus it denotes,
a. His Providence;
b. And the Special demonstration of that in Unaccustomed Works;
c. The Renovation of the World and of the Elect;
d. The first Making of the World: in which context it is able to be called Bringing Forth by Command, and likewise Bringing Forth out of Nothing; or a Most Powerful Bringing Forth of a New thing, § 3.
B. With respect to the Thing; its,
א. Existence,
α. Is Proven out of Sacred Scripture and Nature;
β. With Objections loosened, § 4.
ב. A Definition is propounded, § 5, in which is found,
α. The Efficient Cause,
a. In general, God: as opposed to:
a. False gods,
b. The concourse of Atoms,
c. The nature of things, § 6.
b. In particular,
a. God Alone; with all Instruments excluded: against,
1. The Arians, especially the Dulians.
2. The Simonians, the Gnostics, etc.
3. Today’s Anti-Trinitarians, § 7.
It is asked, Whether the Power to Create is Communicable? It is denied against the Scholastics, Socinians, and Remonstrants, § 8, the prior part.
A Corollary: Hence also the Operation of Angels through sheer Will fails, § 8, the posterior part.
b. The Triune God: Economically, the Father, § 9.
β. The Formal Cause:
a. Κατ᾽ ἄρσιν, negatively: not,
a. Generation:
b. Transfusion of the Perfections of God, against the Manicheans, Fanatics, etc.
c. Wearying Labor:
b. Κατὰ θέσιν, affirmatively, the Most Powerful Command of Will, § 10.
Corollaries:
a. No Changed was made in God by Creation, § 11.
b. Creation is a Perfectly Free Act, against some modern Philosophers, § 12.
γ. The Material, or rather the Terminus from which, is; in Creation, namely,
a. The First; pure Nothingness: which
a. Is proven;
b. Is defended against Ancient Philosophers and Heretics, § 13.
b. The Second; Matter Ill-suited, or relative Nothingness: which
a. Is proven;
b. Is defended against the cavils of some, § 14.
δ. Adjuncts of Creation, of which sort are:
a. The Aptness of the Work, with respect to
a. The things themselves; whence to the individual Days is added an Approbation of the work; with the exception of the second Day; an account of which matter is rendered, § 15, the prior part.
The question concerning the Greater Possible Perfection of the world is exploded, § 15, the posterior part.
b. The Order of things, § 16.
c. The End,
1. Ultimate, the Glory of God:
2. Subordinate, Man, which
§. Is proven;
§§. Is defended against the cavils of Descartes and his followers, § 17.
A caution concerning the investigation of Particular Ends is set forth, § 18.
b. The time, when the Creation happened: which is
a. In general, the Beginning of Time, § 19, the prior part.
It is asked, Whether it were possible,
1. For the world to be created more swiftly? Affirmed.
2. For the world to be created from eternity? Denied, § 19, the posterior part.
b. In particular, with respect to:
1. The Year; if to be defined precisely, uncertain; generally about the year 4000 before Christ, § 20.
2. The Season of the Year;
Whether Vernal,
Or Autumnal?
The latter is proven; the former, rejected, § 21.
3. The Day:
§. Generally:
̸ . Night preceded, § 22.
̸ ̸. Not One Moment, nor Six Moments; but Six Days: which
̅ . Is proven;
̲̅ . And Objections are resolved, § 23.
§§. More specifically: God created,
̸. On the First Day,
̅ . Heaven and Earth, as the first Work of the first Day: where, that the Highest Heaven is a Place, Corporeal, Created, and Superior to the rest,
†. Is proven;
††. Is defended against the Ubiquitarians, § 24, the prior part.
̲̅ . Light; into the nature of which inquiry is made, § 24, the posterior part.
̸ ̸. On the Second Day, the Expanse; distinguishing the Lower Waters from the Upper; which latter are proven to be Clouds, against the Ancients, Scholastics, and Lutherans, § 25.
̸ ̸ ̸. On the Third Day,
̅ . The separation of the Waters from the Dry Ground, with the latter immovably established upon the former, § 26, the prior part.
̲̅ . The Ornamentation of the Land with Grasses, Herbs, and Trees, § 26, the posterior part.
̸ ̸ ̸ ̸. On the Fourth Day, the Heavenly Luminaries; which,
̅ . With respect to Nature, are not Animate, against the Jews, Origenists, etc.;
̲̅ . Furnish various uses, but do not indicate Free and Contingent Future things; whence Judicial Astrology,
†. Is refuted;
††. Objections in its favor are resolved, § 27.
̸ ̸ ̸ ̸ ̸. On the Fifth Day, the Fish out of the Waters, § 28.
Where inquiry is made concerning the Phœnix.
̸ ̸ ̸ ̸ ̸ ̸. On the Sixth Day,
̅ . Brute Animals;
̲̅ . Man, concerning whose Creation there shall be a distinct treatment below in Chapter XIII.
It is asked;
†. Whether the Use of Speech was at that time granted to Animals ? Denied.
††. Whether Animals and Men were living on the Moon, as they were on Earth? Denied, § 29.
̸ ̸ ̸ ̸ ̸ ̸ ̸. On the Seventh Day, God,
̅ . Rested: which Rest is explained, § 30, the prior part.
̲̅ . This Rest was followed by God’s,
†. Blessing of it,
††. Hallowing of it, § 30, the posterior part.
ε. Effects of Creation: the World; of which are given:
a. The Name, § 31, the prior part.
b. A Definition, § 31, the posterior part.
c. The Attributes: which are,
a. First, § 32, the prior part.
b. Last, § 32, the posterior part.
c. One: against the Worlds and Between-worlds of the Epicureans, § 33.
d. Finite: which,
1. Is proven;
2. Is defended against the Cartesians, § 34.
A Corollary: God is able to create more Worlds: which,
§. Is proven,
§§. Is defended against the Cartesians, § 35.
e. One Intelligent Soul is not applicable to the world: which,
1. Is asserted;
2. The Objections of Ancient and More Recent Philosophers are resolved, § 36.