De Moor VIII: Outline of the Doctrine of Creation

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.