Models of Divine Creation

My new theology text book has a list of different ways that God's role as 'creator' has traditionally been envisioned. It talks of Divine Emanation Theory, wherein creation is like a light that emanates from God's glory. It discusses Divine Artistry Theory, wherein creation is like an art work God is working on. It talks of the Divine Clockmaker Theory, where God acts as designer or builder.

These are all good models of divine activity, and they have their place, but I thought some of the more interesting and relevant models were left out. For instance, the Jews have a tradition wherein God creates the universe by withdrawing Himself. It is like God makes room for the universe to grow by giving it as much space as possible. God kind of 'shrinks down' and gives the universe room to grow.

There is the model of God acting in and through Himself. Think of a mother and a womb. I've argued elsewhere that this is an important and powerful model that preserves a more feminine and maternal flavor while making sense of God as primary of the universe yet intimately connected to it.

My own quest is to try to take these last two models and find a way to meld them with another, that of Divine Incarnation Theory. In this model, God creates by 'pouring Himself into' the universe. The whole cosmic story is then a story of God becoming incarnate into the world. In fact, I think that this model flows naturally from belief in Jesus' incarnation and modern understandings of physics and biology. We are a part of the whole story of creation, the entire 'flow' of the universe. If every person is a part of that cosmic narrative, then so is Jesus. Thus the story of the universe is the story of God becoming incarnate.

Such a model of God 'pouring Himself into' the universe makes sense of the size and grandeur of creation, as well as the lengths of time involved. It also incorporates insights from Divine Withdrawal Theory, since a finite universe receiving an infinite God will be ever-growing. There would be a never-ending evolutionary process as the physical responds to the in-pouring of the Ultimate Spirit.

Yet, I think there must be some sense in which this 'other' into which God pours Himself is also somehow divine. Not as another god alongside God, but as a part of the divine trinity. In this sense, the Trinity becomes vital since it allows us to understand how God is 'pouring Himself into' creation, and yet all things are created within and by God. The physical universe is within God's very being, and God is ever-expanding to make room for this growing creation. And yet, that entire creation is the result of Spiritual and The Infinite becoming incarnate in the physical and finite.

These are just some rough ideas, but hopefully you can see what I'm driving at. At the very least, it becomes clear there are many models that help us understand how God acts as Creator. Of course none are perfect and all only give a part of the truth. That is just the result of the finite mind contemplating eternity. More on all of this later.