Schöpfung als Geschichte

Abstract

When speaking of creation theologically, certain usually neglected aspects are to be taken into account: 1) Hebrew thinking sets out from the verb, not from the noun - therefore, the act of creating is the point of interest rather than speculating on a first cause or a subject behind it. 2) In biblical thinking this act is conceived of as a linguistic event: creation is spoken. 3) Furthermore, creation is spoken of: narrated as (hi)story, confessed in hymns and psalms. Creation is not only a singular primordial event but an ongoing process. In this respect, theology of creation goes together with process philosophy/theology. Alfred North Whitehead is an ally for theology in his questioning of substance-based philosophy, of deism and determinism, of the separation between science and humanities. But the conflict between theology of creation and process philosophy/theology emerges where the understanding of the poet of the process is at stake. Christian theology cannot leave Christ, the mediator of creation, out of the picture. Thus, theology of creation conceives of creation as (hi)story: The story of Jesus Christ, in which creator and creature is one and the same, tells us, how assurance and certainty come about within the multitude of stories, and how the α?Xη is not an abstract ruling principle, but the living middle and centre of the whole.