Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

Augustine suggested a somewhat different view. He strongly defended the doctrine of
creatio ex nihilo, but distinguished two moments of creation: the production of matter
and spirits out of nothing, and the organization of the material universe. He found it
difficult to say what kind of days the days of Genesis were, but was evidently inclined
to think that God created all things in a moment of time, and that the thought of days was
simply introduced to aid the finite intelligence. The Scholastics debated a great deal
about the possibility of eternal creation; some, such as, Alexander of Hales,
Bonaventura, Albertus Magnus, Henry of Ghent, and the great majority of the
Scholastics denying this; and others, such as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Durandus,
Biel, and others affirming it. Yet the doctrine of creation with or in time carried the day.
Erigena and Eckhart were exceptional in teaching that the world originated by
emanation. Seemingly the days of creation were regarded as ordinary days, though
Anselm suggested that it might be necessary to conceive of them as different from our
present days. The Reformers held firmly to the doctrine of creation out of nothing by a
free act of God in or with time, and regarded the days of creation as six literal days. This
view is also generally maintained in the Post-Reformation literature of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, though a few theologians (as Maresius) occasionally speak of
continuous creation. In the eighteenth century, however, under the dominating influence
of Pantheism and Materialism, science launched an attack on the Church’s doctrine of
creation. It substituted the idea of evolution or development for that of absolute
origination by a divine fiat. The world was often represented as a necessary
manifestation of the Absolute. Its origin was pushed back thousands and even millions
of years into an unknown past. And soon theologians were engaged in various attempts
to harmonize the doctrine of creation with the teachings of science and philosophy.
Some suggested that the first chapters of Genesis should be interpreted allegorically or
mythically; others, that a long period elapsed between the primary creation of Gen. 1:1,2
and the secondary creation of the following verses; and still others, that the days of
creation were in fact long periods of time.
B. SCRIPTURAL PROOF FOR THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION
The Scriptural proof for the doctrine of creation is not found in a single and limited
portion of the Bible, but is found in every part of the Word of God. It does not consist of
a few scattered passages of doubtful interpretation, but of a large number of clear and
unequivocal statements, which speak of the creation of the world as a historical fact. We
have first of all the extended narrative of creation found in the first two chapters of
Genesis, which will be discussed in detail when the creation of the material universe is
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