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The Idea of Creation Order in Western Thought

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Document: Andree Troost, “The Idea of Creation Order in Western Thought” in Theological Forum, Vol. XXI, No. 4, December 1993.

Excerpt: The idea of a divine creation order, which until recently has been very popular in Calvinist thinking, has a long history. This idea of a divine creation order has since the middle of this century receded more and more to the background in orthodox Christian theology. Exceptions are a small number of Lutheran theologians in Germany and some Roman Catholic ethicists. In our reflection on this development it is well to consider the origin of the idea and what chief changes have come about in its history. This will give us an opportunity to explain why so much misuse could be made of this idea and why there is such an antipathy to it in our time, not only because of its misuse but also because of the spirit of our time. We shall sketch very briefly the idea of creation order in the pre-Christian pagan thought, in the early Christian era and in Protestant Christian thought.

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