The Creation of the World and Time
Augustine takes as his starting point Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” He argues against two errors: that the world is eternal (and thus uncreated), and the Platonic notion that the world is eternally created (having no temporal beginning but always existing as a created thing). The first error—that the world is without beginning—is dismissed as impious. The very order and beauty of the cosmos testify to a Creator.
The second error is more subtle but equally flawed. Its proponents sought to protect God from the charge of a “new decree” or change of will. Augustine shows this leads to insoluble difficulties regarding the soul. If the soul is co-eternal with God, whence comes its new misery? If its happiness and misery alternate eternally, it can never be truly blessed. Therefore, the world must have a true temporal beginning, simultaneous with the beginning of time itself.
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