Theology beacon dictionary of theology

One must believe in God or endow nature and matter with the properties which he affirms of God. A theist believes that God created the uni­verse. The naturalist believes that matter ac­counts for the universe. The Bible is theistic. It begins with God as Creator, Sustainer, and Judge.

The Hebrew belief is that by fiat creation the universe came into being, without the need of antecedent material (Heb. 11:3). This took six days (Exod. 20:11). These days are variously in­terpreted as ages, or periods, or 24-hour days. Certainly, the method of the development was used in describing the creation: first, the earth before the light, the light before the firmament, and the firmament before the dry land. Also, there was the order of beings: plants, fish and birds, cattle and man. Each event was described as a period. A succession of events involves a succession of periods. The period assigned to each individual act is a day. The idea of time elapsing between the completion of one act and the undertaking of another act is present.

Scripture uses the terminology known to man in referring to the natural creation. No other ter­minology could have been understood; yet it does not teach that the world was flat, that the heavens stood on pillars, or that the sun rose and set. These figures of speech are still used.

See creation, creationism, days of creation,

matter (materialism), catastrophism, evolution, flood.

For Further Reading: Wiley, CT, 1:441-68; Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 126-40.

Harold J. Ockenga COUNCILS. See church councils.

COUNSELING. See pastoral counseling, rogerian counseling.

COUNTERACTION. This refers to an explanation of the victorious Christian life preferred by those of a Keswickian persuasion. Based on the belief that inbred sin is a force for evil inherent in hu­man nature, it describes victory in terms of the Holy Spirit's counteractive power in the life of the person abiding in Christ, rendering sin at best inoperative, not extinguished.

The view is an alternative to the other view commonly held by some with a Calvinistic orien­tation that the motions of inbred sin can only be "suppressed" in the Christian. As descriptions of the victorious life, both positions deny the posi-bility of a radical or actual death, destruction, cleansing, or freeing from inbred sin in this life.

Scriptures most frequently used to teach this aspect of the victorious Christian life are: Rom. 8:2; 5:17; Phil. 4:13; Gal. 5:16ff. The "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" makes free from "the law of sin and death." To make free is interpreted to mean "overcomes." "The law of sin is seen to be relentlessly working in our members and is counteracted by the law of the Spirit which per­sistently operates to abrogate its power over the will" (Barabas). The victory is by walking in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit—by taking sides with the Spirit.

Wesleyan theology recognizes counteraction as the mode of victorious living for the Christian prior to entire sanctification. The counteraction of the impulses of the inborn sinful tendency and other desires of human nature is by the in­dwelling Holy Spirit as the believer relies upon Him. Following the point of entire sanctification (1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Cor. 7:1) in one's spiritual pil­grimage, the counteracting action of the Holy Spirit is understood to be directed toward those continuing impulses which derive from human nature rather than the carnal nature.

Wesleyan theology can accept counteraction as a lifelong phenomenon of Christian experience as it applies to the impulses of the human nature, but affirms the teaching of Scripture that the pol­lution of inbred sin may be entirely cleansed (1 John 1:7), thus freeing from the contaminating influence of this sinful disposition. The con­sequence is a state affected and maintained by the fullness of the Holy Spirit, not so much by counteraction as by a purging displacement.

See eradication, cleansing, heart purity, holi­ness.

Basically there are two covenants: (1) a cov­enant of works between God and Adam as the representative of God and mankind in which God promised eternal life on condition of obe­

The concept of the covenant developed origi­nally in Zwingli (that is, he is the first during the Reformation) and those who succeeded him. As early as 1527 the idea of the covenant was used in biblical theology in Zurich by Oecolampadius (1482-1531), the German Protestant Reformer.

The modern context of covenant theology can be traced to the Civil War period in Great Britain, 1640-50. The Scottish church had succeeded in breaking away from the Roman Catholic church in 1560 and moved in the direction of a Presby­terian form of church government. The move­ment toward Presbyterianism separated Scotland ecclesiastically from England, for under King James I and his successor, Charles, the Church of England remained staunchly Episcopal in form of government.

When an effort was made by the Anglicans to bring Scotland into conformity by preparing a prayer book for Scotland, a book even more Ro­man Catholic in some ways than the English Prayer Book, Scottish nationalism and Presby­terianism were permanently welded into a united front, reflected in the Covenant of 1638. Practically all of Scotland signed the Covenant. The Scottish General Assembly voted for the ab­olition of episcopacy as well as the Prayer Book, and in 1639 war between England and Scotland' broke out. The war between the two countries developed into a Civil War by 1642—the king and Anglicanism on one side, and Parliament and Puritanism (both Presbyterians and Inde­pendents) on the other.

To strengthen its position, Parliament tried to enlist the support of the Scots by having the Westminster Assembly draw up the Solemn League and Covenant in 1643. This declares that they have entered into a "mutual and solemn league and covenant" for the extirpation of popery, prelacy [that is, church government by archbishops, bishops, their chancellors and com­missaries, deans, archdeacons, and all other ec­clesiastical officers depending on that hierarchy], superstition, heresy, schism, profaneness, and whatsoever shall be found to be contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness."

Since many of the clergy who signed the docu­ment were Puritans, covenant theology has since been most often associated with Puritan-Reformed theology. Its fullest expression was the theology of Johannes Cocceius (1603-1669), Ger­man Calvinist professor of theology at Franeker and Leiden, the Netherlands, who held that God and man entered into a covenant of works before the fall of Adam, followed by a covenant of grace which Christ fulfilled. The specific theological emphases are reflective of Puritanism, the de­scription of sin as man's own act and responsibil­ity, and a strict observance of the Sabbath.

See new covenant, covenanters, federal the­ology.

For Further Reading: Latourette, A History of Chris-
tianity, 814; Moorman, A History of the Church in En-
gland, 221-42; Walker, A History of the Christian Church,
402-14. John A. Knight

COVENANTERS. Covenanters were Scottish Presbyterians who risked their lives and fortunes upon the subscription of a National Covenant in Greyfriars churchyard, Edinburgh, in February, 1638. At issue was the attempt of Charles I of England, inspired by Archbishop William Laud, to impose uniformity of worship and church government upon the Scots. Laud was already suspect in Calvinistic Scotland for his Arminian sympathies. The prescription of a prayer book and liturgy, essentially that of the Church of En­gland, added the further suspicion of "prelacy."

In the National Covenant the Scots avowed their loyalty to the king. But they also pledged themselves to resist any religious innovation not first approved by the free assemblies of the Scot­tish church. A period of government persecution ensued in which many Covenanters were taken prisoner and even executed. The zeal of the Cov­enanters, however, triumphed in the Bishop's Wars of 1639 and 1640 and doubtless con­tributed to the English Civil War. See new covenant, covenant theology For Further Reading: Douglas, Light in the North: The Story of the Scottish Covenanters. daniel N. berg

The 10th commandment word used in Deut. 5:21 is avah, "to desire for oneself," while in Exod. 20:17 it is chamad, "to desire." Paul uses epithumed, "to fix the mind on," as the Greek equivalent for the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet." This sin he sees as being so deeply rooted in fallen human nature that it be-

The most frequent word for covetousness is pleonexia, "the wish to have more." The covetous spirit is never satisfied. Even more graphic is Paul in 1 Tim. 6:10 when, describing those who covet riches, he aptly uses the word oregomai, "to ex­tend the arms." Here is the grasping and reaching (often overreaching) of greed.

Covetousness is always listed in the Bible among the more heinous sins (Mark 7:22; Rom. 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:10; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5). This sin becomes avarice and miserliness when it be­comes fixated on money. It then may prompt not only hoarding but stealing, as in the case of Achan (Josh. 7:21). Or it may prompt murder, as in the case of Ahab and Naboth (1 Kings 21).

Covetousness is no respecter of classes; it in­fects the poor as well as the rich. And it takes many forms: It may be lust for position and power as well as for possessions. It is a deceitful sin, as it may masquerade as prudence, and hide in the heart, destroying the soul, behind a facade of respectability, even religion.

Yet not all desire to possess is covetousness. Certain basic, natural desires belong to our com­mon humanity. These desires become inordinate —and soon sinful—when they are centered in self, when they are imperious and feverish, and when they tend to push aside the obstacles of divine law and the rights of others.

Only entire sanctification is the adequate cure for the disease of covetousness. In the complete consecration to God which this experience re­quires, and in its cleansing of the heart and enthronement of love, all desires become chastened, disciplined, and subject to the will of God. Sanctified Christians will remain so only as long as they keep their desires "on the altar" and continually submitted to the Holy Spirit for His evaluation and direction. No matter what the na­ture of a desire is, when it is allowed to become feverish and get out of hand until we suppose we can no longer be happy without its satisfaction, we have become reinfected with the sin of cov­etousness. No wonder Jesus said, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness" (Luke 12:15). No peril is more subtle or more treacherous for the Christian.

See SEVEN DEADLY SINS, CARNALITY, SIN, CON­TENTMENT.

For Further Reading: GMS, 270 ff, 293-95; Vine, ED, 1:252 ff; Denny, Tables of Stone for Modern Living,

107-20. Richard S. Taylor
CREATION. Among the great affirmations of the Christian faith is the declaration that "God the Father Almighty" is "maker of heaven and earth."

Creation deals with origins—the origin of matter, energy, stars, planets, plants, animals, man, and all things that existed or exist. Creation may be defined as the free act of God by which He brought into existence the universe and all that it contains, without the use of preexistent materials—creatio ex nihilo.

As created, the world has a distinct and sepa­rate existence. The world should not be regarded as part of God or as God himself (pantheism). Yet the world is absolutely dependent on God and must be upheld from moment to moment by His almighty power.

In Ephesians Paul explicitly declares that God "created all things" (3:9). He also refers to general creation when he writes: "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness'" (2 Cor. 4:6, rsv). Other Pauline declarations which affirm a God-centered view of creation are Rom. 4:17; 11:36; and 1 Cor. 11:12.

Christ, as the Word, assumes the leadership in creation in the NT. John's Gospel presents the es­sence of NT teachings: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (1:3). Paul joins John with this grand affirmation: "For in him all things were created . . . all things were created through him and for him" (Col. 1:16, rsv). Paul also states that Christ's role in creation includes sustaining it as well as creating it, for "in him all things hold together" (v. 17, rsv). Christ is Lord and Creator (cf. Heb. 1:1-3).

The Time of Creation. In speaking of the time of



140

CREATIONISM—CREDENTIALS OF SCRIPTURE


creation the Bible employs a very simple state­ment: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). Here is the beginning of all temporal things, and even of time itself. "The world was created with time rather than in time. Back of the beginning mentioned in Gen. 1:1 lies a beginningless eternity" (L. Berkhof, Manual, 96).

The Manner of Creation. First it must be stressed that creation was by the simple command or word (fiat) of God. God said, "Let there be . . . and there was" (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, et al.).

The Hebrew word "create" (bara) is used only a limited number of times (55) in Scripture. The overwhelming meaning attached to the word is to create. The word always refers to God as Sub­ject. This is particularly true of the specific form used in Gen. 1:1, 21, 27, and 5:1-2.

The first use is where God created out of noth­ing (Gen. 1:1); the second use is the point at which God created conscious life (v. 21); and the third point is the climax of God creating man (v. 27).

The Scriptures do not attempt to describe in detail the "how" of creation. Multiple mysteries surround the history of the earth and the human race. But, as Harold Kuhn observes: "At the core of the doctrine of creation stands the mighty as­sertion that the universe is the product of the re­lease of creative energies of an infinitely free and completely holy God, utterly self-sufficient in His being and infinite in His ability to perform that which His heart of love dictates" (in The Liv­ing God, ed. Erickson, 484). And finally, all cre­ation moves to a redemptive climax in Jesus Christ.

See creationism, evolution, naturalism, the­istic evolution, cosmology, days of creation.

For Further Reading: Berkhof, Manual of Christian Doctrine, 96; Wiley, CT, 1:441-72; Erickson, ed., The Liv­ing God: Readings in Christian Theology, 484.

Donald S. Metz

CREATIONISM. Creationism carries two mean­ings in current thought. One use of the term re­fers to scientific creationism—the assumption of an initial special creation out of nothing. The sec­ond use of creationism relates to the origin of the human soul—theological creationism.

Scientific creationism represents the belief in an eternal Creator who created all things ex nihilo. This belief also involves catastrophic interven­tion in the normal processes of nature on at least one occasion in history subsequent to the prime­val creation. Opposed to scientific creationism stands scientific evolution, the idea of the uniform operation of all natural laws and processes from the beginning. This theory, called evolutionary uniformitarianism, assumes the natural devel­opment of all things due to the innate processes and qualities of eternal matter.

Theological creationism maintains that God di­rectly creates each human soul, while the body is propagated by the parents. Wiley states that "Creationism as a theory seems to be closely con­nected with the attempts to emphasize the im­portance of the individual as over against an emphasis upon racial continuity and solidarity" (CT, 2:27). According to creationism, the soul is created pure and free from sin. The soul, how­ever, becomes sinful by its essential relationship to the complex of sin which burdens every mem­ber of the human race.

Those who support creationism base their bib­lical support on Eccles. 12:7; Isa. 42:5; Zech. 12:1; Heb. 12:9; and Num. 16:22. The claim is also made that creationism makes the sinlessness of Christ more natural and logical. In the history of the church the theory of theological creationism has been adopted or favored by the schoolmen of the Middle Ages, by the Roman Catholic church, and by the Reformed church. Individuals who supported this position are Jerome, Pela-gius, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret, Ambrose, Hilarius, and Hieronymus.

Opposed to creationism is the doctrine of tra-ducianism, which holds that the soul of each in­dividual is propagated along with the body by natural generation.

See creation, days of creation, soul, traduc-ianism.

Also, there is the Bible's universal and contem­porary appeal. Although a book of antiquity, it is never antiquated. It surpasses in interest and value "all the ancient and modern classics com­bined" (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 1:572). This phenomenon confirms in its own way the Bible's unique character.

Second, the Bible's phenomenal record of translation into other languages is unparalleled. The Bible's first translation was the Septuagint, two centuries or more before Christ. Since that time, the Bible has been translated into virtually every written language of modern times (1,685 translations as of 1980), as well as pioneering ef­forts to reduce many unwritten languages to writing.

Third, the Bible's historical influence justifies its claim to divine origin. No other book has at­tracted so much attention, been so minutely studied, had so much written about it, been so keenly assailed, inspired so many noble thoughts and deeds, or transformed so many lives. The magnitude of the Bible's influence is incalculable. "To tell all the Bible has been or done for the world would be to rewrite in large part the his­tory of modern civilization" (ISBE, 1:468).

Finally, archaeology continues to unearth an­cient artifacts which confirm or support the Bi­ble's historical credibility. The 1975 discovery of the Ebla Tablets in Syria is a recent example.

See miracles, bible.