B.H. Carroll’s Pastoral Theology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 58, No. 2 – Spring 2016
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
By David Fergusson. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014. 157 pages. Paperback, $18.00.
Short of being a piece of constructive theology, Fergusson’s Creation is a splendid introductory piece on the doctrine of creation that is insightful and carefully situated in the literature. David Fergusson provides the reader with a thoughtful commentary on the doctrine of creation from a Christian perspective. Fergusson is careful to articulate and defend traditional notions within the doctrine of creation. By engaging in both its historical and contemporary contexts, Fergusson is able to capture the main topics in a creative manner with some constructive insights.
In chapter 1, Fergusson explores the scriptural data on creation. He is interested in both the Old Testament and the New Testament teaching. He helpfully leads the reader through three controversies still present today, namely, the days of creation in Genesis 1, and two anthropological concerns intimately related to creation. Fergusson insightfully ties these theological issues to ecological concerns, thus establishing the ground for further exploration in his later reflections. Fergusson proceeds to defend the doctrine of creation ex-nihilo as that which the Church recognized as cohering with the teaching that God is a perfect being. In this way, he wishes to highlight the Church’s teaching that God is all-powerful, transcends his creation, but is also able to be present to it. Additionally, Fergusson highlights the holistic nature of God’s creation, which he will later develop as it concerns human and ecological dependence. In chapter 3, Fergusson defines and defends the traditional view on Adam’s fall while noting other modern innovations. Chapter 4 is concerned with the doctrine of God’s providence as both a divine action of preservation and purposive guiding to an end. Fergusson addresses contemporary science and natural theology by distinguishing his approach called a theology of nature. In the final chapter, he addresses a variety of concerns related to anthropology, animals, ecology and aliens.
One notable highlight of Fergusson’s work is his ability not only to disseminate a vast set of literature, but to offer some insightful thoughts by tying together various strands of thinking found in the literature. Throughout, Fergusson develops humanity’s functional holistic embodiment. In the final chapter, Fergusson summarizes these thoughts by linking the human’s relationship to the rest of creation. He shows that humans are intimately dependent on the ecosystem, which includes the animal world. Affirming this human-ecological dependence has implications for human living, which Fergusson makes explicit. Fergusson is clear that humans are called by God to steward God’s creation. He shows that this is not only present at creation but is reflective in God’s final redemption, which includes the whole of creation. Ultimately, argues Fergusson, this should motivate not an anthropocentrism but a concern for God’s larger program and design in creation. Having said this, he is quite critical of the notion, and related notions, that humans are central and primary to God’s creation and redemptive purposes. In one place, he criticises the notion that humans are “priests of creation” (102). He argues that there is very little evidence, but if one were to reflect on the creation narrative more deeply, then it seems there is some justification for the idea that humans are of central importance. First, while the creation narrative climaxes with God’s rest, it is the creation of humanity that serves as the penultimate climax of the narrative. Second, arguably, the creation narrative has several aspects that reflect the Temple later in the Old Testament wherein Adam would serve as a priestly figure.
Related to the above, the reader may be disappointed with Fergusson’s critical tone toward natural theology as a distinct discipline, which provides the foundations for theology. He is careful to distinguish his “theology of nature” from “natural theology,” and the idea that humans are natural/ontological images of God. However, many theologians see natural theology as providing the ontological pre-conditions for Christian theology. With all that has been said, Fergusson’s Creation is an excellent primer on the doctrine of creation. It is critical, clear, carefully developed and richly situated in historical and contemporary contexts.
