God's creative power and man's creativity

[joshrp]

Hi,

I wanted to ask what people think about the relationship between God’s creative power and the creative capabilities that He gives to man in His image and likeness.

How does God create and how does He give us the power to be creative for the purposes of glorifying Himself?

And how can we form ourselves in such a way that all of our creative actions, whether in families, with friends, in schools, in work, in science, art, or music, in Church, in teaching or learning, or building new creations, we are ultimately oriented to glorifying God and praising His creative power, but especially His creative love? Also, how can we apply creativity that God has given to our souls to creatively sharing His love with all whom we meet?

Thank you for any thought or ideas you share here,
God bless you all,
Joshua

 

[hicetnunc]

Hi Joshua;

A very interesting question.

Technically, only God can create; St Thomas says that the proper term for what we do is ‘make’ because we can only produce thngs from pre-existing matter and form.

God on the other hand creates ‘ex nihilo’, from nothing, with no need for any previously existing matter. God does this through the sheer exercise of his Will, which is infinite in power. So his ideas are perfect.

St Thomas also teaches the principle ‘bonum diffusivum sui’ which means that the good (or being) is self-diffusive, meaning being by nature is communicative.

Because we are made in the image of God, who is creative, we share, by participation, in this creative Nature, this diffusive goodness. Hence, St Thomas would say that humans by nature want to, need to “create” (make, produce). This is seen most perfectly in marriage, which is ‘pro-creative’ in the sex act when new life is produced from nothing. The generation of new life is the closest we come to ‘creating’!

Hope this makes sense!

Best wishes.

Steve.

 

[joshrp]

Thank you Steve,

This answer was very helpful. I had the idea in my mind of what you said, but the language was lacking, and you just articulately put into words some of what I had been thinking, yet did not know how to communicate.

God bless you,
Joshua

Hi Joshua;

A very interesting question.

Technically, only God can create; St Thomas says that the proper term for what we do is ‘make’ because we can only produce thngs from pre-existing matter and form.

God on the other hand creates ‘ex nihilo’, from nothing, with no need for any previously existing matter. God does this through the sheer exercise of his Will, which is infinite in power. So his ideas are perfect.

St Thomas also teaches the principle ‘bonum diffusivum sui’ which means that the good (or being) is self-diffusive, meaning being by nature is communicative.

Because we are made in the image of God, who is creative, we share, by participation, in this creative Nature, this diffusive goodness. Hence, St Thomas would say that humans by nature want to, need to “create” (make, produce). This is seen most perfectly in marriage, which is ‘pro-creative’ in the sex act when new life is produced from nothing. The generation of new life is the closest we come to ‘creating’!

Hope this makes sense!

Best wishes.

Steve.