Augustine in no way denies the “historicity” of Genesis—it is just that he sees the Creation narrative as a literary device designed by God to condescend to our conceptual weaknesses.

It has been said, that Augustine was more intensely-interested in the doctrine of Creation, than anything else. This may very well be true—even though the great church father was passionately-consumed with many other critically-important theological issues, as well.

We usually think of Augustine in terms of his magnum opus (City of God), or his “best-seller,” (Confessions); but he wrote a wonderful book (completed in 415 AD), entitled, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, wherein he placed the bulk of his attention on the first three chapters (of Genesis), very largely focusing on God’s Creation of the universe.

Augustine felt compelled, I think, to adopt the view of “instantaneous” Creation, (my word, here), because of his understanding of the nature of Creation itself, vis.-a-vis. God Himself. What I mean is, that for Augustine, for something new or created to exist, when before it never did, this must be instantaneous, or wholly done at once. Augustine, as the great Christian philosopher/theologian, could not, I think, with integrity, envision a Creation that could exist except through a wondrous initial perfected instantaneous completion, (all these are my words). In other words, for him, (I believe), it was actually necessary that if there was to be created (contingent) being or reality at all, it must come about completed and spontaneously (from God’s hand). The “seed” of all subsequent being is in the original form/concept/being—so all propagation of “things” flows from this original Creational “spring.”

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