Doctrine of Creation'What do we mean by creation? How useful are the analogies of making, emanating and/or artistic work? Is it a doctrine about the beginning or origin of the world, or about its present or future existence, or what? Creation is often referred to as a "mystery" and this is due to its perhaps ambiguous nature. Christian theology defines creation in many different ways, which differ greatly in views on the same topic. John Macquarie tries to clarify the mystery by using two analogies to try to describe what creation really is. The first of these is that of 'doing'. This is best understood in conjunction with the literal understanding of creation, which can be found in the Bible, especially the Old Testament (Genesis). The analogy is that of a craftsman producing an item intended to be used. It emphasizes the superiority of God; there is difference and distance between the craftsman and his product, just as there is transcendence between God and God's creatures. It treats creation as an act of free will on the part of God, not as a process that is simply part of Natural Law, which is more of a view expressed by the second analogy. One problem with the "making" analogy is that it does not embrace the traditional view of "creatio ex nihilo" (creation from nothing); If God created the cosmos as a carpenter or blacksmith would, what did he actually create it from? The second analogy is that of “emanation”. To understand this analogy it would be best to imagine God, the creator, as the sun, with God's created creatures, as the rays emanating from it. This view emphasizes a greater affinity between the source (God) and what came from it, thus making it the opposite of the "... middle of the paper ... end") but also involved as a reader, writer or editor (immanence) . This current involvement that we can see is creatio continua. A story with a beginning and a middle usually has an end; we now come to the eschatological teachings of creation, of creatio nova, of God's future involvement. Our destiny as human beings can be seen written in the book; the completion and final destination of creation, yet to be accomplished. The threefold vision of creation is the one adopted by many scholars; it is a sensible and balanced vision of the doctrine as teaching on more than one act in time, that is, creatio origines. Bibliography: Study Package, Doctrine of Creation Barth, K: The Openness of Being Genesis 1 Bonhoeffer: Creation and Temptation Mascall, E: The Openness of BeingSt. Thomas Aquinas: Summa TheologicaBarth, K: Church Dogmatics