By ARTHUR HIPPLER
(Editor’s Note: Arthur Hippler is chairman of the religion department and teaches religion in the Upper School at Providence Academy, Plymouth, Minn. See the November 23, 2017 and January 4, 2018 issues of The Wanderer for more by Dr. Hippler on this topic.)
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Try this sometime — when you are with a group of teenagers in a Catholic school or CCD, ask them what God created that He declared “very good.” Unless they are unusually well formed, they will tell you “man.” Since man is the crowning work of creation, “made to the image and likeness of God,” it logically follows for them that man is “very good.” The text of course contradicts this belief.
Indeed, after declaring each of His works “good,” it is of man that we first hear the words “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone’” (2:18). This is not a minor mistake. It brings to light the common opinion among our young people that God is only related to human beings, and not to the universe as a whole.
After declaring each of His works “good,” we read at the end of the first chapter of Genesis, “God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good.” It is not man, but creation as a whole that is “very good.”
As St. Augustine explains, “individually they were only good, but all taken together they were both good and very good.” The particular good which each has is surpassed by the good of order, by which all contribute to the good of the universe. As Augustine illustrates, “All beautiful bodies also express this; for a body which consists of members, all of which are beautiful, is by far more beautiful than the several members individually are by whose well-ordered union the whole is completed” (Confessions 13.28).
It is true that man enjoys a primacy over the visible creation because he is made to the image and likeness of God through his powers of mind and will. That is why man is commanded to “subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth” (1:28). But man alone cannot express the infinite goodness of his Creator. Indeed, no creature can. But the order of the whole universe better expresses the goodness of God than any particular creature, no matter how spiritual.
As St. Thomas explains, “the distinction and multitude of things come from the intention of the first agent, who is God. For He brought things into being in order that His goodness might be communicated to creatures, and be represented by them; and because His goodness could not be adequately represented by one creature alone, He produced many and diverse creatures, that what was wanting to one in the representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another. For goodness, which in God is simple and uniform, in creatures is manifold and divided and hence the whole universe together participates in the divine goodness more perfectly, and represents it better than any single creature whatever” (STh Ia 47.1). Hence, God cares for the good of the whole, not just the human race.
Here is a second question for your teenagers — ask them if they can define divine Providence. Again, unless they are an unusual group of Catholic teens, they won’t remember it, even if they were taught the definition at some point. At best, you will get that “God has a plan for us,” which is not wrong, but deficient. For them, God’s activity is limited to mankind. That divine Providence extends to animals, plants, elements, physical forces, and so on might be admitted, but is rarely internalized. Their image of God is largely deistic, a God who creates but then seems to leave the universe to its laws. (It is complemented by their all-too-human image of Jesus, who seems more friend or “big brother” than Lord.) Perhaps this reflects their intellectual formation — materialistic science classes with no God, combined with “therapeutic” religion classes that emphasize (or overemphasize) God’s love and compassion.
This formation provides a formidable obstacle to the text of Genesis. While Genesis 2 emphasizes man’s unique relationship with God, the narrative builds on the foundation of Genesis 1, which shows a loving God “providing” and caring for all His creatures, declaring each one “good” and the whole “very good.” When it is declared that “it is not good for man to be alone,” that is because even in his earthly life, man is meant to live in community with others. Ultimately, he is meant to live in communion with the Church founded by Christ Jesus.
Once more, God looks to the good of the whole. For the heavenly city is not merely a city of men, but of angels united to God in love. And, as we read in the Book of Revelation, there is a “new heaven and a new earth” (21:1). The whole universe is renewed at the end of time (cf. City of God, 20.16); even the physical world will bask in the glory of God.
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