This introductory chapter sets out a rationale for approaching the theology of creation in the early church comprehensively, as a “kaleidoscope” of various themes and emphases. It also identifies from the outset certain conditions under which that theology developed: e.g. the urge to imitate the Bible’s deep insinuation of creation and redemption; the strongly christological and soteriological focus of creation doctrine; the tempered appropriation of pagan natural philosophy; and the devotion to a thoroughly “moral” and “theological” cosmology that would support Christian ethics and the...

This introductory chapter sets out a rationale for approaching the theology of creation in the early church comprehensively, as a “kaleidoscope” of various themes and emphases. It also identifies from the outset certain conditions under which that theology developed: e.g. the urge to imitate the Bible’s deep insinuation of creation and redemption; the strongly christological and soteriological focus of creation doctrine; the tempered appropriation of pagan natural philosophy; and the devotion to a thoroughly “moral” and “theological” cosmology that would support Christian ethics and the coherence of the Christian confession. This introduction also outlines the principal themes of the individual chapters, and provides background to the leitmotif of the “drama of the divine economy”.