Peter Leithart, who serves as the President of Theopolis Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, and has authored multiple books, presents readers with a fascinating theological interpretation of Genesis’s opening chapter.

The author introduces the theme of the book in the preface, explaining that he wrote it after realizing that he had never explored the topic of creation in any of his previous works. Noting the controversy that swirls around Genesis 1, Leithart states that his intention is to write “a book of theology, not apologetics” (p. x). He views this book as the initial installment of a trilogy, focusing primarily on “the doctrine of God the Creator” (p. x), while a study of created reality and anthropology awaits the other installments.

This book is divided into seven chapters. The first four deal with theology proper, specifically classical theism, anthropomorphic language, divine simplicity, and the relationship between Greek and biblical thought regarding the doctrine of God. The remaining three chapters provide a theological reading of Genesis 1.

In chapter 1, Leithart argues against the doctrine of divine accommodation, writing that it “is theologically insupportable” (p. 19). His biggest grievance with accommodation is that it “suggests God does not take full responsibility for his own speech” (p. 19). In his argument, Leithart maintains that although God makes use of created things to reveal himself, this does not align with the traditional understanding of accommodation. Rather, it is “a second condescension” (p. 21) which sees creation as insufficient to speak of God and thus approaching Gnosticism. In chapter 2, he pushes against classical-theistic ways of speaking about God. He accomplishes this by exploring the connection between Greek philosophy and Greek theology in Plato. He concludes by stating, “Creation is the site of a fundamental, inevitable clash between the Bible and Greek metaphysics” (p. 66). In chapter 3, he addresses his concerns with Thomas Aquinas’s view of divine simplicity. Leithart argues that there are two competing aspects in Thomas’s Summa: “a theology of nature and reason” and “a trinitarian theology of the gospel,” and, as such, Thomas’s “theological instincts are inadequately evangelized” (p. 113). Chapter 4 progresses with an exploration of Thomas’s interpretation of simplicity and its possible clash with the Christian doctrine of creation, with the inclusion of the viewpoints of Russian Orthodox theologian Sergius Bulgakov. Here, Leithart pushes against the contrary-to-fact arguments assumed by classical theism, namely, that we can conceive of God without thinking of him as the creator. Rather, for Leithart, “all theology rooted in the Bible must be carried out under the rubric, given creation” (p. 164), rather than God divorced or abstracted from his role as creator.

Chapters 5–7 serve as a transition from the theological prolegomena covered in the first four chapters, focusing instead on a thorough analysis of the text of Genesis 1. The author argues that “creation is an act of self-effacing, self-giving love” (p. 183); it arises from “the excess of [God’s] self-gift” (p. 184). Thus, the act of creation is thoroughly Trinitarian. Building on this discussion, Leithart argues for a “revised” notion of simplicity that affirms that “God has no physical parts” and has distinct, yet “perfectly harmonious” attributes. In simpler terms, just as creation is seen as a Trinitarian act, a biblically faithful simplicity is not a mere simplicity but rather a “consistently trinitarian” one (p. 208). Chapter 6 makes the argument that God as creator is the ground for the metaphysics of Genesis 1. Chapter 7 focuses on the temporality of creation. Here, Leithart argues that we can affirm “God’s temporal involvement in time without allowing him to dissipate into time” (p. 260). God’s interaction with the temporal aspect of creation, where he responds to beings within time, mirrors the relationships between the three persons of the Trinity.

Creator is one of those books that will prove vexing and even troublesome to some and encouraging and inspiring to others. This is because Leithart is not afraid to challenge assumed theological propositions about God. Classical theists may find much of this book disagreeable as Leithart challenges traditional notions of divine accommodation, simplicity, and, to a lesser extent, divine atemporality. It will appear, with his frequent and favorable citations of Robert Jenson, that Leithart has taken a (post) Barthian turn. Although Leithart acknowledges simplicity to some extent, as seen in his revised understanding of the Trinity, and although he believes God interacts with temporal beings, he does not fully merge God with time like process theology does. However, some readers may still find his explanations insufficient.

Perhaps, then, Leithart has made a (post) Barthian turn, but that doesn’t seem to be central to his concern. Commendably, his overall point is that we need to start where the Bible starts, God the Creator, and not too hastily try to move beyond or behind this fundamental starting point. Hence, for those who adhere to classical theism, Leithart’s challenges offer a valuable lesson: one must prioritize God’s self-revelation in Scripture and ensure that it is given precedence over fanciful speculation or any attempts to go beyond the teachings of the Bible. Moreover, Creator proposes a Trinitarian theological reading of Genesis 1 full of insight. While controversial at points, this is an excellent theological exploration of Genesis 1 and ought to receive a wide audience.

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