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concrete, no different than to be.” 58 At every moment, a creature is in the state of being created
and hence there is no reason why the nature of creative activity should require a beginning in
time. Consequently Aquinas sees no contradiction in the notion of eternal creation.
Bonaventure places more emphasis than Aquinas on the positive aspect of creation
encompassed by the idea of newness of creation. Creation is not only a total dependence on God
but also a production from nothing. By production Bonaventure does not mean that nothing is
transformed into the world, but that it involves “a transition, as it were, from non-being to being
and consequently, the emergence into existence of a new reality, the beginning of a new
existence outside of God.” 59 In Bonasea’s estimation, this emphasis on the newness of being
leads Bonaventure to identify creation ex nihilo with the temporal beginning of existence. “When
58
59
Bukowski, “Understanding,” 119.
Bonansea, "The Question,” 22.
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