Modern Christians think of scripture as a printed book with covers and pages - a book with a Table of Contents in the front and maps at the back. It hasn't always been that way.
"Sacred writings are bound in two volumes—that of creation and that of Holy Scripture."
—Thomas Aquinas (1224–1274)
Aquinas was succinct in his statement, but hardly original. Consider these earlier voices;
"Ever since God created the world, God’s everlasting power and deity—however invisible—have been there for the mind to see in the things God has made."
—Romans 1:20
Anthony of Egypt (251-356 CE): “My book is the nature of created things; any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me.”
Augustine (354-430 CE): “It is the divine page that you must listen to; it is the book of the universe that you must observe.” Expositions on the Psalms, 45.7
Ancient voices, but also current ones. Reflecting on these assertions, Father Richard Rohr writes, "I think what Paul means here is that whatever we need to know about God can be found in nature. Nature itself is the primary Bible. The world is the locus of the sacred and provides all the metaphors that the soul needs for its growth."
Sister Ilia Delio echoes the thought:
"The world is created as a means of God’s self-revelation so that, like a mirror or footprint, it might lead us to love and praise the Creator. We are created to read the book of creation so that we may know the Author of Life. This book of creation is an expression of who God is and is meant to lead humans to what it signifies, namely, the eternal Trinity of dynamic, self-diffusive love."
And elsewhere: “Because the world expresses the Word . . . every creature is itself a “little word.” The universe, therefore, appears as a book representing and describing its Maker.”
"Sacred writings are bound in two volumes—that of creation and that of Holy Scripture."
—Thomas Aquinas (1224–1274)
Aquinas was succinct in his statement, but hardly original. Consider these earlier voices;
"Ever since God created the world, God’s everlasting power and deity—however invisible—have been there for the mind to see in the things God has made."
—Romans 1:20
Anthony of Egypt (251-356 CE): “My book is the nature of created things; any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me.”
Augustine (354-430 CE): “It is the divine page that you must listen to; it is the book of the universe that you must observe.” Expositions on the Psalms, 45.7
Ancient voices, but also current ones. Reflecting on these assertions, Father Richard Rohr writes, "I think what Paul means here is that whatever we need to know about God can be found in nature. Nature itself is the primary Bible. The world is the locus of the sacred and provides all the metaphors that the soul needs for its growth."
Sister Ilia Delio echoes the thought:
"The world is created as a means of God’s self-revelation so that, like a mirror or footprint, it might lead us to love and praise the Creator. We are created to read the book of creation so that we may know the Author of Life. This book of creation is an expression of who God is and is meant to lead humans to what it signifies, namely, the eternal Trinity of dynamic, self-diffusive love."
And elsewhere: “Because the world expresses the Word . . . every creature is itself a “little word.” The universe, therefore, appears as a book representing and describing its Maker.”