# V explained — The City of God

> Chapter companion for The City of God by Augustine of Hippo.

## What happens

Augustine addresses those who accept God as Creator but question why the world was created at a particular time rather than earlier. He draws a parallel with questions about why the world was placed in a particular location rather than elsewhere, arguing that just as infinite space outside the world does not force God to create multiple worlds, so infinite time before the world does not compel God to have created sooner. He concludes that both time and space are finite and created with the world, and that God's rest before creation is as incomprehensible as His rest outside the world's location.

## Themes in this chapter

### Divine Providence and History

Augustine argues that God's creation of the world at a specific time and place is an act of divine reason, not chance, even if human reason cannot fully comprehend it.

## Character check-ins

### Augustine

The author and speaker, defending the Christian doctrine of creation against philosophical objections about timing and location.

### Epicurus

Mentioned for his theory of innumerable worlds formed by atoms, which Augustine contrasts with the Christian view of a single created world.

## Key lines

> For if they imagine infinite spaces of time before the world, during which God could not have been idle, in like manner they may conceive outside the world infinite realms of space, in which, if anyone says that the Omnipotent cannot hold His hand from working, will it not follow that they must adopt Epicurus’ dream of innumerable worlds?

If critics argue that God must have created the world earlier because He could not have been idle during infinite past time, then by the same logic, they should also argue that God must have created countless other worlds in the infinite space outside our world, which leads to the Epicurean idea of many worlds.

_Augustine uses a parallel argument about space to refute objections about the timing of creation._

> But if they say that the thoughts of men are idle when they conceive infinite places, since there is no place beside the world, we reply that, by the same showing, it is vain to conceive of the past times of God’s rest, since there is no time before the world.

If they dismiss the idea of infinite space outside the world as meaningless, then they must also dismiss the idea of infinite time before the world as meaningless, because time began with creation.

_Augustine concludes that both time and space are finite and co-created with the world, so questions about God's activity before creation are based on a false premise._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-v
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters