CURRIE, GREGORY PAUL orcid.org/0000-0001-8364-997X (2026) Is God’s creation a fictional world? Religious Studies. ISSN: 1469-901X
Abstract
Abstract: Samuel Lebens argues that we may understand God's act of creation by analogy with an author's creation of fictional characters. I argue that, in the relevant sense of "fictional characters" authors do not create such beings; rather, they invite us to imagine that such beings exist. I also argue that Leben's view would make authorship moral problematic in implausible ways. Along the way I briefly offer an account of the being of fictional characters and consider the relations between truth-in-fiction and truth.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Authors/Creators: |
|
| Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s), 2026 |
| Dates: |
|
| Institution: | The University of York |
| Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Philosophy (York) |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Jan 2026 10:10 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Feb 2026 15:00 |
| Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412526101516 |
| Status: | Published online |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0034412526101516 |
| Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:236879 |
Download
Filename: is-gods-creation-a-fictional-world.pdf
Description: Is God’s creation a fictional world?
Licence: CC-BY 2.5

CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)