Editing Jewish principles of faith (section)

===God is the creator of the universe===
Traditionally, Jews believe that God is the creator of the universe, though contemporary Judaisms differ in their interpretation thereof. For example, some strictly Orthodox groups, such as Chabad, reject the theory of evolution and the scientific consensus on the age of Earth, regarding it as roughly 6 thousand years old.<ref name="z001">{{cite web | title=Theories of Evolution | website=Chabad.org | date=16 March 2004 | url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112083/jewish/Theories-of-Evolution.htm | access-date=24 April 2025}}</ref> Some Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews reject a [[Biblical literalism|literal interpretation]] of the [[Genesis creation narrative]], believing that Judaism does not conflict with the scientific view that the universe is [[Age of the universe|billions of years old]].<ref>[http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html How Old is the Universe? How Old is the Universe?], NASA; Phil Plait, [http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/03/21/age_of_the_universe_planck_results_show_universe_is_13_82_billion_years.html The Universe Is 13.82 Billion Years Old] (March 21, 2013), ''Slate''</ref> [[Norbert M. Samuelson]] writes the "question of dating the universe has never been a problem of Jewish philosophy, ultimately because that philosophy has never taken the literal meaning of the Bible to be its revealed, true meaning".<ref>Norbert Max Samuelson, ''Revelation and the God of Israel'' (2002). Cambridge University Press: p. 126.</ref>

[[Moses Maimonides]] (12th century) wrote that "by virtue of the existence of the Creator, everything exists"<ref>Maimonides, ''The Guide of the Perplexed'', translated by [[Chaim Menachem Rabin]] (Hackett, 1995).</ref> and that "[[time]] itself is part of creation" and therefore, "when God is described as existing before the creation of the universe, the notion of time should not be understood in its normal sense".<ref>''[[Guide for the Perplexed]]'' 2:13</ref> The 15th-century Jewish philosopher [[Joseph Albo]] argued similarly in his ''[[Sefer ha-Ikkarim|Ikkarim]]'' that there are two types of time: "Measured time which depends on motion, and time in the abstract", the second of which has no origin and is "the infinite space of time before the universe was created". Albo argued that "although it is difficult to conceive of God existing in such a duration, it is likewise difficult to imagine God outside space". Other Jewish writers have come to different conclusions, such as 13th-century scholar [[Bahya ben Asher]], 16th-century scholar [[Moses Almosnino]], and the 18th-century [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] teacher [[Nahman of Bratslav]], who expressed a view - similar to that expressed by the [[Neoplatonism and Christianity|Christian Neo-Platonic]] writer [[Boethius]] - that God "lives in the eternal present" and [[Transcendence (religion)|transcends]] or is above all time.<ref>Dan Cohn-Sherbok, ''Judaism: History, Belief, and Practice'' (2003). Psychology Press: p. 359.</ref>