In his An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Bk. 2, Ch. 6), St. John of Damascus lists the various possible theories circulating in his time concerning the nature of the heavens, or the universe, and without discounting any of these theories he gives us the essential teaching behind the first chapter of Genesis that must not be contradicted, thus revealing the boundaries between science and theology when interpreting Genesis 1:
"Whether it is this way or that, all things have been made and established by the divine command, and have the divine will and counsel for a foundation that cannot be moved."