My dissertation is an exploration of Descartes's "creation doctrine". I seek to provide an explanation of what the doctrine means and how it fits within his philosophical system. The creation doctrine states that eternal truths, such as the truths of metaphysics, mathematics, and logic, are freely created by, and depend entirely upon, God. Thus, principles and axioms which we normally hold to be absolutely necessary are not only established by God (thus implying that they came into existence), but also are established by a free act of God (thus implying that they are contingent on a will). I address this subject in response to recent criticism that Descartes's doctrine commits him to incoherence. I believe that Descartes's doctrine can be interpreted more judiciously than has been done in the literature, given his apparent commitments to certain methodological, philosophical, and theological principles.