1503) Creatio Ex Nihilo

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Creatio Ex Nihilo (Latin) = “Creation Out of Nothing.”

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I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

–First Article of the Apostle’s Creed

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Nothing can be made from nothing; once we see that’s so,
Already we are on the way to what we want to know.

–Lucretis, Roman poet and philosopher (First century, B. C.)

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“You may find it hard to believe that God made everything out of nothing, but it takes a lot more faith to believe that nothing turned itself into everything.”

–Mark Cahill

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“I felt in my bones that this universe does not explain itself.”  

–C. S. Lewis

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There is nothing in observable natural law that can explain the creation of matter and energy out of nothing.  There have been many wild speculations by scientists, all of which require far more faith to believe in than Genesis 1:1.  And just because it is a scientist doing the guessing, does not mean that such guesses or speculations can be even tested by the scientific method, much less verified.  Many people have therefore concluded that there must be a God above and beyond what science can observe, measure, and test.  

Then again, as children often ask, “But who made God?”  That is an interesting question, but not one a Christian is required to answer.  It is the atheist whose explanation of the universe must be limited to the observable laws of nature.  Christians believe there is more to reality than can ever be explained.  Christians believe in a God who we cannot see, whose power is unlimited, who is not bound by any natural laws we have observed, and whose kingdom is bigger than the universe that we observe, test, and measure.  With such a God and that view of reality, anything is possible.  We will know something about that God only if He chooses to reveal Himself, and then confirms such revelations by miracles that defy natural explanation– such as a man rising from the dead.

Christians will readily admit we do not have the observable facts or the tools to explain the universe.  We confess our faith in a God beyond our knowing, who is eternal and “not made” (Nicene Creed) by anyone or anything else, and who is beyond the necessary ’cause and effect’ chain of events of our universe.  Our small minds cannot even imagine the fullness of God; just as we will never be able to explain this universe and its origin without reference to the God above it.  And the more we learn about the universe, the laws of nature, and the complexity of life, the more difficult it becomes to explain it all without reference to a power beyond what we see. 

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From a scientist (considered by many to be the Einstien of today) who does not believe in God and has done a bit of such speculating about the origins of the universe:

“The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the big bang are enormous,” he told me.  “I think there are clearly religious implications whenever you start to discuss the origins of the universe.  There must be religious overtones.  But I think most scientists prefer to shy away from the religious side of it.”

–Theoretical Physicist and Author Stephen W. Hawking, quoted in  Stephen Hawking’s Universe, by John Boslough, page 109.

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Genesis 1:1  —  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 33:6…9  —  By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth…  For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Isaiah 40:28  —  Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Hebrews 11:3  —  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Romans 1:20  —  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

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