Out of Nothing - Where did that come from?

Peter · Oct 17, 2009

Many Christians hold that God created ex nihilo, or out of nothing. Would someone care to comment on where this idea comes from?

marlowe007 · Oct 17, 2009

Sphinx777 will probably post a wikipedia article explaining everything...

Sphinx777 · Oct 17, 2009

The Latin phrase ex nihilo means "out of nothing". It often appears in conjunction with the concept of creation, as in creatio ex nihilo, meaning "creation out of nothing" chiefly in philosophical or theological contexts, but also in other fields.

In theology, the common phrase creatio ex nihilo ("creation out of nothing"), contrasts with creatio ex materia (creation out of some pre-existent, eternal matter) and with creatio ex deo (creation out of the being of God).

The phrase 'ex nihilo' also appears in the classical philosophical formulation ex nihilo nihil fit, which means "Out of nothing comes nothing", and which was considered a proof of the existence of God.

Ex nihilo when used outside of a religious/metaphysical context also refers to something coming from nothing. For example, in a conversation, one might raise a topic "ex nihilo" if it bears no relation to the previous topic of discussion. The term also has specific meaning in military and computer-science contexts.

Before the last few centuries of the pre-Christian era, ancient Near Eastern mythologies envisioned the creation of the world as resulting from the actions of a god or gods upon already-existing primeval matter - the waters of chaos. The Greek philosophers came to question this (on a priori grounds), discussing the idea that a primeval Being (not conceived as a god or as God in the Christian sense) must have created the world out of nothing. Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenised Jew of the 1st century BC, melded together the Greek idea with the Book of Genesis's idea of creation and initiated the idea that a supernatural being (the Hebrew God) equated to the Being of whom Plato had written; early Christian thinkers later seized upon this identification and developed it into the idea of creation ex nihilo by their God. Jewish thinkers then took up the idea, which became important to Judaism, to Christianity and, later, to Islam.

......Son, look upon heaven and earth, and all that is in them: and consider that God made them out of nothing...

......(2 Maccabees 7:28, 100 BC)

Chesterton · Oct 17, 2009

Call on Sphinx and he appears "out of nowhere".

philadiddle · Oct 18, 2009

Chesterton said:
Call on Sphinx and he appears "out of nowhere".

But Sphinx didn't answer the OP. He just said what it was, which the original poster already knew. The question was, "Where did this idea come from?" I assume Peter (the forum member not the disciple) is looking for a biblical basis for this theology.

Sphinx has a hard time relating his posts to the topic. Am I right to assume that Sphinx is a bot?

laconicstudent · Oct 18, 2009

philadiddle said:
Sphinx has a hard time relating his posts to the topic. Am I right to assume that Sphinx is a bot?

If he's a bot, I honestly don't mind him. His insertion of definitions are usually a bit interesting, and usually relevant at least tangentially to the topic.

Peter · Oct 18, 2009

Yes, I know the def. of the term. And I know that the only place it can be found is in Maccabees. This should trouble Protestants, as Maccabees is not part of their canon. This would then make this idea outside "Biblical Christianity."

For a Protestant, creation ex nihilo is NOT Biblical Christianity.

Dark_Lite · Oct 19, 2009

laconicstudent said:
If he's a bot, I honestly don't mind him. His insertion of definitions are usually a bit interesting, and usually relevant at least tangentially to the topic.

He's not a bot. He just likes to post Wiki articles... lots of Wiki articles. But that's beside the point...

Where did it come from? My guess is just the assumption that God is the creator of all (supported by scripture in all kinds of places), so he must have created everything. And what was before everything? Nothing.

Assyrian · Oct 20, 2009

I agree with Dark Lite there. The bible is more interested in God creating all things instead of specifying what he created the all thing from when he didn't create them from, well, anything. Ex nihilo seems to me more of a Greek philosophical approach to the question than the biblical one. The bible simply tells us God created it all.
Col 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
Rev 4:11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

theFijian · Oct 20, 2009

Peter said:
Yes, I know the def. of the term. And I know that the only place it can be found is in Maccabees. This should trouble Protestants, as Maccabees is not part of their canon. This would then make this idea outside "Biblical Christianity."

For a Protestant, creation ex nihilo is NOT Biblical Christianity.

Is this actually the correct area for this question since it more directed at protestant rather than origins theology.

Out of Nothing - Where did that come from?

Peter

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