Creation
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3. Did God make the universe out of some pre-existent matter? |
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No, He
didn’t. In that God made the universe out of nothing, thus without using any pre-existent
matter. For the Scripture says: “Through faith we understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made
of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3. The second part of this verse in
the NIV reads: “So that what is seen was not made out of what was visible”),
that is, of pre-existent things. As it is said in the Psalms: “By the word of
the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth
…. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere
him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm
33:6,8-9 – NIV). |
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When we
read in some books of theology (and not only in books of theology) the
expression ‘creation ex nihilo,’ it refers to the creation of things out of
nothing. |