Ex nihilo facts for kids

Creatio ex nihilo is a big idea found in many religions and philosophies. It means that a god or a powerful creator made the world and everything in it "from nothing." This means there was no existing material or conditions before creation. It's like magic, where something appears out of thin air!

This idea is different from creatio ex materia, which means creating something from existing materials. For example, a baker makes bread ex materia (from flour, water, yeast). But creatio ex nihilo is about making something when there was absolutely nothing there before.

What Does "Creatio Ex Nihilo" Mean?

The phrase "creatio ex nihilo" comes from Latin and literally translates to "creation from nothing." It's a way to describe how some faiths believe the universe began. Instead of shaping something that was already there, the creator brought everything into existence without any starting ingredients.

Why Is This Idea Important?

This concept is very important in many Abrahamic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In these faiths, it highlights the incredible power and uniqueness of God. If God can create everything from nothing, it shows an ultimate power that no human or other being possesses. It also means that God is completely independent and doesn't rely on anything else to exist or create.

God's Ultimate Power

The idea of creating from nothing emphasizes that the creator is all-powerful. It means the creator didn't need to find materials or overcome existing problems. Instead, the creator simply willed the universe into being. This shows a level of control and authority that is absolute.

No Pre-Existing Conditions

When something is created "from nothing," it means there were no rules or materials that limited the creator. The creator didn't have to work with old stuff or follow old plans. This gives the creator complete freedom to make the world exactly as they wanted it.

Different Views on Creation

While "creatio ex nihilo" is a key idea in some religions, other beliefs have different ideas about how the world started.

Creation from Existing Material

Some ancient myths and philosophies suggest that the world was made from something that already existed. This is called creatio ex materia. For example, some stories talk about a creator shaping the world from a giant, messy blob of stuff, or from the body of a huge monster. This is like a sculptor making a statue from a block of marble. The marble was already there.

Eternal Universe Ideas

Another view is that the universe has always existed and was never "created" at all. This idea is found in some ancient Greek thoughts and even some modern scientific theories. In this view, there was no beginning and no need for a creator to bring things into existence from nothing.

Creatio Ex Nihilo in Religions

Let's look at how this idea appears in some major religions.

Judaism

In Judaism, the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) describes God creating the heavens and the earth. The very first verse of Genesis says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Jewish thinkers have long understood this to mean that God created everything from nothing, showing His infinite power.

Christianity

Christianity also strongly believes in "creatio ex nihilo." Christians believe that God, as described in the Bible, spoke the universe into existence. This belief is central to understanding God's power and His role as the ultimate source of all life and matter. The New Testament also supports this idea, saying that "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."

Islam

In Islam, the Quran teaches that Allah (God) is the sole creator of everything. Islamic teachings emphasize that Allah created the universe from nothing, simply by saying "Be!" and it was. This shows Allah's absolute power and control over all creation.

Science and Creation

Modern science, especially cosmology (the study of the universe), explores how the universe began. The leading scientific theory is the Big Bang.

The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang theory suggests that the universe began from an extremely hot, dense point about 13.8 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since. While science describes how the universe developed, it doesn't usually try to explain why it began or what was before the Big Bang. Some people see the Big Bang as a scientific explanation for a beginning, which can fit with the idea of "creatio ex nihilo" for those who believe a creator initiated the Big Bang. Others see it as a purely natural process.

Images for kids

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  Tree of Life by Eli Content at the Joods Historisch Museum. The Tree of Life, or Etz haChayim (עץ החיים) in Hebrew, is a mystical symbol used in the Kabbalah of esoteric Judaism to describe the path to HaShem and the manner in which He created the world ex nihilo (out of nothing).