Creation ex nihilo

Creation ex nihilo is the doctrine that God brought the world into existence without using preexisting matter. It contrasts with accounts in which a deity shapes an already existing substance.

2 Maccabees: A Jewish work from the second century BCE that recounts the Maccabean revolt and includes reflections on creation. Its account of God making heaven and earth from nothing became an early scriptural basis for the doctrine.
Creation (theology): The theological claim that the world depends on a creator for its existence and order. Creation ex nihilo is one account of what divine creation entails.
Plato's Timaeus: A Platonic dialogue presenting a divine craftsman who orders the cosmos using a preexisting disorderly substrate. Its maker shapes rather than creates the underlying material, a classic alternative to ex nihilo.
Divine omnipotence: The theological attribute that God can do anything consistent with divine nature and logical possibility. Creation without material constraints is often treated as an expression of God's power.
Theophilus of Antioch: A second-century Christian bishop and author of the apologetic work To Autolycus. He explicitly argued that God created matter itself, not merely formed the world from it.
Creatio continua: The doctrine that God continuously sustains the existence of the created world. It extends dependence on God beyond the world's initial coming into existence.
Gnosticism: A diverse set of ancient religious movements that often distinguished the highest God from the maker of the material world. Some Gnostic accounts challenged the goodness or authorship of the material creation affirmed by the doctrine.
Divine freedom: The theological idea that God's actions are not compelled by an independent necessity or external force. Creation from nothing can frame the world's existence as a free act rather than a required emanation.
Irenaeus of Lyons: A second-century Christian theologian known for opposing Gnostic teachings in Against Heresies. He defended the one God as maker of both matter and the ordered world.
Divine conservation: The theological doctrine that God preserves created things in existence from moment to moment. It explains how creation from nothing can imply ongoing dependence rather than a one-time act.

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