Nearly ALL Christians agree that God created the universe.

However, they have different ideas about what this means.

Creatio ex nihilo (‘creation from nothing‘)

MOST Christians believe that God created the universe from nothing.

This is the official position of

• the Roman Catholic Church,

• the Orthodox Churches, and

• most Protestant denominations.

They argue that God is the only uncreated thing (a ‘necessary being’), and that everything else in existence is ‘contingent’ (i.e., it owes its existence to God).

Creatio ex materia (‘creation from matter‘)

Other Christians believe that God simply shaped the universe from pre-existing material.

This is the position of ‘Process Theology’.

They argue that Genesis 1 only describes God’s shaping of the universe; it does not describe God’s creating the raw material.

Creatio ex deo (‘creation from God’)

A few Christians argue that God created the universe out God’s own divine substance / essence — it is an ‘emanation’ of God.

This was the position of some gnostic Christian (e.g., the Valentinians).

This view is sometimes called ‘pantheism’ — the idea that God and the universe are one.