Conflict in Genesis 1:1? (Carter)

In some ancient Near Eastern myths there are accounts of "creation." These accounts typically have some sort of struggle. For example, the Enuma Elish tells the mythical story of Marduk battling Tiamat. After Marduk defeated Tiamat in battle, Tiamat's body was "split like a fish to be dried into two halves, one of which became …

Creation Ex Nihilo – An Essential Christian Doctrine (Bavinck)

The doctrine of creation ex nihilo (out of nothing) is an essential doctrine in Christian theology. The church has always confessed that the triune God created all things out of nothing. When God made this world, he did not do so with preexisting matter or materials. He spoke, and it came to be (Ps. 33:9a ה֣וּא …

Creation Ex Nihilo: Worldview Implications (Samples)

 From time to time I run into people who believe that God is part of the world, or the world is part of God.  This is pantheism – something movies like Avatar and religions like Eastern mysticism teach.  Others believe that God and matter are co-eternal (Mormons, Greek mythology, etc.) or that good and evil …

Creation and Cosmology in the Early Church

The early church fathers and apologists spent much time debating and debunking the prevalent pagan cosmologies of their day.  Most of the cosmologies back then essentially denied that God made the world out of nothing.  Of course, this debate is still going on; modern Christian theologians and philosophers are still pointing out the weaknesses and …