Creation out of Nothing.
In accordance with the first chapter of the book of Genesis, Catholics are bound to believe that the universe and everything in it was created by God; that it was created in time and not from eternity; that all things were created by God alone; and that all things created were good. Nothing is de, fined as to the order or period of creation.
The production is such that the whole substance of what God creates is the result of his creative action; so that there is nothing in the created effect which does not depend on the act of the Creator, in contrast with other forms of production, where the cause merely effects some change in what already exists. God creates out of nothing both because he starts with no pre-existing material and because he parts with nothing of his own being in the act of creation.
That God alone created the world is an article of the Catholic faith, found in all the Christian creeds and solemnly taught by several ecumenical councils, notably, the Fourth Lateran and First Vatican. The basis in revelation for the doctrine spans the whole of Scripture, from Genesis to the writings of St. John.
Genesis 1: 1-5 – “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night”. Thus evening came, and morning followed–the
first day…”.
Shepherd of Hermas [AD 140] “Believe first of all that God is one, that he created all things and set them in order and brought out of non-existence everything that is, and that he contains all things while he himself is uncontained” (The Shepherd 1,1).
Aristides [AD 140) “Let us proceed, then, O King, to the elements themselves, so that we may demonstrate concerning them that they are not gods, but corruptible and changeable things, produced out of the non-existent by him that is truly God, who is incorruptible and unchangeable and invisible, but who sees all things and changes them and alters them as he wills” (Apology 4).
Theophilus [AD 181] “Furthermore, inasmuch as God is uncreated, he is also unchangeable; so also, if matter were uncreated, it would be unchangeable and equal to God. That which is created is alterable and changeable, while that which is uncreated is unalterable and unchangeable. What great thing were it, if God made the world out of existing matter. Even a human artist, when he obtains material from someone, makes of it what he pleases. But the power of God is made evident in this, that he makes out of what does not exist whatever he pleases, and the giving of life and movement belongs to none other but to God alone” (To Autolycus 2,4).
St. Irenæus of Lyon [AD 180-199] “Men, indeed, are not able to make something from nothing, but only from existing material. God, however, is greater than men first of all in this: that when nothing existed beforehand, he called into existence the very material for his creation” (Against heresies 2, 10, 4).
Tertullian [AD 208-212] “Firmly believe, therefore, that he made it wholly out of nothing; and by believing that he has such powers, you will have found the knowledge of God” (The Resurrection of the dead 11, 5, 6).
Origen [AD 220-230] “The specific points which are clearly handed down through the apostolic preaching are these: First, that there is one God who created and arranged all things and who, when nothing existed, called all things into existence” (The Fundamental Doctrines 1: Preface 4).