Creatio ex nihilo

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/creatio-ex-nihilo

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the etymology?Latin, meaning 'creation out of nothing'
2. What is the contrast?Differs from creation ex materia (creation from pre-existing matter) or emanationist models
3. What does "creatio ex nihilo" mean?It means the universe was created out of nothing by a divine agent.
4. How is creatio ex nihilo different from other creation stories?Other stories say a god shaped chaos or used old matter, but creatio ex nihilo says nothing existed before the universe.

Ontology: The philosophical study of being, existence, and reality.
Contingency: The state of being dependent on something else for existence; not necessary.
Sovereignty: Supreme power or authority, especially of a deity over creation.
Metaphysics: The branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space.