Editing Creatio ex materia (section)

{{titlelang|la}}
{{Short description|View that the universe originates from pre-existing matter}}
'''{{lang|la|Creatio ex materia}}''' is the notion that the [[universe]] was formed out of [[Eternity|eternal]], pre-existing [[matter]]. This is in contrast to the notion of ''[[creatio ex nihilo]]'', where the universe is created out of nothing. The idea of ''creatio ex materia'' is found in [[ancient near eastern cosmology]], [[early Greek cosmology]] such as is in the works of [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]],{{Sfn|De Almeida|2021}} and across the board in [[ancient Greek philosophy]].{{Sfn|Chambers|2021|p=96–103}} It was also held by a few early Christians, although ''creatio ex nihilo'' was the dominant concept among such writers. After the [[King Follet discourse]], ''creatio ex materia'' came to be accepted in [[Mormonism]].{{Sfn|Harrell|2011|p=233–234}} 

Greek philosophers came to widely frame the notion of ''creatio ex materia'' with the [[Philosophy|philosophical]] [[dictum]] "'''nothing comes from nothing'''" ({{langx|el|οὐδὲν ἐξ οὐδενός}}; {{langx|la|ex nihilo nihil fit}}). Although it is not clear if the dictum goes back to [[Parmenides]] (5th century BC) or the [[Milesian philosophers]],{{Sfn|Roecklein|2011|p=37–56}} a more common version of the expression was coined by [[Lucretius]], who stated in his ''[[De rerum natura]]'' that "nothing can be created out of nothing".{{Sfn|Mumford|2021|p=8}}

Alternatives to ''creatio ex materia'' include ''creatio ex nihilo'' ("creation from nothing"); ''creatio ex deo'' ("creation from God"), referring to a derivation of the cosmos from the substance of God either partially (in [[panentheism]]) or completely (in [[pandeism]]), and ''creatio continua'' (ongoing divine creation).{{Sfn|Oord|2014|p=3}}{{Sfn|McQuillan|2019|p=140}}