In Christianity, the creation of the world from non-being (nothingness), except for the text of the Bible, is expressed with all clarity in liturgical texts [25] and in theological treatises. [26] Time began with the universe (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 146:6; John 1:3; Col. 1:16–17; 1 Cor. 8:6; Rom. 11:36). This is important to emphasize. Time was created in the act of creating the universe, and did not exist forever. In the fourth century, St. Basil the Great wrote, “Not in time, it is said: in the beginning he created.” [27] Since God does not create the universe from himself, but calls it out of non-being (cf. Rom. 4:17), Christianity denies all types of deification of the world (the nature).

The first concept contains ontological conditioning, determinism: the universe was supposed to appear. In the third, biblical concept, the universe is ontologically unnecessary. Its cause lies only in the free will of the transcendent Creator. Fr. George Florovsky about this remarkably wrote:

“God is completely self-sufficient. Rather, it is a miracle that God began to create. There is no necessary or compelling connection between the divine nature (or essence) and the law of creation. The absence of creation in no way diminishes the absolute completeness of the Divine Essence, the vastness of this Ocean of Essence, as St. Grigory Nazianzin [28] “God had no beginning, and he will have no end. He dwells in the “motionless radiance of eternity”. [29] And his infinite present is not time but eternity. [30] God is completely unchanging and immovable, —“with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” [31] (James 1:17). He cannot gain or lose anything. Moreover, we can say that the created world is an absolute excess, something additional, which could not exist at all.

The omnipotence of God must be defined not only as the supreme power to create, but also as absolute power not to create at all. God could have allowed nothing to exist outside of him. To create and not to create the same good for God and it is useless to find the underlying cause of the reason for the Divine choice, for the act of creation was not even conditioned by the mercy of God and his infinite perfection. The “Creative Essence” is not the main and not the determining quality of God: God creates in unlimited freedom . . .

For the human consciousness, there is something mysterious, paradoxical and contradictory in this. The created mind is always looking for the necessary reasons, inevitably closing in on itself. To the idea of creation is absolutely alien such an approach. The world undoubtedly has a Cause that is supreme and sufficient. Nevertheless, this is a Cause given in absolute freedom of expression and manifestation. The creation cannot exist without the Creator. However, the Creator may not create.” [32]

Krauss: The question is Islam, as one of a thousand religions, all of which makes the same claims, but mutually inconsistent ones . . .

Comment 11

How can identical statements contradict each other? Krauss argues mutually exclusive things. This is completely incomprehensible, and he should have given at least one example. Although, this is hardly possible.

Krauss: Thousand religions, they all make mutually inconsistent claims. So, they cannot all be correct. In fact, at best, one of them can be correct. They not consist with each other. So that means “a priori” [33], [referring to Tzortzis] I know you like that term . . . A priori, Islam is probably 0.1 percent have been correct. Because this is just one of a thousand religions. But since they all make the same claims, is probable that none of them are correct. So treating Islam specially is inappropriate.