How did God create things?

Answer 1

If one believes that God created "things" as is taught, then perhaps it is incumbent upon the inquirer to ask God how He did it. Neither science nor religion can supply any fine detail as regards the method in which Divine power gave rise to the earth, the creatures on it, and to man himself. Only generalities can be gathered. Certainly God, in his omnipotence, could have merely willed everything into existence. No proof is needed for that. Only faith. If one wishes to know the details in the truth, and discover them here on this side of the veil instead of having to wait to cross over to find out, there are two paths one might walk toward the light of knowledge. One is to follow a religious route and seek inspired answers in detail. Read, listen to speakers, ask questions and beseech His help. The other path is the one that investigates the way in which the natural world works. Use that gift of intellect that He has so generously served up. If God is the Creator, wouldn't He have the option of using natural methods to advance His plan? Perhaps some truth can be found by walking that path. And, because the two paths lead to the same place (and have yet to show divergence - the braying of a few zealots aside), some bold adventurers may even trek onward with a foot on each one. Answer We don't know.

Answer Two Genesis Creation Accounts

In Genesis 1:1 a common Hebrew form of narrative is used that provides an overview or summary of what is to follow; namely, the creation of "the heaven and the earth." This phrase is used elsewhere to indicate "all of creation", not just the atmosphere and the earth. Thus, chapter 1 is a summary of the first six days of creation; a broad brush stroke, if you will, to paint the beginning of space, time and energy. Chapter 2 drills down to focus on the beginnings of mankind.

The Problem of Light without Sun, Moon or Stars

In Genesis 1:2 then we have a picture of the first state of the earth; "formless and empty and darkness covered the deep waters" (NLT). It is in Genesis 1:3 that God creates light (Hebrew 'owr meaning illumination as opposed to ma'owr as in Genesis 1:14 which means luminary or light holder). Therefore, light was created before the light holder. There is both a spiritual and a physical explanation offered for the order of the creation of light and lights. First, since sun worship would become prevalent after the Fall of man; God was here asserting his primacy over even the sun, moon and stars before that practice was started. This assertion was backed by his claim that He creates light without sun, moon or stars and later that He then created the sun, moon and stars. Revelation 21:23 asserts there is no need for the sun or moon for "the glory of God" (NKJV) will illuminate the New Jerusalem. Second, God appears to have either created a "temporary" directional light source or, caused light to be temporarily directional due to the mention of "day and night" based on the rotation of the earth. Either of these situations was later replaced by the sun, moon and stars; the light ('owr) being placed into the light holders (ma'owr). The idea of visible light without the sun, moon or stars is based in physics in the idea of photons which are charged particles in motion emitted by electrons while circling the nucleus of an atom.

Summary

There are not two creation accounts contained in Genesis 1 & 2; only an exceutive summary and then a more detailed look at the main players on the stage. Light without sun, moon or stars is not only conceivable, but proved by modern physics. Once again proving the inerrancy of God's Word.

Answer God created Earth and everything else, by the power of His spoken word.

NASA says that 95% of the universe is invisible. Some physicists think the 95% is an invisible form of energy. They believe that the invisible energy is what visible matter is made of (E=mc2), and that the invisible energy flows in and out of visible matter, helping to sustain its very existence. Some say the flow of this energy in and out is the cause for what we know as gravity. If that's the case, and visible things are made out of invisible energy, then the question arises, "Who made the energy, and where did it come from? " These same physicists say that this energy moves in waves, and is responsive to harmonics and electromagnetic pulses. The Bible says, "And God said.... and it was." What if this invisible energy were God's play dough? His modeling clay? And the way He models it and the way it holds together is by His Word. What if, when He spoke, the energy conformed to His design concept, perfectly, without a flaw in the execution? Because the energy itself is sentient and knows what God wants? And things just came "out of no where?" What if?

An interesting thing is, after calling forth most, if not all of His creation, God scooped up a load of clay and fashioned a man out of it with His own hands. He could have taken the short cut and simply called us forth, but instead, He got His hands dirty. When it came to the creation of man, He became personally and corporeally involved. How cool is that?

Jewish Answer

From the Jewish perspective, the story of creation, as outlined in the Torah, only tells us WHAT HaShem did when He created the world. It does not tell us how He did it.

AnswerMatter can be translated into energy, and vice-versa.

The Zohar (a Midrash) teaches that God brought forth vast amounts of spiritual energy, and then brought it through ten descending spiritual levels, during which He concretized it into matter.

It is worth pointing out that the Mishna (Chagigah ch.2) warns against delving too deeply into God's method in Creation.

Answer 2

The question assumes that God was the creator, so we should look for an answer in the Bible. There are 3 biblical sources of information on the creation of the world: 2 in Genesis and a fragmentary one in Psalms. Because the third one is fragmentary, I will ignore it in favour of (1) Genesis 1:1 to 2:4a ; and Genesis 2:4b to 2:15.
First Genesis account Since the early centuries of the Common Era, tradition has held that Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." But as long ago as the eleventh century CE, the influential Jewish scholar, Rashi, said that Genesis 1:1 should be read, "When God began to create" or "In the beginning of God's creation ". E.A. Speiser, in the Anchor Bible series, goes further and translates the sentence as: "When God set about to create heaven and earth - the world being a formless waste, with darkness over the seas... God said, 'Let there be light.' And there was light." Genesis 1:1 to 2:4a ( up to first sentence of 2:4) says there was a pre-existing watery chaos. The ocean was already present and a wind moved across the surface. The seas rested on the dry land, which appeared on day 3 when God gathered the waters together. The order of creation was as follows:

1. (Day 1) light (day);
2. The firmament, which was believed to separate the waters of the heavens from the lower waters;
3. By gathering the lower waters in one place the land appeared. Grasses and trees;
4. Sun; moon and stars - the lights in the firmament;
5. Fish, land creatures and fowl;
6. Man, both male and female.

Notice that the light of day was not yet understood to have originated from the sun, although the sun was universally understood to rule the day. That is why it was possible to have grass and trees before the sun was created.

Second Genesis account

Genesis 2:4b to 2:15 is actually the older account in the Judaic religion and says that there was pre-existing dry land, but Yahweh had yet to make it rain for plants to grow. A spring arose and God took some moist clay and made Adam.

The King James Version contains a translation that is so obscure that few probably try to understand it fully. However, there are clearer translations that are also closer to the original Hebrew, one being the (Catholic) New American Bible which provides a clearer translation of the original Hebrew verses 2:4-6: "Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens - while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground ..."

The order of creation in the second creation story is that God made man before he created the creatures in his domain. There is no mention at all of God creating the sun, moon and stars.

Man
In the first account, man (both male and female) were created together as the last creations, on the sixth day. There is no explanation of how they were made, but it seems implied that more than just two persons were created. In the second account, a man (male) seems to be the first thing that God created - afterwards he made plants and animals. God made the man (Adam) out of moist dirt and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. He then made each animal in turn because Adam needed company. Finally, he made Eve from a rib that he removed from Adam.

Summary

Both Genesis accounts make it clear that not everything was created by God. And in both cases, the order in which creation took place no longer makes sense. The second account is older and more primitive than the first. In this, the second account, God could not make man from nothing - he needed moist soil to start with. In the same way, God could not make Eve from nothing, but needed a rib from Adam, although why he could not just use some more moist earth is not explained.

More information can be found inAnchor Bible Series: Genesis (Speiser) and Middle Eastern Mythology (Hooke). According to what we can read in the Bible he merely spoke them into existence. Also, please visit: http://Christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 3

If the question is simply asking for the method, God created things by speaking them into existence. For a detailed explanation of the subsequent processes of the Creation Event, please see the Expert Answer by Dick Harfield below.