View of Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) on God(“creation out of nothing”)

Incorporating Aristotle’s thought into Christianity; Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) considered pure eidos , or the thinking of thinking, to be God. Just as Augustine (354-430) had done before him, Aquinas claimed that God created the world from nothing. God created everything, including hylē , and since no element of hylē existed within God, Aquinas had to affirm the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (“creation out of nothing”). The doctrine that matter (energy) comes from nothing, however, is unacceptable to modern science, which holds that the universe is made of energy.

NEW ESSENTIALS OF UNIFICATION THOUGHT