Why do Christians maintain that God created the universe from nothing?.
As we examine the question we will begin with a statement of faith, followed by what scholars believe may not necessarily be true. Immediate and mediate creation. Is there another God? Statements found in the workbook, and the descriptions in Shirley Guthrie's book on creation. Some facts about the universe, including the Big Bang theory. Design and mathematics, and cause and effect. Ending with a conclusion.
Let us begin with a statement of faith.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things are made by Him, and without Him there was nothing made that was made. John 1:1-3. John in this bold statement declares the divinity, the eternality and the creativity of Christ. "He makes all things". There is no shadow of doubt, in this statement that Christ the Son of God as the Hymnist writes, is the creator of the rolling spheres. This is confirmed in the book of Hebrews cpt.1:2 where it declares that God, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. The Christian in faith takes these scriptures literally, and believes in God's capability, efficiency and potency in bringing into being by His Word, all that we see and more in the universe.
What some scholars believe.
Dr McFarland states in the workbook, that most biblical scholars now think that Genesis 1:1-2 should be translated, "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep-. In other words, when the story begins, the earth and the deep are already on the scene, so that the rest of Genesis 1 merely tells how God gave form and structure to this material. He continues to state "it's possible to imagine that God created the watery chaos presupposed in Genesis 1:2 from nothing at an earlier point, but nothing in Genesis 1 demands this conclusion".