Creation ex nihilo: Origins, Development, Contemporary ChallengesThe phrase creation ex nihilo refers to the primarily Christian notion of God's creation of everything from nothing. Creation ex nihilo: Origins, Development, Contemporary Challenges presents the findings of a joint research project at Oxford University and the University of Notre Dame in 2014 2015. The doctrine of creation ex nihilo has met with criticism and revisionary theories in recent years from the worlds of science, theology, and philosophy.