Nothing was created . Everything existed always in some form or other. Matter continues to change and never ceases to exist .
Nothing can be created out of nothing . Anything can e made out of something only. A doll or a pot can be created out of a lump of clay.
The doll or the pot is created ; but not the clay. The clay used to create the doll can be used to create the pot and vice versa. But the clay is not created out of a doll or a pot .
So nobody ; but nature, created the universe and nature is the quality of God and God is not a person. But a person can be the avatar of God like a Pot or a Doll can be an avatar of clay That is the clay taking an avatar of pot or doll. Whatever avatar it takes , it remains clay!.
Please see Stephen Hawking's latest book "The Grand Design" wherein he has departed from his earlier theory and stated that God did not create the universe! The underlying fact that is yet to be realized by all is, that God can not also be created . If what exists for ever without regard to time and is for eternity , with no beginning and no end , is God .
It is, what we call the cosmos ,the galaxies and all that we call the universe etc of which we are also parts, is that. That is God . .
The birth and death of beings that we see in our daily life , is part of the magic , the Maya of this universe . If you read Bhagavad -gita , it is the cosmos that Sri. Krishna shows as the totality ( viswaroopa ) of God , in response to Arjuna's request to show him the God .
God is not created . There had never been a time when God , the cosmos did not exist . And there can never be a time when God would cease to exist .
The cosmos (God ) was not created . God did not create himself too. God existed and exists for ever .
But there has always been a time when God was not understood . It is still not understood . I have added to this answer after seeing a report on the latest book of Stephen Hawkings ,at page 11 of the Chennai Edition of the English daily "The Hindu" today ( 3rd Sept' 2010) Sage Vyasa's Bhagavad-Gita has has stated even some 6000 years ago what Stephen Hawking has done to day.
You are correct that almost all religions proposed that the universe was somehow created by a God or a collection of Gods. That is probably because of the (in my view, misplaced) perception that the purpose of religion is to answer all the questions that cannot be answered with the technology available at the time the religion is formed. Since virtually all religions were initiated long before the understanding of anything beyond the lower stratocumulus layer, most of them attempted to fill in the gaps in their knowledge with answers based on faith.
It is difficult take issue with this in retrospect; a simple admission from a religious leader that he did not know would probably have resulted in a rush to the exits - over to the next guy who says that God told him and he DOES know. Since all of these faiths were different, most of the creation descriptions are also different, however. So a claim that there is a consensus on the religious approach to creation is disingenuous at best.
I think most scientists are reluctant to speak at all about such issues, other than to describe what they DO know (cosmic background, redshift, etc). Dr Hawking is in the unenviable position of writing so much stuff for so many people that he probably has to say something. What he said does not sound confrontational to me.
At least Dr Hawking is willing to admit what he doesn't know.
Windy weather turns turbines and generates electricity Solar panels create electricity when the sun shines on them.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.