Session 5 – Distant Starlight

In this final session we will look at the most common question for young earth

creationism, distant starlight

We could do an entire session on each of these theories (an entire class on some) our purpose here is to show you different

theories that exist that try to solve the problem

When dealing with the issue of distant starlight and a young earth, there are many

theories that have been created (some much better than others)

We will examine the following theories

Mature Universe Speed of Light Decay

Anisotropic synchrony conventionWhite Hole Cosmology

Cosmological Special Relativity

Mature Universe

God created Adam and Even full grown in

the Garden of Eden (with trees also full grown) why isn’t it

possible God created the universe fully

functional and mature?

GD didn’t give them seeds and say “get

planting”

People have raised objections to this idea of a mature universe, saying that it would make

God deceptive if he did this

If light is created in transit than anything

over six thousand light years away that

we see is just the light which God programs

(like a movie) not the real thing

This has caused many young earth creation organizations to critique this

theory and reject it

The point still remains though, God created a full grown garden (and world) but that

wasn’t deceptive to Adam

I personally don’t have that much of a problem with this idea, and could be how

God did it, not to deceive us but so we could see all of creation

Speed of Light Decay (CDK)

This idea was first proposed by Barry Setterfield and Trevor Norman

Speed of light – Often referred to as “c” is a measurement of distance that light can

travel at its current speed (186,000 miles per second)

It’s one of the older solutions to the problem

They took data from historical

measurements of the speed of light

They found discrepancies in the measurements that indicated light was

slowing down exponentially

Thus, if we go back in time, light would be traveling MUCH quicker, and the distant

starlight problem goes away

The problem comes in when examining the historical sources and measurements

that they used (or misused some say)

Some say the error bars on the different measurements historically all include the

actual speed of light

Others have presented more scientific problems with the speed of light having decreased over time. The speed of light

is used in different equations that govern the universe

Setterfield has responded to many of the objections, and continues to research his theory (which may turn out to be right)

It’s not just a creationist thing, many secular scientists believe he speed of light

has decreased since the Big Bang

Paul Davies, who believes and accepts the Big Bang theory, also accepts and says that

the speed of light must have been much quicker at the beginning of the universe.

Anisotropic Synchrony Convention (ASC) – Is a convention that states that the one

way speed of light from a light source to an observer is instantaneous

Anisotropic Synchrony Convention (ASC)

This is one of the newer theories that tries to explain distant starlight, it was

presented by astrophysicist Jason Lisle of IRC

Dr. Lisle said: “Genesis itself may suggest a simple answer to distant starlight. In Genesis

1:14–18 God tells us that the stars were created on the fourth day to give light upon the earth. This text also seems to strongly

suggest that the stars fulfilled their purpose immediately (“and it was so”). Therefore, it

would seem that the light emitted by the stars reached earth instantaneously, or nearly so.

This suggests a synchrony convention: a procedure for synchronizing clocks separated

by a distance.”

We are not able to measure the one

way speed of light because clocks used would get out of sync with

each other (making the

measurement impossible due to

time dilation)

This idea is possible, but not provable either way

(which some people don’t like)

It could be a solution

Background for White Hole Cosmology and Cosmological Special Relativity

In order to understand the next two theories you need a brief introduction to

Einstein’s theories of special (released 1905) and general (released in 1916)

relativity (and time dilation)

Einstein figured out time was a dimension that could be effected

Imagine with me for a moment that we have two twin brothers, they are both

astronaut, and one of them is hired to go on a deep space mission for NASA using

new technology that allows them to travel at 95% the speed of light. What will

happen after this astronaut has travelled for ten years? when he gets back from his trip he will be twenty-two years younger

than his brother.

Two things effect time

Gravity is the first thing that can

change the rate at which time runs

The stronger the gravitational

field, the slower time will run in

that environment

We’ve tested this by comparing clocks around the world

Velocity effects time

If something is moving at a high velocity, time will run differently for them compared to

someone at a different velocity

This has to be taken into account daily with the GPS and has been proven many times

Both theories also have a box universe

with earth at the center (which is

true if the universe is shaped like

an box)

Remember, this is philosophical as of now, and has not been proven (either way)

White Hole Cosmology

To understand how this theory works you need to understand how a black hole works

The idea behind a black hole is a lot of mass in a small area that causes gravity to be so

high that light itself cannot escape

A black hole has different parts to it:

You reach a point in a black hole (the event horizon)

when time itself ceases to exist

In a normal black hole, everything would continue downwards until it forms a singularity at the bottom

This is only one type of black hole, another type is possible to where a shell of mass

surrounds an area of space and causes it to fall below the event horizon (even though

it’s not a singularity)

It would be like a trampoline with

weights forming a circle (or a bowling

ball alone)

White hole

A white hole is simply a black hole in the reverse, where the

matter inside comes back out

White holes are debated within the secular science community, some say they’re

possible some say they’re not

The White Hole Theory

Genesis 1:6: “Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from

the waters.”

Genesis 1:9: “Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and

it was so.”

At the start of day four, earth is the only thing below

this water (which is above the heavens) the water is not to

scale in picture

This ring of water forms a gravitational ring (like on the trampoline) but doesn’t push

the earth under the event horizon

On the fourth day of creation

God created the sun, moon, and stars (everything

else in the universe) within

this expanse

This new matter causes enough gravity to put the expanse under the event horizon

After this point, God stretches

out the heavens (space) which

the Bible mentions

This is what causes everything

to come out of this black hole

“I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, [even] my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I

commanded.” Isaiah 45:12

As God stretches out the heavens, the stars on the boarder nearest the waters above the heavens would naturally come out of

this timeless zone first, and the center would come out last

Humphrey’s theory on white hole cosmology goes along with a larger

cosmology that he has designed and published

It ties together with his views on how planetary magnetic fields are formed (with

all matter originating from water, etc.)

The waters above the heavens may still be there he says (and we detect water in space)

Cosmological Special Relativity

The next theory we look at was created and published by Dr. John Hartnett, who is

a physicist (and creationist) who works with Creation Ministries International (and

also works with Dr. Humphreys)

While Humphreys uses gravity time dilation on his theory, Hartnett uses the effects that

velocity has on time

His theory was able to predict (at that time

unknown) the accelerated expansion of

the universe

His physics introduce a new dimension into the equations, the motion

and velocity of the fabric of space itself

His theory utilizes new theories that were proposed by Israeli physicist Moshe Carmeli

(he is not a YEC)

Like Humphrey’s theory, Hartnett’s theory (Starlight,

Time, and the New Physics is the book title) places planet earth at the center (or near)

of the universe

His theory can explain the universe without the need for dark matter, because space

itself has velocity and explains the rotation speeds of galaxies

He also does not need dark energy in his theory

to explain the acceleration expansion of

the universe, which makes it very attractive

Humphreys theory (using Carmelian physics) says the earth was created on day one, and on day four God created the stars

(everything else) and then proceeded to stretch out the heavens

Stars and galaxies (due to high acceleration) experience massive time

dilation, which makes them millions (or billions) of years old while the earth

remains young

Please understand that all these theories are far more detailed than what we

have gone over here

There are many theories to explain distant starlight, some claim a young universe,

some claim the universe can be old and the earth can be young

New theories will probably come out that explain it in other ways

Keep in mind, the Big Bang has their own

distant starlight problem, and has to appeal to inflation to

solve the matter

Both sides have theories to explain the observations, the question is which one is more reasonable and which one has more

evidence behind it

Memory Verse

Job 9:7-8: “He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; He

alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea;”