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HOUSMAIL HM091 31
May 2002 "BIG BANGS"
AND DISTORTED TIME It must be emphasised at the start of this paper, that we are talking
about THEORIES which have been formulated to explain
data observed by astronomers. These theories are NOT proven facts! They
have already changed many times over the last century or so, and they may be expected
to change again, and again, when new discoveries are made by astronomers. That
is the nature of TRUE science! The descriptions contained in this paper have been compiled from
a great mass of VERY complicated papers
written in the "scientific language" which scientists seem to love to
use, to impress other scientists. I have attempted to greatly simplify this language
for the benefit of the laymen for whom it is written. TWO
MAIN THEORIES There
have been many theories by astronomers, about how the universe got started. Today,
two of the main contenders amongst these have been the "Steady State"
theory, and the "Big Bang" model. There is no universal agreement about
the validity of either of these theories. They are still hotly debated by leading
astronomers! However, with some notable exceptions, (see below - "Trust
the Scientists?") until recently, the majority of the present generation,
have rejected "Steady State", and favour one or other of the many variations
of the "Big Bang". THE
"BIG BANG" MODEL The
essential feature of this theory is that the Universe resulted from an explosion
of a concentration of matter, which existed long ago, at an extremely high temperature.
Various figures have been speculated as to the time of this explosion, but as
larger telescopes find new galaxies further and further away from our own Milky
Way Galaxy, recent figures have ranged from about 10 to as much as 16 billion
years ago! According to this theory, the explosion first produced huge clouds
of gas, which condensed to form galaxies of stars. In our Solar System, the sun
eventually threw off molten materials which then cooled over billions of years,
to form the planets and their moons. Finally through an enormous number of unexplained
and statistically impossible "accidents", plant, animal, and human life
"evolved"! Another
variation of the "Big Bang" says that our "expanding Universe"
will eventually reach an outer limit, after which it will reverse and collapse
inwards. It has also been said that the solar system has only a finite life, and
will eventually come to an end, when the sun has burnt all its available fuel.
(However, we need not worry about such pessimistic predictions. It would be
a simple matter for the Creator who set it all in place, to REFUEL the Sun, before
that happened!) DISTANCES
AND THE "RED SHIFT" Observed
data indicates a huge universe of virtually infinite dimensions! The nearest star
is 4 light years away! The most remote galaxies discovered so far, are estimated
to be 16 billion light years away! [A light year is the distance travelled
by light in one year, whilst travelling at approximately 300,000 km per second.] These enormous distances are calculated from a
theory which has been speculatively formulated to explain a phenomenon
known as the "Red Shift". The colour of light reaching earth from the
more distant galaxies, appears redder than that from closer galaxies. This shift
in colour towards red is believed to be caused by increases in speed at which
distant objects are moving away from the earth. The greater the distance, the
greater the speed, and the redder the colour of the light which reaches the earth.
The problem we face here is that we are not seeing that source as it is in real
time today, but as it was when the light commenced its unimaginably long journey,
as much as 16 billion years ago! (Indeed we cannot even be certain that the source
still exists!) But
the BIG question is -- How can a universe created less than 10,000 years ago,
be sending light that is 16 billion years old? (For one theory about that,
see "Creation and the Constancy of Time" below.) BLACK
HOLES? One
theory says that the initial "Big Bang" explosion came from an enormous
Black Hole. A "Black Hole" is a theoretical cosmic body
of enormous mass, and extremely intense gravity, from which nothing can escape.
Because they are believed to emit no light or other radiation, and are very small
in cosmic terms, it is virtually impossible to prove by observation, that they
actually exist. Do they really exist? Well, maybe ..... astronomers have discovered
unusual "events" in space, which they speculate to be black holes. Although invisible, they have gravitational effects
on other nearby matter, which match what would be expected of a "black hole". THE
"STEADY STATE" THEORY This
theoretical view of the Universe says that it has always existed
and is always expanding, but that matter is being created continuously to form
new stars and maintain a constant average density. The "steady state"
universe has no beginning or end, in time. Since the 1950s it has declined in
popularity, in the face of increased support for the "Big Bang" model.
(The "king's new clothes syndrome" at work?) WHAT
DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Of
course all of this "Big Bang" stuff is at variance with the Bible,
which says that Creation occupied only six Earth-days, each with a morning
and evening. The Sun, Moon, and Stars, together with the seasons, will endure
for ever. (Psalm 104:5, Ecclesiastes 1:4, Genesis 8:22) The Gospel of the Kingdom says the same when it promises the
earth as the everlasting inheritance of Jesus and his brethren. (Genesis 17:8, Luke 1:33) CREATION
AND THE CONSTANCY OF TIME Of course,
like all theories, these just described above, depend on a set of assumptions
which must be made before they can appear to "work". Even Einstein admitted
that his "theory of relativity" depends on a basic set of assumptions
which cannot be proved! It is not surprising therefore, to discover that much
of the modern speculation about the origin and age of the Universe also depends
on assumptions about things like:
However
all of those assumptions have recently been challenged by leading scientists!
(Not without opposition!) The key issue is NOT whether these new theories are
correct -- but that they have been seriously proposed by men with ability to understand
and discuss mathematics at the "Einstein level". I won't
pretend to understand, or explain, all that they are saying! Nor will I attempt
to enter into judgement about whether or not they are correct. I merely note that
they do exist, and that they attempt to explain the same astronomical data on
which the other theories described above are based -- but in terms of a
"YOUNG EARTH", with an age of less than 10,000 years! Just
for now, we will take brief note of one of them. Even if it should ultimately
be completely discredited, it will serve to illustrate that the "Big Bang"
and "Steady State" are NOT the only "games in town". Other
theoretical speculations are certainly equally possible -- in harmony with
the Bible! Russell
Humphries, the author of the theory, attempts to explain it for laymen in his
book "Starlight and Time". Briefly, he says that under some conditions,
time can be distorted so that what is observed to occupy only one
24 hour Earth-day, here on earth, can actually take billions of years, "out
there" in a different "event horizon". Boggles the mind a bit doesn't
it? Is it true? Who can tell? But it does give us a VERY good reason to place
a hold on acceptance of any of the other theories which say that Genesis has got
it wrong! TRUST
THE SCIENTISTS? Why
should I trust the "big bangs" of this current generation of scientists
any more than those who told me in my childhood that the atom could never
be split? Or those who said that space travel was impossible? Or those who initially
actively rejected and campaigned against Lister's use of antiseptics for surgery?
Etc., Etc.. Besides ..... recently, MANY scientists have found reasons to repudiate the "Big
Bang" theory altogether! CREATION
BY GOD Of course
this paper is written from the viewpoint of one who accepts the BIBLE as an accurate
historical record of the Creation by the God of the Bible. In Genesis 1:1 the Bible says that "in the
beginning", God made the heavens
and the earth. Commencing in verse 2, it then describes the work of six earth-days,
in which the work of creation was completed. The Bible is not very clear about
the timing of "the beginning" described in verse 1. Nor do I pretend
to know how long the earth continued "without form and void" before
the work commenced, which is described from verse 2 onwards. But it is abundantly
clear that the writer of Genesis intended to convey the message that this stage
of the work was completed in six literal Earth-days! Moses repeats this claim
in Exodus 20:11, Exodus 31:17. Jesus
set his seal of approval on the Genesis record by quoting from it. (Cf. Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24 with Matthew 19:4-5) If we reject Genesis 1 through 3, we also reject the credibility
of Jesus as the source of all truth! And we would
also have to ask how reliable those other chapters are, which contain the "Kingdom
Promises" on which our Abrahamic Faith is founded. That
must mean that the data on which atheistic scientists have
based their "Long Earth Age" theories is equally
capable of an alternative truly scientific explanation, consistent
with the Bible record. That record, I submit, commits us to a "Young Earth
Age", for all that we can observe of this present Creation. Our "Abrahamic
Faith" requires that we must not change the Bible to fit the "observed
data"! If anything must be changed, it is the speculative theories
which try to interpret that data in conflict with the Bible and originate largely
from foolish men who also say that there is no God! Read for yourself what the
Bible says about them, in Allon |