Do faraway stars prove that the universe is billions of years old? Doesn’t that conflict with the Bible? Has the speed of light always been the fastest thing in the universe? It is possible that the speed of light is not truly known? Was it always a constant, or could it have been briefly faster than it was now?
Inflation Theory suggests so, and it was thought to correct the LTT (Light Time Travel) problem with the Big Bang model. The Speed of light is based on light’s two-way speed, that is, the speed going the distance away from an emitter and round-trip back after bouncing off a surface. What we call the speed of light is not a measurement of a one-way trip from one location to another; therefore, we don’t truly understand how light speed works. Science only knows so much. Here are some things to ponder on the subject.
Inflation Theory:
If there’s a galaxy that is 10 billion light-years away from the Earth in one direction, and another galaxy in the opposite direction that is 10 billion light-years away from the Earth, then how far away are they from each other? 20 billion light-years, right? If the universe is only about 14 billion years old, then it shouldn’t be possible for anything to be further than 14 billion light-years. However, there are star systems that defy this logic, suggesting the Big Bang model is flawed. Additionally, there is insufficient time for different parts of the universe to have cooled to the same temperature. Yet, the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) shows that it has cooled to an even temperature, which is known as the Horizon Problem. There are conflicts between the implications of the Big Bang Model and what we observe.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation projections indicate that the universe is predominantly at a uniform temperature (±0.001 K). Even with billions of years, that’s not enough time for temperature uniformity in the Big Bang Model. The Big Bang is based on the idea that everything in the universe is made from matter that emerged around the same time, but according to the same worldview, the stuff that matter makes up (elements, rocks, stars, planets, etc) all came into existence at different times. So, shouldn’t other parts of the universe reflect this by being more varied in temperature?
Theoretical physicists have hypothesized Inflation Theory as a solution to this problem. They say right after the universe exploded, it must have inflated rapidly faster than the speed of light. There is debate on whether or not this is the solution or if other models will work better. The Inflation Theory exists because of the need to address the Light Time-Travel problem in the Big Bang Model. Is there a biblical framework for such a construct? Well, the Bible says the heavens were “stretched out” by God (Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 45:12, Jeremiah 10:12, Jeremiah 51:15, Zechariah 12:1). So from a biblical perspective, this would explain how stars can be light years away yet the universe is still young and fit into a biblical cosmic timeline.
Physicists have proposed various models to describe the inflating universe, but all the solutions are mathematical conveniences with no particular physical basis.
“‘All the theories of inflation amount to proof that we don’t have one good theory yet,’ says Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory astrophysicist Edward W. ‘Rocky’ Kolb. Sincell, Ref. 24, p. 49, emphasis added.”
Paul J. Steinhardt, one of the originators of Inflation Theory, has rejected it in recent years. “[T]he cosmology community has not taken a cold, honest look at the big bang inflationary theory or paid significant attention to critics who question whether inflation happened. Rather cosmologists appear to accept at face value the proponents’ assertion that we must believe the inflationary theory because it offers the only simple explanation of the observed features of the universe.”
Read More about Steinhardt and Inflation Theory in this Forbes Article.
Spike Psarris, Electrical Engineer, says this same thing. He sums up the issues with the Horizon Problem, Inflation, and the one-way measurement of the speed of light. At 51:00, he begins explaining an interesting concept in physics that proposes the possibility of two clocks, one located within a possible event horizon and one outside of it.
Watch Psarris’ presentation here: Star Light vs Biblical Creation
On The Speed of Light:
Starlight shouldn’t be measured by a metric designed to measure how fast light returns to its starting point, since we are not sending light out to a star and measuring how fast it returns. Measuring the speed of light from an external source would yield a different speed. Our definition of the speed of light is relative to the position of the observer and is only valid when sending light to a distant object and measuring how long it takes to return. Researchers are still trying to prove that the speed of light is the same in all directions, so what we call the “speed of light” is only an assumption. One may assume that light always travels at the same speed in both directions, but various variables, such as gravity wells, can affect the speed of light through time dilation. So we cannot simply divide the two-way measurement in half. We would need a way to synchronize clocks on both points of a one-way traveling light, and calculate the actual starting point (which is impossible when dealing with something like starlight). We have never measured the speed of light outside our solar system to verify its consistency, so it is an assumption.
Measuring the one-way speed of light is barely possible with objects on Earth because synchronizing two clocks in different locations is tricky, depending on the locations. Even with a computer displaying both times, there is still a chance of disruption for one or both signals, resulting in desynchronization. Synchronizing them in the exact location and moving one works better, but as one clock moves, its gravity changes according to relativity. The most effective way to measure the speed of light without discrepancy is by measuring the two-way speed and by calculating the time it takes for light to return in a round trip from the source location. Einstein didn’t have an answer for this problem; he said when presented with two different results for measuring the one-way speed of light, “you simply pick the one that suits the data best”.
“That light requires the same time to traverse the path A→M as for the path B→M is in reality neither a supposition nor a hypothesis about the physical nature of light, but a stipulation which I can make of my own free will in order to arrive at a definition of simultaneity.”
–Einstein, A. (1916). Relativity: The Special and General Theory, p.27-28.
There is also the issue of time dilation and gravity wells. In a gravity well, time acts differently, and things can appear to move more slowly. We must use bias equations with satellites; otherwise, our GPS would be inaccurate. The satellites are only hundreds of miles above the surface, yet gravity wells still influence our ability to use them.
“Relativity dictates that clocks aboard GPS satellites do not tick at the same rate as those on the Earth. Both general and special relativistic time dilation effects are at play. Neglecting to adjust for these would render GPS useless in a few minutes. Correcting them involves giving the onboard atomic clocks a slight offset in frequency, so that they may appear to run at the same rate as ground-based clocks. This correction is one of many needed to maintain a navigational accuracy of up to a few metres.”
More on that here.
In conclusion, since the speed of light in one direction has not been proven, and light travels through time is a significant issue in the Big Bang model, there is room for revision in naturalistic assumptions about the formation of the cosmos. If stars can be further away than they “should be” in a naturalistic worldview, then there is no argument against a biblical worldview that says the universe is younger. The necessity of something like Inflation Theory shows that the Big Bang Model and the cosmic formation theories based on it are faulty and not really “the one true origin story” that secular media claims it is. A Bible believer could argue that the cosmic creation process involved a model similar to the Inflation Theory, where the stars were placed into their current positions by God at the beginning, on the fourth day of creation (Gen 1:14-19). As stated before the Bible says the heavens were “stretched out” by God (Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 45:12, Jeremiah 10:12, Jeremiah 51:15, Zechariah 12:1). Sounds like scripture has a solution to the LTT problem, there is a creator that purposefully made things they way he wanted without having to adhere to natural laws he set up afterward. God didn’t form Adam and Eve as babies. He formed them at least at reproductive age, and He formed fully developed fruit trees within a few days. Therefore, the God of the Bible is capable of creating them at maturity in their lifecycle.
Hebrews 11:3 (NLT) 3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
This scripture indicates that the universe was not formed based on anything we see and experience now, but rather it was formed simply by the word of the Creator. His word makes it clear that natural laws don’t limit God, since He created them; therefore, they don’t inform us of the process by which He created anything. Naturalism is an origin story that somehow overcomes the limitations placed on the natural world to create from nothing for no reason, which contradicts itself because it must break the rules it relies upon. On the other hand, creationism is an origin story initiated by a limitless creator. Anyone who believes in an all-powerful creator who can raise the dead and give eternal life has no reason to limit the creator’s abilities based on the restrictions of the created world. We wouldn’t say the programming of their own game limits the capabilities of a video game developer, would we?
Resources:
The issue with our definition of the speed of light
Paul J. Steinhardt on Inflation Cosmology
Inflation (conjecture)
Inflation (cosmology)
Time Dilatation