THE PROBLEM OF DISTANT STARLIGHT
I know that a number of creationists
have wrestled with the problem of distant starlight, and I would like to
suggest a possible solution that I have never seen offered.
Let me begin by saying that I am
approaching this question as a theologian, not a scientist. And, from a
theological point of view the words, “to give light upon the earth,” require
the light from the sun, moon and stars to be present on the fourth day (Genesis
1:15). Some may speculate that the light was actually created when God said,
“let there be light,” but it had to be present on the fourth day. That being
said, let me quote a statement from the book “God at Ground Zero,” by Curt
Sewell.
“The distance to most galaxies should probably be
measured in billions of light years. So how can their light reach us in the
limited time we believe the universe has existed? This is undoubtedly the most
difficult question that creationists face.
There
have been several proposed answers, but they all have problems. These
suggestions include: 1) starlight was created, in situ, distributed along the
paths that we see today,… although this opens the door to charges that God is
deceiving us by the appearance of events that happened long before creation —
or conceivably may not have actually happened at all!” [Pages 215-216.]
As I read that statement, the words,
“events that happened long before creation” tell me that Mr. Sewell is assuming
that if light was created in route that it was created to give the appearance
of age. I believe that assumption is at the root of the problem, and I would
like to suggest an alternative.
In order to make what I have to say
easier to follow, I am going to speak of just one star, Alpha-Centauri, and
will speak of it as being four light years from the earth although I realize
that distance is rounded off. The idea that I wish to propose is this:
If, we were able to take a very
powerful telescope back in time, back to the very day the stars were created,
and had it focused on Alpha Centauri, Mr. Sewell’s statement assumes that what
we would see would be Alpha Centauri as it might have appeared four years
before it was created. However, what if God created the light to reveal Alpha
Centauri as it actually appeared at that time. So that one hour later, or one
day later, we would see it just as it was at that moment etc.. If that was the
case, then four years after creation, as the actual light of the star began to
reach the earth, Alpha Centauri would look exactly as it did on the day of creation.
If that was the case for all of the
stars, then today we would actually be seeing any stars that are over
approximately six-thousand light years distant from the earth exactly as they
appear.
I can even make a prediction on the basis of this Idea. If evolution is
true, then stars that are a great distance from earth should appear to be
younger than stars that are not so far away. However, if the idea I have
proposed is true, while various stars may appear older or younger according to
our current theories, distance should not make any difference in the age.
That still leaves us with the problem
of stars that have gotten brighter and then ceased to give light. However, since
death is the result of sin, I believe that part of the problem has to with the
fact that we speak of it as the “death of a star”. Technically speaking, a star
cannot die since it is not alive. The stars that have disappeared are still
there – at least the matter/energy they were composed of is still there. So, I
believe that we have two possible solutions: 1) God created the light to reveal
exactly what the star would look like even though He knew that because of sin
it would cease to give light, or, 2) the disappearance of some stars does not
reveal the result of sin but the fact that God never intended for the universe
to be eternal. Concerning that second possibility: if neither Adam nor any of
His descendants had sinned, it is possible that at some point God would have
translated everyone to a higher plane of existence, as he did Enoch. I realize
that is speculation. However, if it were the case, then the disappearance of
some stars would not be a problem.
Gary
Ray Branscome