Is God accelerating the speed of light in space so we think that stars are farther than they actually are?

Question

I mean some stars are millions and billions of light-years away. Now light-years are a measure of distance or more precisely, the distance traversed by light in one mean solar year.

So how do we see these stars unless they existed for millions or even billions of years?

How is the universe only 10,000 years or even 100 million years old when we can stars that are billions of light-years away?

I just don't understand!

Is God just accelerating the light coming from these stars so that the light from them arrives on earth faster?
Or is God making the speed of light slower in our solar system so that we underestimate the actual speed of light everywhere else?

I heard that God made the light come here during creation. If that were true does that mean the whole foundation of the science of astronomy wrong? Please help me understand!

Answer 1

It is unfortunate that you will not get any good answers to your question. It is another unexplainable fact that the young earth folks just can not explain short of "god did it". They can't answer it because there is no debating the fact that the universe is billions of years old.

Now they have changed it to well he created the earth 10000 years ago but the universe is very old, or that to god the 7 days are whatever length of time god wanted it to be so every day could be like 2 billion to us, hence the 14 billion year old universe.

Regardless of their answers it is just junk.

Edit-To Daniel, I do not know where you read this but I would have to believe that it was a "faith based magazine". Also the big bang was not an explosion.

Answer 2

If you read Genesis and take it literally, God created light before he created the sun, moon and stars which means he has the power to create light itself without a source probably to show He is to be worshipped and not some Sun god which was common among early religious beliefs. Light is a funny thing...it's made up of rays and particles and the speed of light has been slowed down in lab experiments to a few feet per second so it is possible that the light we are seeing was once much faster in the past which would skew our observations today as we calculate it to be constant. Also, these supposed ages of the universe are based on how far away an object is visible using questionable methods...how do scientists know the light and other rays travelling billions of light years away is not distorted or warped in some way before reaching us? There are some interesting theories related to this subject at many creation science sites such as
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/405.asp
Just bear in mind, If you believe God to be all-powerful and above the natural laws he created, then anything is possible and up to us to figure out. If he's powerful enough to create the very stars themselves and the laws of nature just by speaking them into existence, he can create the light and other rays that reach us instantly although he may have used another method we do not understand yet. There are a couple verses in the Bible where he caused the sun to stand still and even go backwards---would seem to be impossibly difficult and against all scientific reason but God can suspend the laws of nature if he so chooses.
Psalms 118:8 (NKJV) "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

Answer 3

The speed oif light is constant. The solution to your problem is to not read the creation account in Genesis as a literal scientific account of creation - because when examined in the original language it becomes clear that it is actually a poem. Genesis tells us that God created the universe and life. Science tells us how.

EDIT>>

Daniel,

The only reason a bullet slows down when fired on earth is because it is subject to friction, and gravity. In the vaccuum of space does the same thing happen? I understand that there are gravitational forces in play, but there is no friction. Also even the gravitational forces will only effect those things that come close enough. What about the outer limits of the universe where each expanding particle is not subject to any gravity other than its own and no friction... it will never slow down.

Answer 4

I just read of an amazing study whereby there are indications that light IS ACTUALLY SLOWING DOWN. And It traveled much faster in the past than it does now. And this skews all the calculations and extrapolations about time and space.

Think of it this way - when you fire a bullet from a gun, its speed is greatest at the muzzle of the gun. As a function of time and distance IT SLOWS DOWN. Go into the desert somewhere and fire a bullet level to the ground. Its muzzle speed is greatest. It slows down in flight and eventually will fall to the ground. Same concept with LIGHT when is tiny bullets called PHOTONS.

An explosion happens the same way. The initial burst is the greatest speed. Then things slow down as a function of time and distance.

Answer 5

Put down the Bong.

The speed of Light is a constant. 186,262 miles per second. It is not just a good idea, it is the Law. The Universe is vastly older than a mere 100,000,000 years.

Here's a good one while you spark another bowl: If the Universe is expanding, what is it expanding into?

Answer 6

Yeah Ive been saying that for weeks. If god can get it fast enough we will fly in ever decreasing concentric circles past the moons of jupiter past uranus into the black hole of space, Simple is it not?

Answer 7

To understand the speed of light it is best to ignore religion and focus on science, otherwise you will be more confused.

Answer 8

No.