Time and Starlight

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Hope1960

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For those who believe in a young earth, how do you explain starlight that we can see, being described by astronomers as millions of light years away?

I’ve read several explanations that were problematic and one by Barry Setterfield that could be promising but that went way over my head. Thoughts?
 
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Wait for it…someone will say God made it “appear” that the light is millions of light years away.
 
There isn’t anything scientifically sound other than that stuff really is that far away. And there isn’t anything theologically sound that involves saying that God somehow deceived us. If he deceives, then he isn’t God.

-Fr ACEGC
 
The issue is not believing in a young earth but in anomalous observations. Halton Arp worked with Edwin Hubble who told him that the observed redshift showed galaxies moving away from us at a certain speed OR it was something else.

https://www.haltonarp.com/bio

The other issue is some redshifts indicate a superluminal velocity, meaning they are traveling faster than light.

See this book:
In English, are you saying the earth was created in six days and it doesn’t look like that because something is traveling faster than light?
 
There isn’t anything scientifically sound other than that stuff really is that far away. And there isn’t anything theologically sound that involves saying that God somehow deceived us. If he deceives, then he isn’t God.

-Fr ACEGC
I’ve been going to a Lutheran LCMS church for a few weeks and they believe the universe was created in a literal six days.
 
A “day” in the context of the universe hasn’t been defined yet. Only in earth terminology.
 
Why bored? I’m not sure “bored” is a good reason to stop going to Mass.

The Mass is still where we encounter the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. And the Church is still the true one founded by Christ himself on the foundation of the Apostles. Boredom oughtn’t keep us from the Lord and his truth.
 
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I know but I’m just very unhappy there and happy worshipping at the LCMS.
 
But that doesn’t change what’s good and true. Being unhappy at the Catholic Church doesn’t make the Eucharist any less present, and being happy at the Lutheran Church doesn’t suddenly make it true.

Why are you unhappy at the Catholic Church?
 
I used to be a young Earther. The more I studied it from a scientific standpoint (and theological) the whole thing came crashing down around me like a house of cards.

The best scientific explanation I heard was one that compared the measurements taken of the speed of light throughout time. Galileo (I think?) used Jupiter’s moons to calculate it and got a much faster speed than we know it to be now. A few hundred years later another method was used and it was slower, but still faster than it is now. The Young Earthers I read this from propose that at the creation of the Universe the speed of light was much, much, MUCH faster than it is now, and has been exponentially slowing down. So, light that would appear to be millions or even BILLIONS of years old, would only appear to be that old because the light was originally travelling much faster.

Obviously I feel this explanation has a lot of holes in it, not the least of which is the accuracy of measurements taken by telescope hundreds of years ago…but this was the most scientifically minded explanation I heard.
 
Boring, unrelatable homilies, boring outdated music, there’s nothing there for me except Communion.
 
Except communion. The greatest gift we can ever possibly hope to receive. It isn’t about the music or the homily. I’ve said Mass in some places where the music wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, and I’m sure I’ve tended toward the bland in my preaching at times. But I still hold in my hands the Body of the Lord. Who cares if my mind and body are bored and restless, my soul is inflamed by receiving him. Nothing except communion, and yet that is entirely the point.

I’m deeply concerned for you, my friend. Praying for you.
 
Starlight and time Is the only one that I ever heard of. It is written by a young earth creationist who has a background in the physics of general relativity. It was not without criticism though. And it is way over my head as I am not a scientist and don’t really care anything about the age of the universe.
 
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