Red shifts reveal the Glory of God by confirming his Stretching apart of the Heavens


Isaiah 44:24

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone.”

(plus 11 other OT passages declaring this stretching)

Source: Answers in Genesis


"In 1917, Willem de Sitter used Einstein's equations to predict the discovery of an expanding universe. In a letter from Albert Einstein to astronomer Willem de Sitter, he complained that the expanding-universe theory implied a moment of creation: “To admit such possibilities seems senseless to me,” NYT



Lemaitre, Einstein & Hubble


The Catholic priest Georges Lemaître independently proposed the idea of an expanding universe based on Einstein's theory of general relativity in 1927, two years before Edwin Hubble's observations confirmed it. It was consistent  with his interpretation of scripture


Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Hebrews 11:3

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.


While his paper wasn't widely read initially, he later interacted with Einstein and even presented his ideas at a conference where Einstein was present. Einstein was skeptical of Lemaître's expanding universe theory as it contradicted his own static universe model. However, upon learning of Hubble's observations in 1929, Einstein acknowledged Lemaître's work and even called the expanding universe concept "the most beautiful discovery" made in his lifetime. He also called his “static model” his greatest blunder.” Einstein realized he could have been the first to describe the universe's beginning had he not rejected a moment of creation.


Hubble and the Redshift


Edwin Hubble's observations of redshift in distant galaxies provided crucial evidence supporting the expanding universe theory.

He derived his Hubble Constant by it:

Hubble Constant- the greater the redshift the faster and further away a galaxy is traveling.


The overwhelming majority of astronomers accept the redshift of distant galaxies as evidence of the expansion of the universe, a positive Hubble Constant. Astronomers observe that the light from distant galaxies is shifted towards the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum. This redshift is interpreted as a result of the expansion of the universe, where the space between us and those galaxies is stretching, causing the wavelengths of light to stretch as well.


The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation also supports this: The leftover radiation from the creation of the universe is uniformly red shifted across the sky.


The redshift caused by the expansion of the universe is a cornerstone of modern cosmology.


Why the Mainstream View Prevails

The expansion of the universe and the associated redshift interpretation is favored by the scientific community because:

  • Predictive Power

The expansion of the universe has been successful in predicting various cosmological phenomena.

  • Lack of Compelling Alternatives

So far, alternative hypotheses for redshift lack sufficient evidence and fail to explain the range of observations as effectively as the expansion-based explanation.

  • Importance of Scientific Consensus

While it's healthy to        consider diverse perspectives, it's important to recognize that most astronomers and cosmologists support the prevailing view of redshift as evidence for the expansion of the universe. This overwhelming consensus is based on decades of rigorous research and the people alignment of theory with multiple lines of observation.


Answers in Genesis

Dr Danny Faulkner supports red shifting:

Faulkner says,” There clearly is a trend of increasing magnitude with increasing redshift, which is expected, if redshifts are cosmological.

I encourage fellow recent creationists to abandon their doubts that extragalactic redshifts are cosmological.”


Dr Jason Lisle's writes in Answers in Genesis: The Universe Confirms the Bible


“The Bible indicates in several places that the universe has been “stretched out.” This would suggest that the universe has actually increased in size since its creation. Most astronomers today believe that the universe is expanding. This expansion is a very natural result of the physics that Einstein discovered, general relativity. There is observational evidence that the universe is indeed expanding If the entire universe were being stretched out, the galaxies would all be moving away; and that is exactly what they appear to be doing. It is interesting that the Bible recorded the notion of an expanding universe thousands of years before secular science came to accept the idea.” 

While he doesn't say he believes in red shifting he in essence confirms it by accepting God's stretching of the universe.” 

The measurements he points out astronomers are doing are cosmic redshifts including the COBE data. Plus he recognises Einstein's equations.


Distances the Universe has stretched

The Hubble constant measures the red shifting  and its estimate is that space expands at around 70 km/s/Mpc, about the speed of a fighter jet. A megaparsec (Mpc) is a measurement of distance equal to one million parsecs or 3.26 million light years

Calculating how much expansion has occurred over a brief period of time

According to the Hubble constant estimates (around 70 km/s/Mpc), the average distance between galaxies would have increased by approximately 0.0022% in 6000 years. It is questionable if the 12 OT verses could be in view as they say the whole universe is stretched apart. 

How much expansion over one million years?

On average, galaxies would have moved apart by approximately 0.70 meters over one million years due to the universe's expansion. This is still too small for those 12 verses.


Anisotropic Synchrony

Convention- A Solution to the Distant Starlight Problem?

Dr Lisles developed the ASC convention in 2010 to explain the “speed of light problem” for creationists. He posits that light coming at us travels at infinite speed while going away at half light speed. Einstein's general relativity depends on a constant speed of light in all frames of reference.

A problem Lisles encounters is 

red shifting which his colleague Danny Faulkner accepts. If light comes at us at an infinite speed as his ASC proposes no red shifting would be noticed. In fact “blue shifting” would be noticed.


Another significant  problem is with special relativity- E=MC^2. If light were to increase speed “E” would increase to the square of that speed. If “C” were infinite all stars would explode all over the universe. Our own star would consume us. 

Maybe the most significant problem is that scientists have measured the one-way speed of light over 160 million light years. A neutron star collapse released gravity waves which the measured at the speed of light while at the same time gamma rays were measured at the same time. These two phenomena measured at the same time for the first time confirmed the one way speed of light. This is discussed here. This severely challenges the ASC.

Biblically there are also troubles. The 12 OT verses say God stretched apart the whole universe. Recall in 6000 years only a stretching of 0.0022% would have occurred. This is far from the whole heavens being stretched apart as those 12 verses say.

Lastly as the Psalmist says “night after night” the heavens declare God's glory and reveal knowledge.


Psalms 19:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.


Without redshifts or with the ASC the heavens would appear “illusory,” with no knowledge.


Conclusion 

It's clear creationists need to work in their models to include scripture with astronomy to concord the knowledge the heavens declare “night after night.”

With a respectful dialog maybe these issues can be solved.






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