Time Dilation and Young Earth Creationism: A Misused Theory

Psalms 90:4

For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.

Young Earth Creationism (YEC) stands in opposition to the widely accepted theory of an ancient Earth. YEC proponents argue for a literal interpretation of the biblical creation story, placing the Earth's age at around 6,000 years. One concept they often attempt to leverage is time dilation, a theory arising from Einstein's theory of relativity. However, their use of time dilation is fundamentally flawed and reveals a misunderstanding of both scientific principles and biblical interpretation.

Understanding Time Dilation

Time dilation describes how time appears to pass slower for objects in motion relative to an observer. The faster an object moves, the slower time appears to pass for it compared to a stationary observer. This phenomenon has been experimentally verified and is well-established in physics.

The YEC Misconception

YEC proponents often argue that time dilation could explain the vast timescales calculated by science for events like radioactive dating. They propose that clocks onboard moving objects, such as Earth orbiting the sun, would run slower than stationary clocks. This supposed time slowdown, they argue, could compress the Earth's history into a much shorter timeframe, aligning with their young Earth view.

Why This Argument Fails

The YEC application of time dilation is flawed for several reasons:

• Misapplication of Scale: The time dilation effects observed in physics are incredibly minute. They become significant only at speeds approaching the speed of light, which Earth demonstrably does not travel in its orbit around the sun. The time dilation experienced by Earth is negligible and cannot account for billions of years being compressed into thousands.

• Time Dilation is Relative: Time dilation is relative to the observer. If someone were on a spaceship traveling near the speed of light relative to Earth, they would observe time passing slower on Earth from their perspective. However, from the perspective of someone on Earth, time would be passing slower on the spaceship. This relativity renders the concept inapplicable to explaining the Earth's age. Regardless of Earth's motion, the radioactive decay rates measured in rocks would be the same.

• Misunderstanding Radioactive Dating: Radioactive dating relies on the consistent decay rates of radioactive isotopes into daughter products. These rates are not affected by motion or external factors like gravity. Time dilation does not alter the fundamental decay process, and the measured ages of rocks would remain accurate regardless of Earth's motion.

Biblical Interpretation and Time

Beyond the scientific inaccuracies, YEC's use of time dilation reflects a misunderstanding of biblical interpretation. The Bible uses various literary devices, and interpreting every passage literally can lead to inconsistencies. The focus of the creation story is not the specific timeframe but the concept of God as the creator.

The Scientific Consensus

The vast majority of scientists, including geologists, physicists, and astronomers, support the theory of an ancient Earth. Evidence from multiple scientific disciplines – radioactive dating, fossil records, geological formations – all converge to paint a picture of a billions-of-years-old Earth.

Dark Energy and time dilation 

12 old testament verses say God stretches apart the universe eg 

Isaiah 45:12

"It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their hosts (Stars).

Our understanding of dark energy and time dilation is complex and still evolving. Here's what we know:

• Time dilation is a well-established concept in Einstein's theory of relativity. It describes how time slows down for objects in stronger gravity or moving at high speeds relative to an observer.

• Dark energy, on the other hand, is a mysterious force causing the universe's expansion to accelerate. Its properties are not fully understood.

There isn't a direct link between dark energy and time dilation in the way gravity is. However, some theories explore connections:

• Constant energy density: One theory suggests dark energy has a constant energy density, unaffected by the universe's expansion. As the universe grows, dark energy becomes more dominant, even though its density stays the same. This expansion itself might influence time perception on a cosmological scale, but it's not directly caused by dark energy.

• Alternative explanation for expansion: There are fringe theories proposing that the observed expansion could be due to a form of time dilation, not dark energy. These are highly speculative and not widely accepted in the scientific community.

Overall, the effect of dark energy on time dilation remains an area of ongoing research. Most current observations of time dilation focus on gravity and special relativity, not dark energy.

Psalms 90:4 and the concept of time dilation 

This verse is speaking from the perspective of God. A thousand years to us seems like a long time, but to God, who exists outside of time, it's like a day or even a short period like a watch of the night. This emphasizes God's eternal nature and our limited human perception of time.

Time Dilation: This is a scientific theory based on Einstein's theory of relativity. It states that time actually runs slower for objects moving at very high speeds or in strong gravitational fields. This is a physical phenomenon matching Psalms 90.

Psalms 90:4 focuses on God's perspective and the contrast between human and divine perception of time. Time dilation is a scientific concept about how the passage of time itself can be affected by physical forces.

Nature of Time: Psalms uses language to describe God as existing outside of time. Time dilation talks about how the perception of time can change, but time itself still flows linearly.

Psalms 90 and time dilation highlight the vastness of time and the limitations of our human understanding.

Conclusion

Time dilation is a real phenomenon, but it does not support the YEC view of a young Earth. The scientific community overwhelmingly accepts the evidence for an ancient Earth. While faith and science can sometimes explore different aspects of reality, attempts to misuse scientific concepts to fit a literal interpretation of the Bible do a disservice to both science and religion.