Serge M Botans

Is the Universe Really 4.5 Billion Years Old ... Or Does it Just Look Like It is?



Posted: Saturday, June 05, 2010

by Serge M Botans
Cattle Ramp Services

Following the article 'Proof that the Earth is not not Billions of Years old and Young Earth is Wrong' written by Connor Davidson, I thought I would write an article to share my thoughts about the never ending and on-going debate of creation versus big bang.

This article is not meant to address the issues he raises but merely to share my thoughts.

1. I think that it is very dangerous to develop a point of theology, or a belief, on the use of the one word, in this case 'day' where it is believed that God created all things in 7 literal 'days'.

2. As I understand it, the original Hebrew word that was translated as 'day', can also mean 'period of time'.  So, we really should not get hang up on whether the Universe was created in 7 literal 'days', let alone get hang up on the use of the word 'day' which is a translation of a word written in another language and for which we apparently don't have an equivalent word (otherwise that word would have been used). I think a better way to think of 'day' is 'epoq' or 'stages' meaning that God created all things in 7 stages. Just my thoughts!

3. Further to that point, God did not create the Sun until 'day' 4. So clearly, the idea of a 'day' being the same as our concept of day does not hold water.

4. If I was God and I created the Universe in 7 literal 'days', then I would have created it with signs of age consistent with the laws of Physics, Biology, Geology, and so on ... Laws of nature that I also created. This means that Adam could have cut down a tree on 'day' 8 and he would have seen tree rings indicating that the tree had been around a lot longer than 8 days. So his choice would have been, do I believe God who told me He created the Universe last week or do I believe the tree rings that tell me that this tree has been here for years?

5. Assuming God did the same thing, then this means that there is no way to prove that the Universe is young as per some creationists' seek to do. And likewise, there is no way that you can prove that the Universe is as old as Science claims.

6. It simply means that the Universe looks 4.5 billion years old!

7. If, in addition to all this, we consider Hebrews 11:3 which states to the effect that 'by faith, we believe that God created the Universe', then we are required to believe that God created the Universe by faith and not because we can prove it.

8. Additionally, it also states in Hebrews 11:6 to the effect that 'without faith, it is impossible to please God'. This tells me that there is NO way we can prove that God created the Universe, as He wants us believe in this by faith and not because there is evidence.

9. Lastly, by using things such as carbon dating to date things, it is assumed that the laws of Physics that currently govern our Universe were the same laws that governed the Universe 1 billion, 2 billion, 3 billion, 4 billion years ago. This is an implicit assumption in stating that the Universe is dated at 4.5 billion years old. I think that this assumption needs to be proved if conclusions based on this assumption are to be believed. Given that Science is about proving, then proving it is a must before making conclusions that follow from what is really an assumption.

To conclude, I see no end to this debate for the reasons mentioned above as for me, Science cannot definitely prove that the Universe really is 4.5 billion years old but only that the Universe looks like it is 4.5 billion years old. How old it really is, no one really knows!

Serge M Botans is a man of wide experience, a self-made man who likes to reflect on many things. He has a M.Sc. in theoretical Physics where he studied Einstein theory of General Relativity. He is self-taught in: music theory and musical instruments, web design and search engine optimisation, computer programming, and more... He was a Maths, Science and Physics teacher in a high school for 12 years until he had a stress breakdown. He was born and bred in Casablance Morocco and now lives in Melbourne Australia. He has a daughter who is a gifted writer and who has won a number of writing awards while a teenager. He finds small talk very difficult and loves 'deep and meaninful' conversations. His 2 main web sites are: Mental Workout, and Cattle Ramp Services.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Jennifer Stewart
 1 year 330 days ago.
152 fans.
This is an exciting article for me to read, Serge, thanks! I too believe that the words don't mean what they're literally translated as. To take them literally is way too constricted for me - and contradicts the immense power of creativity.
 
I don't actually believe that I can pin down with my thinking brain the creativity that's responsible for the universe and life. Because that part of my brain depends on logic, which depends on a premise - which is always incomplete at some level!
 
Literal translations are for people with no imagination!
» left by Serge M Botans 1 year 330 days ago.
8 fans.
thank you so much jennifer for your comment ... faith and logic certainly seems to be at odds with each other and trying to reconcile the two together is not easy
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