1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Featured Light years

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by Salty, Mar 8, 2013.

  1. humblethinker

    humblethinker Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,285
    Likes Received:
    0

    the present time, it appears that general support by the creationist community of the decay of the speed of light hypothesis is not warranted by the data upon which the hypothesis rests.
    http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=283

    Also, they seem to speak to the "22 coincidences" here:
    Thus, any gradual and asymptotic approach of the results of experiments to measure c to its present-day value needs to be carefully and critically scrutinized to determine if the effect is due to real, physical changes in the structure of the universe which have altered c, or if it is merely the result of "refinements of technique and method" of measurement.

    It is also well known that a given body of data can be inadvertently manipulated due to subjective bias in such a way as to yield unwarranted conclusions. The best way to avoid this problem in the current context is to treat the entire data set as a whole. This minimizes the effects of systematic experimental error and enhances the possibility of discerning any real, overall trend in the value of c.

    Unfortunately, the authors of the technical report devote great effort to the discussion and analysis of the data in separate, small groups for any kind of c decay trend within the group, and report changes which can only be explained as technique refinement, as if they were unequivocally in support of c decay. They do, in one place, however, consider the whole body of data collectively. In this one instance, they use a nonweighted least squares technique to find the straight line which best fits the data (ignoring the relative uncertainties in the different data points), and conclude:
    When all 163 values involving 16 different experimental methods are used, the linear fit to the data gives a decay of 38 km/s per year (p. 25).​
    If this was the end of the matter, it would certainly seem to provide powerful evidence in favor of the c decay hypothesis. Unfortunately, even a cursory glance at the data reveals that the above analysis is inappropriate for the given data set, and, hence, the conclusions drawn from it are not valid.
    There's more in the article.... Read on.
     
  2. Winman

    Winman Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2009
    Messages:
    14,768
    Likes Received:
    2
    I did read the article, he did not really refute Setterfield's work, he just disagreed with it. This is NORMAL in science, especially when new theories are first introduced.

    The truth is, many secular scientists since Setterfield have also claimed that light speed has slowed, some claim the speed of light was much higher than the numbers Setterfield came up with, literally BILLIONS of times faster. In fact, I have heard of 10 to the 70th power faster!

    http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9811018

    If there is any truth at all to this, then light from the farthest reaches of space would have reached earth in an instant of time.

    So, this is not just the theory of a creationist who is trying to explain how starlight from distant galaxies has reached earth in 6000 years, there are many secular scientists who have also submitted evidence that light has slowed down.

    And to this day, no one has refuted Setterfield.
     
  3. humblethinker

    humblethinker Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Looks like the above quote was from... Wait for it... 1999? Really? What is the new consensus or idea? Did their report actually result in rewriting the text books?

    (See "1999" in the link) http://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/225/print/
     
  4. Winman

    Winman Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2009
    Messages:
    14,768
    Likes Received:
    2
    Actually, the article you posted was from 1988, and Setterfield has answered it long ago.

    http://www.trueorigin.org/ca_bs_02.asp

    You see, you can always find negative articles if that is what you want to find. It doesn't mean they are valid.
     
  5. humblethinker

    humblethinker Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,285
    Likes Received:
    0
    It's not the case that I'm looking for anything less than what is accurate and representative any of the sides. There's too much bias as it is and too much obfuscation from those who want to justify their bias. I'll try to make sense of the timeline here. If I referred to an outdated article it was not my intent and I hope that you believe that I have more intellectual integrity than to "find negative articles" since "that is what want to find".
     
  6. saturneptune

    saturneptune New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2006
    Messages:
    13,977
    Likes Received:
    2
    Actually, to strengthen the faith of those who observed the Ascension, He had His space suit hid under His robe, and when He was beyond their eyesight, He put the suit on before He ran out of air.
     
  7. humblethinker

    humblethinker Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Winman, I'm engaging you on this subject with the hope that you are aware of significantly meaningful information that I have not yet happened across. Let's start at Wikipedia and see if you can enlighten me as to how they've got it wrong:

    "When these points are added back into the set, there is no apparent decay. More recent versions of Setterfield's paper include these figures, using adjusted mathematics to rebuild the curve. These mathematics have been the object of ridicule.[18]"
    From the 'c decay' section here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationist_cosmologies
     
  8. JohnDBaptiste

    JohnDBaptiste Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2013
    Messages:
    117
    Likes Received:
    6
    Faith:
    Baptist
    How old was Adam on day two of his life?

    An infant two days old?

    A full grown man two days old?
     
  9. humblethinker

    humblethinker Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hello JDB, glad to have you here on the BB. I think most people on the BB would say that Adam was a two day old grown man on his second day of existence. Did you have an unsettled opinion on the matter or were you expecting that this hadn't already been considered by us?
     
  10. Winman

    Winman Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2009
    Messages:
    14,768
    Likes Received:
    2
    I am not qualified to speak on this subject, I would suggest you e-mail Barry with your specific questions, he will answer you. I wrote him several questions years ago and was amazed at his quick response. He also has a page at his site that answers many of his critics.

    I do not know for an absolute certainty that this theory is true, but I believe it very credible and completely possible. That is what I have said from the beginning, "I believe". It is a matter of faith.

    I could as easily believe God made the universe with the appearance of age, but I tend not to believe this. God is perfectly honest, he does not mislead. So, if the universe appears old (and distant starlight that has arrived here suggests that), then I believe there must be a scientific explanation for it. I do not believe scripture and true science ever contradict each other, but rather that true science will always agree with scripture when properly understood.

    That said, considering Adam, he MUST have been created with the appearance of age.
     
  11. convicted1

    convicted1 Guest

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2007
    Messages:
    9,012
    Likes Received:
    28
    :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
     
  12. humblethinker

    humblethinker Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,285
    Likes Received:
    0
    I appreciate this reply. I doubt I'll contact Barry. I'll let him make his case to his peers and form an opinion from his case and the rebuttals of his peers. I'm an IT consultant. I find much of this talk of science similar to some situations I have seen in my profession. There are plenty of biases and there are proven universal facts. I might be able to convince a novice of the validity of my bias but in the end I will not represent my bias as being a universal fact. This is where peer review is important, especially for us who are not qualified to speak on the subject authoritatively. Now, when Barry does not convince his peers , especially those that 'want to believe' his case, then that SHOULD weigh heavily in my mind.

    I appreciate your desire to maintain intellectual integrity. I share it. My intellectual integrity will not allow me to embrace a YEC view, including Barry's view on starlight.

    Regarding God not being deceptive, perhaps it is Babette's in another thread, but, you do think there is a difference between being deceptive and accommodating someone else, right?
     
  13. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    May 14, 2001
    Messages:
    26,977
    Likes Received:
    2,536
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Hi Winman,

    How about the "best" wine which Jesus created in a moment at the wedding at Cana which being "the best" normally meant well aged?

    And what of the sun which gives the "false" impression of "rising" and "setting" viewed at with the human eye.

    I dont think we should classify these as "misleading" but just that we don't have all the information or faculty of understanding.

    There are many many examples in creation that seemingly are "deceptive" but in truth are simply the result of the limitations of the equipment of perception and the understanding of creation that we possess.

    e.g. A mountain appears small but as we approach it it get larger and larger - but does it actually get larger?

    And what do we actually see? we dont "see" the actual thing we are looking at but a translation of the reality of the thing as light reflects of of it and the photons passing through the optic nerve are translated into a representative signal which is interpreted in the brain and acted upon in the reality of our mortal existence we now possess.

    etc, etc, etc.

    Ecclesiastes 8:17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

    HankD
     
  14. Winman

    Winman Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2009
    Messages:
    14,768
    Likes Received:
    2
    Barry has submitted his work numerous times for peer review, but it has been rejected over and over again, but not because of error;

    As you see here, no one has said Barry's work is error, they have simply made excuses not to look at it. In the meantime, many secular physicists and scientists have also theorized that light was once much faster, in fact, they believe it was fantastically faster than any speeds given by Barry.

    Truth is, many do not want to accept this theory because it would prove the world is young as the Bible says.

    If you do not allow for this anti-Bible bias, you are not seeing the whole picture. It is real, and it is out there.
     
  15. humblethinker

    humblethinker Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,285
    Likes Received:
    0
    I hear you, and I recognize that there is an anti-Bible bias that some have. But I don't think it is warranted to think that all those who are not YEC share that anti-Bible bias, they just view the Bible differently than you. That does not make them wrong. The reality is whatever it is regardless of what any of us believe it to be. Why should anyone believe other than that which they are convinced? While I remain open to be re-convinced of YEC, I am convinced otherwise based on Biblical and scientific grounds.
     
  16. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    May 14, 2001
    Messages:
    26,977
    Likes Received:
    2,536
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Good call.

    HankD
     
Loading...