(Gen 1:5), “…one day.” The creation of the universe
brings about the creation of time, “one
day.” Many have rejected the
creation story based on the apparent conflict between the six days of creation in
scripture and the 15+/- Billion years currently accepted (2015) by
scientists. Some believing apologists
such as Hugh Ross read the word for day “yom” as a long but finite period of
time, such as “the day of the wrath of
the LORD,” (Ezek 7:19). “If Moses wanted to communicate a creation
history consisting of six eons, he would have no other option but to use the
word ‘yom’ to describe those eras.” [1]
Following this legitimate reading of the
text, each day represents an age of the creation process.
The Jewish Sages (Rashi, Maimonides, and Nahmanides),
and a number of Christian Scholars, have interpreted the creation days as
24-hour days, (Ex 31:17). Prior to Einstein's Special (1905) and General (1916) Theories of Relativity, “time was always
considered to be absolute…Moreover, time and space were thought to be
unconnected – one did not influence the other.” [2]
“It took Einstein and the
law of relativity to teach us that there is no absolute passage of time. It is as flexible as the possible differences
in the force of gravity and the speed of motion across a boundary separating
the observer from the observed…The passage of time on any one star could be as
different from the passage of time on other stars as six days is different from
15 billion years." [3]
Einstein’s theories interconnected time and space; the
creation of space also brings about the creation of time. Einstein’s theories lead to the understanding
that time is relative to the perspective of the observer, a fact alluded to in
scripture, “A thousand years in Your eyes
are as a day that passes,” (Psa
90:4)(2 Pet 3:8).
“According to Einstein’s law
of relativity…it is impossible in an expanding universe to describe the elapsed
time experienced during a sequence of events occurring in one part of the
universe in a way that will be equal to the elapsed time for those same events
when viewed from another part of the universe.” [4]
The words of Einstein are difficult to comprehend,
except to say that objects moving close to the speed of light and experiencing
different gravitation effects experience different elapsed times. For example, “A clock on the Moon runs more
rapidly than the same clock when on the Earth because the Moos has less gravity
than the Earth.” [5] A short duration of a few minutes on an
object moving at the speed of light in deep space absent gravity, may be the
equivalent of hundreds or thousands of years from the perspective of a position
at rest in a strong gravitational field.
Do not ask me to explain how this happens, except to say that the
principle has moved from theory to scientific fact, both tested and verified.
In one real life application of relativity, the
atomic clocks on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites must be adjusted
relative to their counterparts following the satellites on earth. Special Relativity predicts that the on-board
atomic clocks on the satellites should fall behind clocks on earth by about 7
nanoseconds per day due to the speed of the satellites (~14,000 km/hr). Further, the satellites operate in orbits
high above the earth (20,000 km high) where the curvature of space-time due to
the earth’s mass actually increases the speed of the satellite atomic clocks by
45 nanoseconds per day. The combination
of these two relativistic effects means the clock on the satellite should tick
faster than identical clocks on the earth by about 38 nanoseconds per day. If these effects were not taken into account,
a navigational fix based on the GPS satellites would be false after only two
minutes, and off by 10 km/day. Before
launch, the atomic clocks in these GPS satellites were intentionally slowed
down to take into account the General Relativistic effect when in orbit. [6]
Only in the last 100 years have we come to
appreciate that time is dependent on the perspective of the observer. The creation story is told from the perspective
of God moving at the speed of light in the vicinity of a seemingly infinite
mass. These conditions would experience
a significantly slower time compared to another observer on earth today. The fact that scientists assign any finite
time to the creation of the universe establishes a beginning and the
opportunity to discuss a Creator. Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, made the following observation related to the creation,
“If a person does not
believe in God and in creation, and assumes the world to be something which
‘just happened’ and that everything in it is the result of undersigned, natural
consequences of physical laws, then it is meaningless to talk about a goal and
purpose of life. ‘Goal’ and ‘purpose’ of
man presuppose a Creator and a design for the universe which make it
purposeful.” [7]
For the moment, this is the end of my reflections on
the Big Bang. I only made it through one day, but might choose to pick up
on the subject at a future date. I'm ready to move on to another subject and I am sure you are also. Next subject...Jubilee. All the best, Scott
[1] Navigating
Genesis, Dr. Hugh Ross, 2014 Edition, page 35
[2] Genesis
and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 34
[3] Genesis
and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 157
[4] Genesis
and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 50
[5] Genesis
and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 43
[6] http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.html
[7] Lights
Along the Way, Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., 1995 Edition (Artscroll),
page 59
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