The Origin of the Cosmos and the Redshift of Starlight By WordExplain

It is virtually impossible to look up at the starry sky or to travel across our planet without wondering, “Where did it all come from?” In the early years of our country’s existence, the presumptive answer to that question was, “God made it.” But ever since the disobedience of the first man, Adam, people have typically endeavored to hide from God (Gen. 3:1-11). So it should have been no surprise that people called scientists devised a theory that, to them, explains the origin of the universe in such a way that God is either non-existent or irrelevant. That theory is the theory of evolution.

Science is the acquisition of knowledge about natural phenomena by means of observation and experimentation. Ascertaining how our universe came to be by using the scientific method presents two enormous obstacles to scientists: 1) How can you observe something that happened in the past before humans ever existed? 2) How can you perform experiments on a past event? The honest answer to both questions is, “You can’t.” All you can do is to construct a model that best fits the left-over evidence. So, many scientists have constructed a model that begins with pre-existing matter that exploded in what we have come to call “The Big Bang.” Over billions of years, they say, existing galaxies, stars, and our Earth have come into existence. How order could ever come from a cosmic explosion is never rationally explained.

As evidence of an explosion, evolutionary astronomers cite the redshift of starlight (sometimes also spelled red-shift). The redshift of starlight is the decrease in energy of the light, measured with a spectrometer. These astronomers assume that radiating stellar motion expanding outward from the center point of an assumed explosion (the Big Bang) causes the redshift. But there are other possible explanations.

Gravitational escape could also explain the redshift. As light leaves a star’s massive gravity, its energy could be weakened, causing redshift. But redshift could also be caused by a second-order Doppler effect. Light moving at right angles to an observer will always be redshifted. Just so, a car or train passing us blowing its horn will create a shift in the pitch of the horn sound. This may mean that the whole universe is rotating in a circular motion rather than expanding radially. It is also possible that photon interaction could be responsible. Light particles influencing one another could cause a decrease in energy, resulting in redshift. (Donald B. DeYoung, Astronomy and the Bible as quoted in Answers in Genesis, Astronomy and the Bible, see question 66.)

No one can tell us authoritatively how the universe began unless he was there to witness it. Actually, someone was there – God. And He has revealed, without stammering or stuttering, how He created the cosmos. He did so in the Owner’s Manual to which each of us has access. It is called the Bible. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). And He did so in six days (Ex. 20:11). The Creation Model makes the most sense. The Owner’s Manual tells me I will be held accountable to the Creator. That is why I am living my life as I do. How about you?

James T. Bartsch, WordExplain.com