Creationist Cosmology: Starlight, Time, and the New Physics
by kreitsauce on Aug.29, 2009, under Science

Recently I’ve been reading a book entitled Starlight, Time, and the New Physics, which was published in 2007 by Dr. John Hartnett, a professor from the University of West Australia. He has earned a Ph.D. in Physics, and he has published over 120 papers in scientific journals and holds two patents. Shockingly, Hartnett is also a young-earth creationist. The way Darwinists talk, Christians and physicists could never play nice, especially when it came to cosmology and the origin of the universe. What’s funny is that Hartnett has a scientific problem with the Big Bang Theory. Well, actually he has several.
- Uniformity of Background Radiation- If the universe began 13.7 billion years ago courtesy of the Big Bang, why is the background radiation (the “temperature” of empty space) virtually the same in all directions? Unless Earth really is the center of the universe, or at least very close to it, the temperature of space in one direction of the universe shouldn’t be the same as in the opposite direction. The radiation from each end of the universe hasn’t had time to “blend” or balance each other out, since it should take twice as long (at least) as the universe has existed according to the Big Bang theory for radiation from one end of the universe to make it to the other.
- Galactic Recession- No, I’m not talking about the results of Obama’s stimulus package. To the surprise of most scientists, a survey of the galaxies shows that they are all receding (moving away from) our own Milky Way. It shouldn’t be true that all galaxies are receding unless the Milky Way really is very near the center of the universe. Of course, this idea is unpalatable to Darwinists, since it would make our home planet seem too “special.”
- Dark matter- Galaxies shouldn’t be able to hold themselves together without more mass, so scientists have assumed that unobservable “dark matter” must exist. Therefore, of all the matter and energy in the universe, scientists assume that roughly 21% of the matter in the universe is “dark.” This is compared to the 4% of visible matter that can be observed in the universe. Since dark matter is not visible, its existence has been strictly inferred. Some scientists include brown dwarf stars, which are far too rare to account for all the “missing” matter. Others include theoretical supermassive black holes and axions.
- Dark energy- In 1998, scientists discovered that, contrary to popularly-held belief, the expansion of the universe was accelerating rather than decelerating. In order to explain why gravity wasn’t slowing the rate of expansion, scientists theorized that a phenomenon known as “dark energy” was acting on the universe to increase the rate of expansion. This dark energy is also inferred.
- Quasars- Quasars are star-like phenomena thought to exist near the edges of the visible universe. The reason scientists believe that they come from near the edges of the visible universe is because of redshift. According to scientists, redshift occurs when light is “stretched” as it travels through an expanding universe, or due to galactic recession. Quasars are extremely red-shifted, which means that- according to the Darwinistic scientists- they came from very far away. That theory hit a brick wall a few years ago when scientists discovered a quasar in the heart of a galaxy only 300 million light years away. That’s way too close for comfort! How can the redshift be so high if the quasar is so close?
These problems- and others- could potentially have been resolved by Dr. Hartnett’s new creationist cosmology. His theory is based on Dr. Moshe Carmeli’s work on cosmological relativity. This theory is an expansion of Albert Einstein’s theories of general and special relativity. The difference between Einstein’s relativity and Carmeli’s relativity is that in Carmeli’s equations, cosmic time (t) replaces velocity (v) as the critical quantity, and observed time (13.7 billion years) replaces the speed of light (c) as a constant. You’ll have to go to the link above on cosmological relativity to see some of the equations, however, here’s the basic idea. Carmeli realized that it is possible that the galaxies aren’t merely moving away from us, but that space itself was moving away from us and the galaxies were essentially along for the ride. Carmeli’s equations treat the velocity of this expansion as another dimension of the cosmos. For him, the three dimensions of space, as well as time and velocity, are all dimensions that have to be taken into account when dealing with cosmological origins- 5D. In his equations, there is no need for dark energy or dark matter; this “stretching” of space would account for galactic mass and motion. His book includes a number of appendices explaining his equations in detail, but I’ve just decided to explain in practical terms what Hartnett and Carmeli are describing. This explanation will take a few posts to cover, but I think the possibility of a Creationist cosmology that resolves the problems with Big Bang cosmology and respects the Biblical Genesis narrative will be well worth the wait!
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Creationist Cosmology: Starlight, Time, and the New Physics « Kreitsauce’s Musings
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August 29th, 2009 on 11:51 pm
The above are not problems, since a standard cosmology resolves all of them. Hartnett's silliness has been debunked numerous times, as a cursory look through mainstream literature and an elementary Google search will show. What's more, "Darwinism" and cosmology are quite different fields of study. But thanks for the lulz!
August 30th, 2009 on 2:17 am
A "standard" cosmology does not resolve the problems. In the case of dark matter and energy, it requires them. It fails to explain quasars, especially in cases like the one I mentioned in my post. Galactic recession is a problem that caught scientists by surprise because it is the opposite of what Big Bang cosmology would predict, and scientists had to scramble to adjust. Even now you will read of them debating about why things don't add up. The whole Big Bang theory is in shambles and needs to be scrapped.
I'm not exactly sure what you were talking about on Google search. I found some sites selling Hartnett's book, some creationist sites discussing the topic, an evolutionist's blog discussing it, and an old-earth creationist's website arguing against it. What I didn't find was an overwhelming consensus disproving it. You certainly haven't attempted to do so, either, which leads me to ask whether or not you've studied it enough to understand it and come to the conclusion that it is untrue. Finally, I personally classify any materialistic explanation for the origin of the cosmos and life on Earth as Darwinism since it underscores the faith materialists must place in their own beliefs. Thanks for stopping by!
October 29th, 2009 on 7:32 am
i have recently been studying these topics and have found both Carmeli's and Hartnett's insights to be very intriguing in a good sense … i am happy to see someone grappling with matters from both a scientific and a biblical reference … perhaps this will open up new lines of thought in both fields … i happen to hold both a scientific degree (BA in chemistry) and a theology degree (MDiv) and so the correlation of these lines of study always interests me … unfortunately like most people i still have to depend on the expertise of others since i am not at the PhD level in science or the ThD level in theology … folks who outright dismiss the ideas of others, especially learned scholars, often are only revealing their own insecurity
October 29th, 2009 on 7:50 am
Ray,
Kudos to you for taking on science and theology! It's a rewarding combination I've found personally. You're right, though, that people who dismiss ideas outright are making a mistake. If it's a viable theory, it ought to be investigated further not tossed out because it bucks the system!