"So if the light really took billions of years to get here, then the universe (or at least those galaxies) would therefore be billions of years old. But this interpretation clashes with a straightforward reading of the Bible, which indicates that God created the universe only a few thousand years ago.
To deal with this issue, various scientists over the years have proposed models, such as a changing speed of light and “gravitational time dilation.” It should also be noted that secular astronomers have their own time-travel problem—called “the horizon problem” (the big bang cannot explain how light could have traveled across the universe to produce uniform “background” temperatures).
I believe that we may now have the answer to this question.
Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for light to move instantaneously even today. So, the amount of time it takes for light to travel from the most distant stars to earth is actually zero—not only during Day Four of Creation but today as well.
This principle was not discovered by a biblical creationist in an attempt to solve the starlight problem. Rather, it was discovered by Albert Einstein.
A less-well-known aspect of Einstein’s physics is that the speed of light in one direction cannot be objectively measured, and so it must be stipulated (agreed upon by convention). This stands in contrast to the round-trip speed of light, which is always constant.
For example, if light travels from A to B and then back to A, it will always take the same amount of time to make the trip (because its speed is always the same), and that time is objectively measurable. However, the time it takes to go just from A to B, or just from B to A is not objectively measurable. So the speed of light in one direction must be stipulated.
So we may choose to regard the speed of light as being instantaneous when travelling toward us, providing the round-trip speed (in empty space) is always 186,000 miles per second. In this case, the light from distant stars takes no time at all to reach the earth since the light is travelling toward us. So distant starlight is not an issue.
This convention could be called the “anisotropic synchrony convention,” or ASC, because it claims that light travels at different speeds in different directions (anisotropic).
It appears that the biblical writers used the ASC convention. Genesis 1:15 tells us that the lights in the heavens were designed to give light upon the earth, and it also tells us “and it was so.” This strongly suggests that the stars immediately began fulfilling their God-ordained purpose to give light upon the earth.
If we understand that the Bible in Genesis (and throughout) uses ASC, then this explains how we can see light from the most distant galaxies; God created the celestial lights on Day Four and it took that light no time at all to reach earth (because the light was on a one-way trip). So Adam would not have needed to wait 4.3 years for Alpha Centauri to become visible. He could have seen the star immediately, along with all the other stars." AIG
To deal with this issue, various scientists over the years have proposed models, such as a changing speed of light and “gravitational time dilation.” It should also be noted that secular astronomers have their own time-travel problem—called “the horizon problem” (the big bang cannot explain how light could have traveled across the universe to produce uniform “background” temperatures).
I believe that we may now have the answer to this question.
Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for light to move instantaneously even today. So, the amount of time it takes for light to travel from the most distant stars to earth is actually zero—not only during Day Four of Creation but today as well.
This principle was not discovered by a biblical creationist in an attempt to solve the starlight problem. Rather, it was discovered by Albert Einstein.
For example, if light travels from A to B and then back to A, it will always take the same amount of time to make the trip (because its speed is always the same), and that time is objectively measurable. However, the time it takes to go just from A to B, or just from B to A is not objectively measurable. So the speed of light in one direction must be stipulated.
So we may choose to regard the speed of light as being instantaneous when travelling toward us, providing the round-trip speed (in empty space) is always 186,000 miles per second. In this case, the light from distant stars takes no time at all to reach the earth since the light is travelling toward us. So distant starlight is not an issue.
This convention could be called the “anisotropic synchrony convention,” or ASC, because it claims that light travels at different speeds in different directions (anisotropic).
It appears that the biblical writers used the ASC convention. Genesis 1:15 tells us that the lights in the heavens were designed to give light upon the earth, and it also tells us “and it was so.” This strongly suggests that the stars immediately began fulfilling their God-ordained purpose to give light upon the earth.
If we understand that the Bible in Genesis (and throughout) uses ASC, then this explains how we can see light from the most distant galaxies; God created the celestial lights on Day Four and it took that light no time at all to reach earth (because the light was on a one-way trip). So Adam would not have needed to wait 4.3 years for Alpha Centauri to become visible. He could have seen the star immediately, along with all the other stars." AIG
And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the
earth:
and it was so.
Genesis 1:15
