@GreenAppleKing Said 
If the universe is only thousands of years old as the Bible strongly suggests, how can we see objects that are at light travel time distances far greater than a few thousand years?
Since my childhood, the answer I have received was "the Universe was created to appear aged, or in created in progress."
Thoughts?
Time is not absolute.
Time flows at different rates depending upon the gravitational potential at a given point.
When the Lord created the universe he stretched out the heavens:
Job 38:4-7
[4] Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
[5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
[6] Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
[7] When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
psalm 104:1,2
[1] Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
Psalm 136:5,6
[5] To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
[6] To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Isaiah 40:21,22
[21] Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
[22] It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Isaiah 42:5
[5] Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Isaiah 44:24
[24] Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Isaiah 45:12
[12] I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Isaiah 51:13
[13] And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
Jeremiah 10:10-14
[10] But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
[11] Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
[12] He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
[13] When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
[14] Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Zechariah 12:1
[1] The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
At each successive point the gravitational potential was greater and greater (this can almost be pictured as the tension in elastic increasing as it is stretched).
Time flows at a greater rate at points of greater gravitational potential.
Therefore, as the Lord was stretching the heavens six days was how much time flowed on earth, but at the edge of creation billions of years elapsed.
Gravitational time dilation is a somewhat difficult concept to grasp, and the mathematics involved is definitely beyond a lay person, but the basic idea of time flowing faster at points of greater gravitational potential should be a fairly easy notion to consider.
Feb 27, 2014 @ 01:51:54
true.
