Time for a quick chuckle.
I love it when Answers in Genesis publishes a new paper in their research journal. It's such an erudite vehicle for demonstrating the high-quality academic research that constitutes the finest of the field of Creation Science. And it's a journal. With a sciencey-looking masthead and citations and stuff. And it's free!
Answers Research Journal
Cutting-edge creation research. Free. Answers Research Journal (ARJ) is a professional, peer-reviewed technical journal for the publication of interdisciplinary scientific and other relevant research from the perspective of the recent Creation and the global Flood within a biblical framework.
So, what is their
latest bit of cutting-edge scientific research? Let's have a look-see, shall we?
Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 211-229.
Astronomical Distance Determination Methods and the Light Travel Time Problem
by Danny R. Faulkner, AiG–U.S.
June 12, 2013
Abstract
Some recent creationists have attempted to address the light travel time problem indirectly with an implied appeal to a small universe. If the universe is no more than a few thousand light years in size, then the light travel time is eliminated almost by definition. Here I survey the methods used for establishing astronomical distances. The only direct method of measuring stellar distances generally results in reliably measured distances of less than a thousand light years. However, that limit likely soon will exceed 6000 light years. Indirect methods already produce distances that are thousands, millions, and even billions of light years. The indirect distance determination methods ultimately are tied to direct determinations of distance, and they are reasonably consistent with one another. Furthermore the indirect methods are supported by well-understood physics. It is extremely unlikely that these methods are so wrong that the light travel time problem can be answered with a small universe.
Introduction
The recent creation model is that the earth and the rest of the universe were created supernaturally in six normal days a few thousand years ago and that the Flood in Noah’s time was global and universal. This is contrary to what is held by most scientists, who believe that the earth and universe are billions of years old. The size of the universe is a challenge for the recent creation model.
Indeed it is, Danny, indeed it is.
What follows is actually a fairly decent summary of the various methods of how astronomical distances are determined, but nothing that couldn't be found on Wikipedia and written up by a college sophomore for an Astronomy 102 paper. So, I shall head straight to the Earth-shattering conclusion.
Conclusion
In my survey of astronomical distance determination methods I have shown that we can have confidence that the universe really is as large as astronomers claim. To explain the light travel time problem by appealing to a universe much reduced in size is not tenable. Therefore, the light travel time problem is real, and it requires a real solution. Fortunately, we have a number of solutions already in the creation literature, but further proposals are welcome.
So... the many scientists that have been calculating astronomical distances for lo these many years have been right all along. The Universe is not just 12,000 light years across. That would be a small Universe. No, the Universe is
big. Really
really big. But of course it can't be really really
old because The Bible says so, so that causes some major headaches for us Creation Scientists. But we've made up some whacky ideas to explain those problems away and have had them reviewed by our scientific peers and we've published them in this here science journal so they must be really really good ideas. And by the way, if any of you Creationist readers happen to come up with any new whacky ideas of your own that can help us explain these problems away, please send them our way. Maybe you, too, can become a published Creation Science Researcher! After you sign our
Statement of Faith first, of course. No Creation Scientist is allowed to publish the results of any of their cutting-edge research unless they do.
I love you, AiG, I really do. Please keep 'em comin'.
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