5.2: Could the Universe have been created old? (Creation versus Evolution)
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This article is from the Scientific Skepticism FAQ, by Paul Johnson Paul@treetop.demon.co.uk with numerous contributions by others.
5.2: Could the Universe have been created old? (Creation versus Evolution)
An argument is sometimes put forward along the following lines:
We know from biblical evidence (see above) that the Universe
is about 6,000 years old. Therefore God created it 6,000
years ago with fossils in the ground and light on its way from
distant stars, so that there is no way of telling the real age
of the Universe simply by looking at it.
This is the "Omphalos" (Navel) theory of Edmund Gosse. Adam had no
mother so did not need a navel, but was created by God with one, i.e.
physical proof of connection with a nonexistent mother. Similarly, at
the moment of Creation the world was chock-full of things that must
have happened yesterday, when yesterday did not exist.
The hypothesis is unfalsifiable, and therefore not a scientific one
(see the section on the scientific method). It could also be made for
any date in the past (like last Tuesday). Finally it requires that
God, who is alleged to speak to us through His Works, should be lying
to us by setting up a misleading Creation. This seems to be rather
inconsistent with Biblical claims of God being the source of all
truth.
One might also argue that in creating the universe "old", God also
created the past of the universe. This "fake" past must be a perfect
match with the "real" past (otherwise we could spot the join). Hence
the events from before the moment of "creation" are just as real as
the events which have happened since. Since God is supposed to exist
independently of time and space, this makes the whole idea
meaningless.
Note that this argument is not put forward by creation scientists.
They hold that modern science has misinterpreted the evidence about
the age of the universe.
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