The main problem with a “young earth” is that it requires that God lied about the things that can be discovered from observing the universe He created. The problem with the “Big Bang” is that it requires infinities in the created universe.
There are two creation stories in Genesis for a reason. The first describes the creation of the universe out of nothing from the beginning. The second describes the creation of Adam and Eve who start CotU’s salvation plan for the creatures that He created. So we can have an “old” universe and a “young” salvation plan at the same time. We will first focus on the creation of the universe out of nothing from the beginning over what we would measure as a long time.
This concept is supported by the Scriptures, and is also supported by the writings of the Hebrew sages:
“According to the master Kabbalists, Rabbi Isaac of Acco, when counting the years of these [7000 year] cycles, one must not use an ordinary physical year, but rather, a divine year. The Midrash says that each divine day is a thousand years, basing this on the verse, “A thousand years in Your sight are as but yesterday” (Psalms 90: 4). Since each year contains 365 1/4 days, a divine year would be 365,250 years long. According to this, each cycle of seven thousand divine years would consist of 2,556,750,000 earthly years. This figure of two-and-a-half billion years is very close to the scientific estimate as to the length of time that life has existed on earth. If we assume that the seventh cycle began with the Biblical account of creation, then this would have occurred when the universe was 15,340,500,000 years old. This is very close to the scientific estimate that the expansion of the universe began some fifteen billion years ago.”
Kaplan, Aryeh (2004-03-15). Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation in Theory and Practice (Kindle Locations 3552-3559). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.
‘During the six days of creation described in the first chapter, G-d did not actually create the world, but rather, created the ingredients which would allow the world to develop. It thus refers to the creation of all matter, along with space and time. It was during these six days that G-d brought the universe into being from absolute nothingness. After these six days of creation, G-d allowed the universe to develop by itself, renewing His creation each seven thousand divine years or 2.5 billion earthly years. All the laws of nature and the properties of matter had been fixed for all time, as it is written, “He has established them forever; He has made a decree which shall not be transgressed” (Psalms 148: 6). It is similarly written, “Whatever G-d decrees shall be forever; nothing shall be added to it, and nothing shall be taken away” (Ecclesiastes 3: 14). ‘
Kaplan, Aryeh (2004-03-15). Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation in Theory and Practice (Kindle Locations 3564-3572). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.
Rabbi Acco made this calculation, based on the Torah, sometime between 1250 AD and 1340 AD more than 300 years before Sir Isaac Newton was born, and at least 600 years before Edwin Hubble proposed his theory of the expanding universe. The reason aligning the start of the seventh cycle of divine years with the second creation story is based on the rabbinical analysis described in Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation in Theory and Practice. Suffice it to say, but the rabbis could not have been adjusting their analysis to conform the yet to be determined modern scientific value!
So this is our first measurement. More than 600 years ago, the Holy Scriptures, as analyzed by people who really cared about finding the truth in them, reveal the age of the universe we can observe today.
In the twentieth century AD, it became obvious that energy and energy states were quantized and could be emitted or absorbed only in discrete units. However, the theories and equations that were developed regarded space and time as continuous and thus infinitely divisible. As a result of not having a minimum space-time unit all of these theories postulate infinities within the physical universe that have not been observed.
The current “Standard Model” for Quantum Mechanics compensates for this through a process called “renormalization” in which one subtracts a big infinity from a smaller infinity to get a measured answer. The “Big Bang Theory” says the universe started as a singularity, then the laws of physics were suspended for a while as everything expanded at faster than the speed of light. “Here the magic happens” is clearly only a “scientific” theory because it is proposed by “scientists.”
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)
Since we are near the time of the end, knowledge has increased! The Unified Field Theory proposed by Burkhard Heim (1925-2001) is a completely discrete theory that is based on the quantization of areas in multiple dimensions. It treats the universe as an accounting system, which is clearly in consonance with the Holy Scriptures, as we shall see. Originally proposed with six dimensions; it was later expanded into 12 dimensions to fully account for Quantum Mechanics. Heim calculated the mass values of the elemental particles using the 6-dimensional formulation and six experimentally measured fundamental constants, such as the speed of light in a vacuum, and arrived at values that were in good (!) agreement with observations.
Burkhard Heim arrived at a description of “the beginning” from the currently observed universe using logic and mathematics. He described the process he used in a presentation to the scientists at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) in Ottoburnn, Germany on November 25, 1976. An annotated transcript of the presentation and an English translation was produced by Olar Posdzech, Jim Graham, John Reed and Wilfried Kugel between 2000 and 2009. In this presentation, Heim derived the fundamental quantum of area which he called a “metron”.
In 1992, Tamar Auerbach explained the cosmology of Heim’s Theory as follows:
“In Heim’s theory both the metronic size, t, and the largest diameter D depend on the age of the universe. The dependence is such that D is expanding and t is contracting, so that D was smaller in the past and t was larger. It stands to reason that at one time in the distant past the surface area of a sphere of diameter D in our 3-dimensional world was equal to the size of t. This instant marks the origin of the universe and of time.
The mathematical relation between D and t is not simple, so that 3 different values of D are found to satisfy the criterion that the area of a sphere of diameter D be equal to t at the beginning of time. Evidently, the universe started as a trinity of spheres, whose diameters turn out to be (in meters):
D1 = 0.90992 m, D2 = 1.06426 m, D3 = 3.70121 m.
This trinity of spheres has important bearings on the structure of elementary particles.
From the first moment the universe began to expand, though at a slower rate than is presently predicted on the basis of the red shift of distant galaxies. Heim’s theory results in a present age of the universe approximately equal to 5.45 x 10^107 years, and a diameter D of about 6.37 x 10^109 light years. During most of its existence the universe consisted of an empty metronic lattice, whose metrons kept getting smaller as the universe grew larger.
Eventually, metrons became small enough for matter to come into existence. This may have occurred some 15-40 billion (10^9) years ago, at which time matter was created throughout the volume of the universe. Hence, according to Heim matter did not originate very soon after a “big bang” explosion but more uniformly in scattered “fire-cracker” like bursts, perhaps of galactic proportions. Spontaneous uniform creation of matter, coupled with the partly attractive and partly repulsive force of gravity mentioned in Section 3 resulted in the observed large-scale galactic structure of the universe. Creation of matter continues to this day, though on a very much reduced scale.”
Heim’s Theory of Elementary Particle Structures, T. Auerbach and Illobrand von Ludwiger published by the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 217-231, 1992
Heim’s Theory then starts in an analogous way to the way the Hebrew Sages explain it:
And He created His universe with three books (Sepharim), with text (Sepher) with number (Sephar) and with communication (Sippur).
Kaplan, Aryeh (2004-03-15). Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation in Theory and Practice (Kindle Locations 445-449). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.
Now the Sefer Yetzirah is said to be part of the oral Torah, but we don’t know for sure, so it should be treated as commentary. So we must look for a pattern in the Torah that matches Heim’s Theory in order to consider Heim’s theory a match for the first creation story. The amazing thing is that the Torah’s description of the creation of the Nation of Israel fits the pattern of these three spheres (books) and the organization of the dimensions used in Extended Heim Theory.
If we simply number the 12 sons of Jacob in the order they were born, we get the following:
x1 Gen 29:32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The LORD has surely seen my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”
x2 Gen 29:33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
x3 Gen 29:34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.
x4 Gen 29:35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
x5 Gen 30:6 Then Rachel said, “G-d has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
x6 Gen 30:8 Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called him Naphtali.
x7 Gen 30:11 Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad.
x8 Gen 30:13 Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.
x9 Gen 30:18 Leah said, “G-d has given me my hire [wages] because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
x10 Gen 30:20b Leah said, “...now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
x11 Gen 30:24 So she [Rebecca] called his name Joseph, and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.”
x12 Gen 35:18 As her soul was departing (for she died), she [Rebecca] called his name Ben-Oni [son of my sorrow]; but his father called him Ben-Jamin.
There probably is some significance to the names themselves, but at this point I have only looked at the birth order and grouping related to the dimensions used in Extended Heim Theory.
Leah’s first three sons, Reuben, Simion, and Levi, represent the R3 (x,y,z) Spatial Dimensions. Her fourth son, Judah, represents T! (t) Time. Note that this associates the genealogy of Jesus with time!
Rachel’s maid, Bihah, two sons, Dan and Naphtali, represent S2 (x5, x6) the Structure dimensions. These are the dimensions that provide the electromagnetic force. Heim’s initial theory used only these six dimensions.
Leah’s maid, Zilpha, responds with two sons, Gad and Asher, who represent I2 (x7,x8) the Information dimensions.
The next four dimensions are called the God Dimensions because these dimensions contains structures that steer the events of the other dimensions. They are associated with Jacob’s two wives. Leah’s last two sons, Issachar and Zebulun, and Rachel’s two sons, Joseph and Benjamin represent G4 (x9,x10,x11,x12).
Once I recognized this pattern, it was apparent that the Three Spheres (Books) were symbolized by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
What are the chances of this happening if the Holy Scriptures are not the Word of YHWH, the True and Living God, Creator of the Universe?
One could also learn that science and theology are close to being unified on the issue of the age of the universe by reading a book entitled “Genesis and the Big Bang,” by Gerald Schroeder. It was written approximately 25 years ago by this astrophysicist and Orthodox Jew, who directly takes on the apparent dichotomy between science, which puts the age of the universe at approximately 15.2 billion years, and Jewish theology, which (on the surface) dates the universe back only some 5,776 years (at present).
The big difference between the two dating systems deals exclusively with the first six days of Creation, of course. Grossly summarizing what he said, the first six days are not days as accounted for by human beings in the present era, but literal days as experienced by G-d, Himself, at the time and in the place where the Creation was actually taking place. Due to the relativistic effects of time dilation, each of those “days” was actually a very long epic of time in our present understanding. Added together, those 6 “days” account for all of time up to the creation of Adam. The first day was approximately half of the total age of the universe as science understands it today, the second day was half that length, and so on. FYI, Schroeder quotes chapter and verse from a section of the Talmud which discusses the age of the universe. He notes that scientists are now only about 200 million years off from the truth that is revealed within the Talmud.
Interestingly, and not coincidentally in my opinion, the order in which the Creation unfolded in the Bible is identical to the order as understood by modern science. I leave to non-believers the question of how a bunch of uneducated and superstitious people living some 3300 years ago could have gotten that right. It certainly could not have been a lucky guess, nor did they actually have the knowledge or the instrumentation to be able to figure it out by themselves. Further, Jewish theology makes it very clear that the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, is the literal word of G-d, and therefore perfect. This is, by the way, the reason that Jews have such an emphasis on not changing even the shape of a single letter of the Torah. Since Jewish theology posits that the Torah is perfect, in the event that any part of it could be disproven, then none of it is valid. I simply cannot imagine that Moses and the tribal leaders of his day - IF they were writing it from scratch without Divine help or inspiration - would not have understood this. It is thus inconceivable to me that they would have even attempted to claim that the religion they were starting was The Truth. If these imperfect men had been found out, which was always a possibility, they would have been torn limb from limb; either that, or their descendants would have been. The conclusion here is obvious, that what the Torah says was and is literally the word of G-d.
This is, of course, not necessarily the ending answer to this age-old question. However, it is a very reasonable explanation that neatly knits together the science that astronomers and physicists have painstakingly developed over the past couple of centuries with theology. It should be noted that in Jewish theology G-d does not do things to deceive us. He will often hide Himself and His actions, but He never actually deceives us. Most of the time we are simply unable to discern what the mind of G-d has created, but sometimes, rarely, we get a glimpse of it as science advances. I postulate that this may be one of those instances.
For those interested, note that Schroeder also discusses the idea of evolution at some length. To cut to the chase, he very thoroughly disposes of the idea that life on Earth could have arisen spontaneously as the result of random chemical reactions. He is most definitely in the intelligent design camp. I would strongly urge anyone interested in this subject to get a hold of this book and read it at least two or three times in order to fully comprehend what he is discussing.