If the observational data we see concerning the age of the universe is not
telling us what really happened in the past, then all of our observational
data is suspect (as many have pointed out). But this merely affects science.
If our observational data is suspect, then how can I be certain of the
observational data I receive when I read the Bible? If I can't trust what I
see when I look at a galaxy, why should I feel so much more secure when I read
the Bible? Visual observation is quite fundamental to all science and
theology. We simply must be able to have confidence that what we see is what
is. This concern about the validity of observational data applies regardless
of when the YECs say the universe was created. Can I be certain that the
biblical information is not illusory? If that info is illusory, then either
1. there is no plan of salvation, or 2. There is one but I can't determine
what it is because observation (my reading) is not to be trusted.
Furthermore, I am no longer sure whether or not I can trust the observations
of the sound I hear when you speak, the actions I see when you move. I am
reduced ultimately to solipsism.
In my view observational data MUST be trustworthy or nothing in this universe
is trustworthy. Conversely, (as a former YEC and subscriber to the appearance
of age argument) this is the basis of my demand for a historical Bible. A
universe in which observational data is trustworthy is one in which statements
about events can be verified observationally. This includes the creation
itself, the creation of animals, the creation of man, the flood etc. And that
raises the problem of what is a person to do when he religion says
observationally false things? I am glad our religion does not say that the
earth rides on the back of a turtle swimming in a cosmic ocean!
Observationally, this is false.
glenn
Foundation,Fall and Flood
http://members.gnn.com/GRMorton/dmd.htm