First, if the stars are far away, we do not know how distant starlight travels through space. It could be super insanely faster than we can imagine. We have not truly measured it. We are only guessing. Second, the stars could also actually be closer than we actually think and not farther away (Seeing we have not actually traveled these distances to confirm the actual location of these stars exactly). Scientists are making observations based here on Earth and not out in space.
Anyways, God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth," (Genesis 1:14-17).
These words by God do not sound like the light had to travel over millions or billions of years here. It says God made the stars also (like it was an afterthought or something easy for God) and he set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth. So God sets them in heaven to give light upon the Earth. There is no mention or hint that God set the stars in heaven to give light upon the Earth waaaaaaay later here. I just do not get that impression when reading the text here.
The days here in Genesis are clearly 24 hour periods because it is defined by an evening and a morning. Nowhere in the Bible is a long period of time referred to as a day with the word evening and the morning attached. Yes, the "Day of the Lord" is a period of time in the Tribulation. But no mention is made about how the "Day of the Lord" (A period of time) is attached with an evening and a morning. It would destroy the metaphor if such a thing were so.
If your version of what see in the Bible was true, it would read like this:
"he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to [eventually] give light upon the earth," (Genesis 1:17).
(The word "eventually" has to be added to the text in order to give us the impression that lots of time could have transpired here between God creating the stars and the light actually reaching the Earth).
"...[This is] the fourth day."
(Genesis 1:19).
(Instead of: And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.").
<< First, if the stars are far away, we do not know how distant starlight travels through space. It could be super insanely faster than we can imagine. We have not truly measured it. We are only guessing. Second, the stars could also actually be closer than we actually think and not farther away (Seeing we have not actually traveled these distances to confirm the actual location of these stars exactly). Scientists are making observations based here on Earth and not out in space. >>
I think you are underestimating what modern science can do and exaggerating what you know. Here's an example of why I tend to trust what science believes about the speed of light, and radio waves. I hate to tell you how old I am, but when I was a kid, no one had landed on the moon. I did read a lot of science fiction. In SF stories, people on the moon talked on the phone with people on earth and there was a 1.4 second delay. That's how long it takes radio waves to get from the earth to the moon or vice versa. Guess what--when astronauts landed on the moon, there were no surprises in that area. There was a 1.4 second delay in communication caused by the speed of light. In the same way, we have sent automated spacecraft to visit every planet in the solar system, and the delay in radio communication has always been exactly when science predicted from experiments performed on earth.
Jason: << The days here in Genesis are clearly 24 hour periods because it is defined by an evening and a morning. Nowhere in the Bible is a long period of time referred to as a day with the word evening and the morning attached. >>
I believe I quoted this earlier but I'll do it again.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
--Psalm 90: 1-4 NIV
Traditionally, this Psalm is attributed to Moses, just like Genesis. It makes it clear that a day in the Scripture is not always a literal day. As some have pointed out, in the Six Days of creation, the sun isn't created until the fourth day, so how can days be measured before that?
The Psalm said thousands, but it could be millions or billions.
