Omphalos hypothesis

From RationalWiki
(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
(Human shouldn't remove material without a reason, he's damaging the wiki with his trolling.)
(Undo revision 816796 by Proxima Centauri (talk) poor writing, poor phrasing, poor factology...)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{creationnav}}
 
{{creationnav}}
The '''omphalos hypothesis''' is a branch of [[YEC]] asserting that the [[universe]] was created to appear very, very old, despite being created not that long ago.  The idea is that [[God]] deliberately created features that make the [[Earth]] and the [[universe]] appear much older than they are to test our [[faith]].   
+
The '''omphalos hypothesis''' asserts that the universe was created to appear very, very old, despite being created not that long ago.  The hypothesis was the idea of nineteenth-century naturalist Philip Henry Gosse.  The name comes from the mid-nineteenth-century [[Christian]] belief that [[Adam]] had a navel ("''omphalos''" is [[Greek]] for "navel").  So, the hypothesis stated that the [[Earth]] appeared old although it was not just as Adam had a navel from a gestation he never experiencedMost modern [[YEC]]s no longer believe that Adam had a navel.{{fact}}
  
==How God treats us==
+
The hypothesis was lauded by [[Martin Gardner]] for being 100% compatible with science.<ref>pages 125-127 of the second paperback edition of Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science</ref> However, like many forms of [[creationism]], it lacks [[falsifiability]] and therefore not a valid scientific theory. The hypothesis attempts to reconcile [[faith]] (belief in the non-falsifiable) and [[science]] ([[Methodological naturalism|observations of the natural world]]) through the use of [[solipsism]].
Rocks that appear from [[Radiometric dating]] to be millions of years old aren’t so old at all, God just made them appear old.  Similarly if [[Astronomy|astronomers]] analyse the results from their observations and conclude that the [[Big bang]] happened 14 million years ago it didn’t really happen very long ago, God just made it seem so.  God put us into a [[universe]] that appears to contradict the ''“[[Bible|Holy Bible]]”''. Then God sends us to [[hell]] if we believe what God deceitfully put into the world!  The faith-testing concept has been described as conjuring up the image of God burying [[dinosaur]] skeletons while, with a mischievous look on his face, saying "that'll fool the bastards!"  It is a wilfully ''[[deceit]]ful'' Creator - and the concept of such a god being a benevolent one can be thrown out.  Can a <s>God of love</s> deceitful God like that be trusted to tell us the truth about our [[salvation]] or about anything else?
+
  
==History of the idea==
+
St. Paul says (Romans 1:20) that the nature of God can be known from the things that he created.<ref>'''Romans 1:20''' ''For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse''</ref>  So if the Omphalos Hypothesis is correct, and the young universe only appears to be old, then Paul is saying that God is a deceiver.
The idea is in fact very old; a similar hypothesis was proposed by the [[Calvinist]] and naturalist Philip Henry Gosse in his 1857 book ''Omphalos'', giving rise to the Omphalos hypothesis.  The name comes from the mid-nineteenth-century [[Christian]] belief that [[Adam]] had a navel ("''omphalos''" is [[Greek]] for "navel").  So, the hypothesis stated that the [[Earth]] appeared old although it was not just as Adam had a navel from a gestation he never experienced.  Most modern [[YEC]]s no longer believe that Adam had a navel.{{fact}}
+
 
+
==Unscientific==
+
The hypothesis was lauded by [[Martin Gardner]] for being 100% compatible with science.<ref>pages 125-127 of the second paperback edition of Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science</ref> However, like many forms of [[creationism]], it is completely untestable and lacks [[falsifiability]] (indeed, it is perfect example) and therefore is not a valid scientific theory.  It resembles [[Last Thursdayism]] or the idea that we're living in a [[simulated reality]]. 
+
 
+
The hypothesis attempts to reconcile [[faith]] (belief in the non-falsifiable) and [[science]] ([[Methodological naturalism|observations of the natural world]]) through the use of [[solipsism]].
+
 
+
==The Bible==
+
[[St. Paul]] says (Romans 1:20) that the nature of God can be known from the things that he created.<ref>'''Romans 1:20''' ''For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse''</ref>  So if the Omphalos Hypothesis is correct, and the young universe only appears to be old, then Paul is saying that God is a deceiver.
+
  
 
==Omphalos hypothesis and ''creatio ex nihilo''==
 
==Omphalos hypothesis and ''creatio ex nihilo''==
The Omphalos hypothesis deals with the creation myth in the [[Abrahamic religion]]s. However the same argument can be applied to any ''creatio ex nihilo''. Wikipedia lists at least eight such creation myths besides the story accounted in ''[[Genesis]]'':
+
The Omphalos hypothesis deals with the creation myth in the Abrahamic religions. However the same argument can be applied to any ''creatio ex nihilo''. Wikipedia lists at least eight such creation myths besides the story accounted in ''Genesis'':
 
*[[wp:Ancient Egyptian creation myths|Ancient Egyptian creation myths]]
 
*[[wp:Ancient Egyptian creation myths|Ancient Egyptian creation myths]]
 
*[[wp:Islamic mythology#Islamic creation belief|Islamic creation myth]]
 
*[[wp:Islamic mythology#Islamic creation belief|Islamic creation myth]]

Revision as of 15:12, 21 June 2011

Goddidit!

Creationism

Icon creationism.svg
Key claims
Science
Random articles

Truth fish transparent.png

The omphalos hypothesis asserts that the universe was created to appear very, very old, despite being created not that long ago. The hypothesis was the idea of nineteenth-century naturalist Philip Henry Gosse. The name comes from the mid-nineteenth-century Christian belief that Adam had a navel ("omphalos" is Greek for "navel"). So, the hypothesis stated that the Earth appeared old although it was not just as Adam had a navel from a gestation he never experienced. Most modern YECs no longer believe that Adam had a navel.[citation needed]

The hypothesis was lauded by Martin Gardner for being 100% compatible with science.[1] However, like many forms of creationism, it lacks falsifiability and therefore not a valid scientific theory. The hypothesis attempts to reconcile faith (belief in the non-falsifiable) and science (observations of the natural world) through the use of solipsism.

St. Paul says (Romans 1:20) that the nature of God can be known from the things that he created.[2] So if the Omphalos Hypothesis is correct, and the young universe only appears to be old, then Paul is saying that God is a deceiver.

Omphalos hypothesis and creatio ex nihilo

The Omphalos hypothesis deals with the creation myth in the Abrahamic religions. However the same argument can be applied to any creatio ex nihilo. Wikipedia lists at least eight such creation myths besides the story accounted in Genesis:

All these myths can make the exact same claim: "<fill in deities name> created the world <fill in preferred number of years> year ago so that it looked as though it was 4.3 billion years". However, people using the Omphalos hypothesis to support their own creation myth would be unlikely to accept one of the others on this line of reasoning.

See also

Footnotes

  1. pages 125-127 of the second paperback edition of Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
  2. Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Community
Tools
support