The Expanding Universe Theory (1 of 4 notes)

Part Three
Theology Proper: 16 PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
A DISPENSATIONAL THEOLOGY
By Charles F Baker

Various astronomers have postulated this theory based upon the spectral analysis of light coming from the stars and from extragalactic nebulae. It is based upon the Doppler effect, which is observable with any form of wave propagation when the source of the wave is in motion either toward or away from the observer. If a certain number of waves or cycles exist in a certain space in one second when the source is stationary, it is evident that if the source is moving toward the observer with appreciable speed, more of the waves will reach the observer in one second than normally would. The converse is also true if the source is moving away from the observer. This phenomenon is observable with sound waves, when an observer is standing on a train platform listening to the whistle of the train as it passes at high speed. The person on board the train hears the true pitch of the whistle. The observer on the platform hears a single pitch as the train approaches, and at the instant it passes the pitch drops noticeably. In other words, there is a shift in pitch. The same type of shift occurs with light when the source is in motion. If a star were approaching the earth at a very high rate of speed there would be a shift toward the blue end of the spectrum, or if it were receding the shift would be toward the red end. Spectral analysis indicates a red shift in the light from the stars, which indicates that they are all speeding away from each other, just as particles of a bomb when it explodes. In fact, this theory of the Universe has been called the Big Bang theory.

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