"Doogie Hoosier" wrote in message
m...

It didn't take long for somebody to tell me that was not possible,
because..."According to the WORD OF GOD, the light could only have
existed for 6,000 years."

I told that person that if he wouldn't mind looking up that bit of
scripture and telling me where it was, I'd make a public retraction
the next time I had my scope out in public. He said he'd look it up
and give me a call. I wonder how long he looked for it.


This person really doesn't know his Biblical history. The Bible certainly
doesn't say that the universe is only 6000 years old. That figure was
calculated by James Usher, Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland (1581-1656).
Working backwards from the known date of the destruction of the temple in
Jerusalem, he added up all the genealogies given in the Old Testament, and
came up with 4004 BC as the date of "creation". The figure quickly gained
acceptance amongst "fundamentalist" Christians when Usher's notes were
published in 1909. That's where the "the universe is 6000 years old" story
comes from, not from the Bible itself.

Regards,

Chris