camaroracer214 said:but is there something less dense than empty space in a vacuum?
You raise a lot of good questions, all of which magnify what we don't know about the universe. How does light respond to a black hole? Does it suffer from the spaghetti effect? If so, then it accelerates as it get's drawn in. And what of dark matter? Some folks don't even believe it exists, yet others say it makes up 97% of the universe. We've no idea. Could that be less dense than space? How could it affect light? Regarding radiometric dating, I think we're starting to go in circles. Someone else is welcome to pick up the argument of specifics, but my conclusion is that all of the available methods contain fundamental and serious flaws (usually requiring the specimen to have sat undisturbed throughout it's history). Though I'll keep looking. And Brandon, this is no slant on you, but generic statements regarding various methods confirming each other hold no weight with me. My experience and history with radiometric dating is that no single method has an error bar within 10%, and until I'm provided multiple specific examples that show how various methods yield consistent results on different specimens collected throughout the world, I won't be able to conclude otherwise.
But here are my closing remarks (for a while, at the least). I’m a skeptic of academia in the world today, that much is clear. I think there are predrawn conclusions that scientists and researchers want or need to find answers to support. I find that data often gets publicized and published when it fits the right mold, and buried or ignored if not. This isnt math; it's not always repeatable or systematic. It requires elaborate interpretation, which happens in an environment that demands arrogance and confidence to be recognized. And more importantly, I don’t want it to be true. What hope is found in life if we exist on accident? I'm confident that I've got the scientific data to deny evolution, though even if I'm mistaken I'd much rather be deluded and blissful than right and without purpose. I don't blindly follow a faith out of fear or ignorance, or even because of scientific conclusions, but primarily because I've found life is much richer when I live it for others. The Bible shows us how to do that, and my belief in the specific history of the world's creation only gives me reassurance.