The Core of the Conflict
By default, standard physics assumes light is isotropic—moving at the uniform speed c in all directions. This standard framework is the Einstein Synchrony Convention (ESC).
Dr. Lisle points out that alternative mathematical choices are possible. One could, for example, adopt a Geocentric Light-speed Model (GLM), where light travels outward at c/2 and inward toward Earth almost instantaneously, allowing light from distant galaxies to reach Earth without delay.
Lisle extends this conventionalism in his Anisotropic Synchrony Convention (ASC), contending that because humans cannot measure the one-way speed of light, an objective, unique one-way speed does not exist in nature. To Lisle, the travel duration of starlight is physically "undefined" until an observer picks a convention:
"Our inability to measure the one-way speed of light is not due to a lack of creativity on our part... Rather, it is due to the way God has constructed spacetime." (Lisle 2010, p. 203)
Dr. Dennis challenges Lisle's conventionalism, arguing that an objective one-way speed of light exists regardless of human measurement barriers. The debate spans relativistic field equations, interpreting relativity, the philosophy of time, and God's relationship to His creation. (See the Appendix below for an outline and references for this debate).
The Two-Angel Mirror Experiment
Imagine a human on Earth (Human E) who fires a light pulse at 12:00 PM toward a mirror on distant Planet P, located 30 light-minutes away. Human E detects the reflected pulse returning to Earth at 1:00 PM.
On Planet P stands a second human observer (Human P). Human P undeniably sees the physical light beam strike the mirror. However, because physical signals take time to bridge spatial distances, Human P cannot synchronize his local clock with Earth’s clock without assuming a convention. He knows the reflection event occurred locally, but he cannot convert that moment into Earth Time.
Now introduce two spiritual observers: Angel E (on Earth) and Angel P (on Planet P).
In traditional Christian theology (e.g., Thomas Aquinas, Herman Bavinck), angels are pure spirits unbound by material mass or light-speed limits, capable of communicating by a simple act of will.
At 12:00 PM Earth time, Angel E communicates instantaneously with Angel P via an intellectual handshake, synchronizing Angel P’s clock perfectly to Earth time without using physical photons.
The moment the light beam strikes the mirror on Planet P, Angel P looks at his synchronized clock and instantly communicates the Earth-time reading back to Angel E.
How do the competing conventions interpret what Angel P records?
ESC (Isotropic c): Light takes 30 minutes outward (c) and 30 minutes back (c). Angel P logs the mirror impact at 12:30 PM and notifies Angel E instantly at 12:30 PM Earth time.
GLM (Geocentric c/2 out, infinity in): Light takes 60 minutes outward (c/2) and 0 minutes back (infinity). Angel P logs the mirror impact at 1:00 PM and notifies Angel E instantly at 1:00 PM Earth time, right as the photon hits Human E's detector on Earth.
ASC (Conventionalist/Undefined): Lisle asserts that one-way transit time is an ungrounded human linguistic choice with no objective physical reality—that there is no specific Earth-time corresponding to the reflection event. Hence there is no time at which Angel P sees the photon hit the mirror. Yet Angel P—standing right beside Human P with a clock objectively synchronized to Earth—witnesses the exact same photon impact. Under an absolute angelic frame, that physical event must register at a precise, objective tick on Angel P's clock (whether 12:30 PM, 1:00 PM, or another fixed instant).
The Ontological Collapse of Conventionalism
This thought experiment exposes a fundamental flaw in turning human measurement limits into cosmic reality:
The Human Operational Limit: Human P sees the light hit the mirror, but because he is bound by light-speed signals, he cannot state what Earth-time it is without choosing a convention. From this human limitation, Lisle concludes that no objective Earth-time exists for the event.
The Angelic Reality: Angel P, standing at the exact same location with a clock synchronized with an instantaneous spiritual handshake, witnesses the impact and reads an objective Earth time off his clock face.
Lisle’s ASC relies on conflating Human P’s inability to measure and translate local time into Earth time with the ontological claim that no objective Earth-time exists at all.
If Human P simply turns his head and looks at Angel P's clock, he immediately learns the objective Earth-time of the photon's arrival. This pushes ASC into a structural absurdity: if the one-way transit of light is truly "physically undefined" in reality (as Lisle claims) rather than merely unknown to material humans, then Human P shouldn't be allowed to look at Angel P's clock while witnessing the light beam. It would mean that seeing the physical signal depends on remaining ignorant of Earth-time—as if gaining objective knowledge of the cosmos would cause the physical photon to vanish!
Can Angels Exceed Light Speed?
Lisle might object by denying that angels can communicate instantaneously, arguing that spiritual beings are also bound by c and thus cannot establish an absolute frame.
However, this objection shifts the debate from physics to classical theology:
Spirits vs. Matter: Historical theology (e.g., Aquinas, Bavinck) holds that angels are pure spirits. The speed limit c is a physical property of mass and energy moving through spacetime. Subjecting an angelic thought to c confuses material physics with spiritual reality.
The Dilemma for Lisle: If Lisle insists angels are bound by c, he must either reduce angels to physical entities or claim God arbitrarily restricts the spiritual realm merely to preserve Einsteinian clock conventions.
Possibility vs. Practice: The argument does not require angels to act as human timekeepers; it only requires that instant spiritual communication is possible in principle. If it is possible, then an objective, absolute "Now" exists in reality—whether human instruments can measure it or not.
The Logic of the Absolute Now
In standard relativity, human observers rely on clock conventions because physical signals take time to bridge spatial distances. However, when non-material observers share information instantaneously, they bypass the operational limitation that motivated Einstein’s convention in the first place. They establish a Universal Clock.
Interestingly, this "Angelic Argument" was proposed as early as 1932 by the philosopher of science Bernhard Bavink in The Natural Sciences (Ergebnisse und Probleme der Naturwissenschaften). Bavink utilized this thought experiment to argue for an "Absolute Now" against the positivistic block-universe interpretations of relativity, which he felt reduced the objective flow of time to a subjective observer effect.
Omnipresence and the Divine Perspective
The Angelic Argument ultimately serves as a bridge to an even deeper theological reality: the doctrine of God’s omnipresence.
In physical relativity, light-speed constraints exist because material observers are spatially localized; for a human on Earth to learn of an event on Planet P, a physical signal must travel across intervening space over a span of time. But God is not a localized physical observer. Orthodox theology affirms that God is immanently present at every point in space simultaneously. He does not sit on Earth waiting for photons to arrive from distant galaxies to learn what has occurred; He is immediately present at the distant star at the exact moment it forms, just as He is present on Earth.
When Bernhard Bavink introduced spiritual observers into the debate over relativity, he was using angelology to highlight this exact metaphysical point. Bavink noted that the operationalist synchrony convention of relativity reflects the technological limits of finite, material creatures—not the ultimate nature of time itself. While angels are finite spirits rather than infinite beings, their non-material nature allows them to transcend the physical signal-speed barrier. By demonstrating that non-local information transfer is logically coherent within God's creation, the angelic thought experiment points beyond itself to the divine perspective.
This poses a stark theological challenge to Lisle’s ASC:
Limits on Man vs. Limits on God: If the one-way transit time of light is truly "physically undefined" in an ontological sense—rather than merely unmeasurable by human instruments—we are forced to conclude that spatial separation creates a temporal void even for an omnipresent God.
The Grounding of the Absolute Now: If God is fully present at both Earth and Planet P, then the event of light striking the mirror occurs at an objective instant within the divine consciousness. God's omnipresence grounds an "Absolute Now" across the entire cosmos.
To claim that light has no objective arrival time prior to a human choosing a coordinate convention is to elevate human operational limitations into a law of metaphysics. The omnipresent Creator does not rely on human synchrony conventions to know when events happen in His universe; He anchors reality to an objective timeline—one that exists independently of human observation and measurement.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Lisle’s ASC relies on the physical isolation of the material observer. It transforms Human P’s inability to synchronize clocks into an ontological claim about the nature of time itself.
1. Limits on Knowledge vs. Limits on Being: The difficulty humans face in measuring the one-way speed of light is an epistemological hurdle for human technology, not an ontological void in God's creation.
2010: Dr. Lisle published Anisotropic Synchrony Convention—A Solution to the Distant Starlight Problem (Answers Research Journal 3, 2010).
July 2024: Dr. Dennis published An Internal Contradiction of Lisle’s ASC Model (Answers research Journal 17, July 2024), arguing that ASC leads to physical inconsistencies.
August 2024: Lisle published A Refutation of Phillip Dennis's Claims Regarding Alleged Inconsistencies in ASC (Aug 2024, Biblical Science Institute). He argued that Dennis's critiques were circular, as they relied on equations that already assumed the standard "Equal-Speed" convention.
November 2024: Dennis responded with A Refutation of Lisle’s "Refutation" (ARJ 17, Nov.2024), doubling down on the idea that the ASC is a mathematical mask rather than a physical reality.
December 2025- August 2026: Lisle published an 11 part series of posts against Dennis. Refuting Phillip Dennis’s Errors in Physics, ASC, and Philosophy (Ongoing series, 2025–2026, Biblical Science Institute).
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