Hello. At last I found a thread that isn't 20 pages long, so I can say something pertaining to the original topic! Huzzah!
Anyway, now for my assault of Skwim's awesome question.
I trust we all agree that the universe had an origin of some kind. As none of us can witness to what transpired at the beginning, we have to believe someone else's account or formulate our own theories. There are tons of theories that others (humans) have put forward over the years, and humans have a nasty habit of forcing what they perceive into their worldview, so often when you or I accept a theory as valid, we buy into the theorist's worldview to some extent or another. We have an inherent need to believe in a worldview/religion, an do so to the extent of being offended by new data that contradicts our beliefs.. Which brings me to my next point: humans have to interpret data. We organize what we perceive into patterns and systems within our minds. Also, once we've organized perceived data into structures, we hate reorganizing those structures, and that's the problem with science; "science" isn't an infallible collection of truth, its the product of human synthesis of data. Looking at history, we see people rejecting new (and valid) data over and over so they won't have to change their belief that their interpretation is right. This doesn't only happen in secular scientific fields, but in religious ones too.
My point (which probably seems very elusive amidst my preamble) is that us humans, on our own, will always be in the dark to some extent. By thinking our ideas are right in the absolute sense of the word, we become victims of hubris and commit grave errors. (eg. At the time when Newton's laws where accepted as a complete model of physics, many scientists resisted Einstein's ideas. The laws of Newton weren't wrong, but they where incomplete model, and in thinking otherwise many educated and intelligent people made themselves victims of the phenomenon I describe.)
I am what could be described as an evangelical Christian, but I don't assume that what I believe, religious or otherwise, cannot be incorrect. I won't "Make my case for creationism" by presenting evidence and refuting others, instead I'll just say the following: For every theory there is evidence for and against. Evidence must be considered on its own merits, not discounted or accepted by its accordance with our beliefs. Valid evidence for creation is hard to come by these days, as much of it has been twisted to fit belief systems, or to attack the belief systems of others. However, I have found the Journal of Creation publications by Creation Ministries International to be quite good at presenting unbiased scientific (yes, I said scientific. Science and the bible aren't incompatible, as science isn't what scientists believe, but rather searching for truth through logical practices) information, so if you can, get some of their material and consider it with an open mind.
Last point: don't treat science as a religion. Saying something isn't science because it contradicts scientists isn't scientific.
