Now that I've had such a positive experience in asking my hard questions, and since my major concern is to know truth, facile replies don't satisfy me. I find difficult to accept, for example, the inherent contradiction between a God who does not lie and a young universe that bears the appearance of age. But God does not lie. Picture a model house, complete in every respect. On the day it opens, everything is new and spotless.
Visitors can easily see that it's new.
Imagine that same model after six months and hundreds of people traipsing through. Stained pathways are worn in the carpet, a few light bulbs are burned out, and fingerprints show up on the windows. Even with a good cleaning, the wear and tear shows. The evidence clearly shows that this house did not open today, or yesterday, or even last week. If this were not the case, false evidence must have been set in place with the deliberate intent to deceive.