>Science doesn't explain where the matter in the Universe comes from (beyond the dense ball of matter just prior to the Big Bang).

Really haven't read much on the matter (and anti-matter :), but I may agree that the current theories go to a few nanoseconds after the Big Bang, not further into past. Being a mathematician, I still have a slight distance from physics - we were separated from those guys by virtue of being in the same building :).

> So, since there is so much still unexplained by science, there's a certain amount of faith/hope/uncertainty associated with whatever explanation you want to come up with.

A fitting choice of words. I do have faith that the curiosity of the mankind will yield more knowledge; I hope I'll live long enough to see some of it, and of course there's the uncertainty. These darn physicists have found conditions where pretty much any hard law of physics may be altered... which means that the laws, as originally set, aren't as universal and independent, there may be certain fields or other phenomena where they aren't valid as they are. They need to be amended, expanded, whatever it takes.

Still waiting for a good Theory of Everything. (#define good "doesn't contradict any of known experiments")

>The point is that those who claim a "pure" logic can't say they are any more logical than those who believe in God. In their mind, the existence of God sounds like a fairy tale, so therefore it must be a fairy tale.

>Yet the Bible says this...
>
>1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
> the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
>
>2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
> night after night they display knowledge. (Psalm 19:1-2, NIV)
>
>Essentially, the Bible appeals to an individual's common sense here.

Huh? First, I never understood the difference between heaven and sky. Assuming that the sky is the visible part of the rest of the universe (or the atmosphere), and that the lack of distinction between it and heaven in my language is to blame - I've pulled up Wikipedia, which says "Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies."... which then makes the first verse perfect circular sense. A religion-defined place endorses its definer.

Um, third verse is... probably not to be taken literally. You surely don't believe in animism, right. So they're figuratively "speaking". And the "knowledge" is the knowledge of - what, dogma? Surely the authors didn't mean any specific knowledge would come from the sky and the other sky, like agricultural or metallurgic know-how.

To me, the message from these verses is "if you're willing to believe, you'll find more reasons to believe everywhere, because our god has actually created it all ad maiorem sui gloriam". Doesn't really knock me out of my seat. It's very circular to me.