Philosophically speaking, perception is reality. You referenced things like reality being something you can touch, smell, taste, feel, etc... all the things of classical scientific study. Well, absolutely none of these qualities applies to history... you cannot touch things like 4500 years ago, much less 4.5 billion years ago, you cannot smell it, taste it, feel it, or see it, etc... it's history - all you have is what is here in the present. Ironically, you have to "imagine" the events that would have led to the conditions of the present.
Assuming you maybe once had an American History class somewhere along the way, did they just give you a bayonet, a boot, a candlestick, various other artifacts... or did you read about the history of America and discuss in class? I hope you didn't misplace your trust in the words you read, say about the Civil War, as you feel would be the case in trusting God's word.
I am in agreement that it is what God created... but what you call reality is just a perception of the past. When someone has a PhD in geology, this denotes a doctorate of philosophy in the applied science of geology... it's a philosophical view of things with a structured method of study applied - this is not all black & white, yes & no, true & false. You know this to be true as there is the principle of uniformitarianism that guides much of what is understood in conventional geological assumptions.
If I want to know more about American history, I turn to the history books to get the story before I turn to artifacts to try to piece together a story. Similarly, if I want to know about the beginning of creation, I turn to God's word to get the story before I turn to the fossils and rocks to piece together a story. You and I both know what God's word says regarding creation and the flood.
Yes we've been through this example before and your position assumes there's either an intent to misrepresent or that scripture cannot be understood. If you believe scripture is that difficult to understand correctly, you are free to continue believing so... but don't sleep too well tonight thinking you've really been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ either... because salvation may not be applicable to you, you may just think you are saved, if you really are saved (now), salvation may in fact be revocable, "Jesus" may have been in reference to any number of people other than the only Son of God, a new body may not be literally a new body, heaven may not actually be any different than here, you may never actually see Jesus face to face or other family members who have already died, and eternity may not mean there is no death, disease, or suffering in the way you think about it.
You are the one inventing countless meanings for words (mostly without cause or reason for doing so) - like in your example. By your own line of reasoning, nobody can really trust anything the Bible says, including the parts around salvation, so they might as well become atheists, pick a different faith, or maybe just make up their own faith. It seems your faith is grounded in what you have been taught is reality and less on what the bible says... but remember, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 ...assuming you believe ithe biblical definition of 'faith' means what it says).
God is the source, but not your perception of history outside of and in contradiction to His word.
How very bizarre of a post this is from you - I don't know I've seen a Christian charge so headlong into naturalism - going on about things like the hardness of rocks in the same way Gollum went on about that ring of his. You may believe in the hardness of rocks, but you have built your faith on shifting sands brother - it is just the conventional wisdom - the philosophy of the day (here and now) and will change. Go back and re-read post #1128 and see if this really is representative of how you would want your faith in God's word to be characterized. You have so much more to say about rocks than you do God... go back and look through your links on Old Earth Geology, Part 1 and Part 2 and see how often you [don't] reference God, how often you [don't] reference scripture.
What proceeds out of our mouth (or written/typed) is what is in our heart, so all I can take away from this post and everything else I've ever read from you is that it would seem you place higher value on rocks than you do on God and His word. Everybody here has the opportunity to be a fool for something... something we will defend without shame. I know what that is for you and you know what that is for me. If I am to be found a fool when I stand in judgment before Christ, I want it to be because I foolishly believed the Bible meant what it said - even in the face of the philosophers of my day.
Oh, whatever you think I said above, perhaps I didn't - you may just be imagining I meant what you think my words to have meant.