Y'know, if there was no potassium-40 around in the minerals, things would look mighty odd. Possibly a sign of recent creation there.
Right, and regardless of how much was present on day 1 of creation, the scientific method would explain it another way. Religiously. So let's extend that though several thousand years. If we now look at that same rock sample, the scientific method looks at much the same components of the rock, but dates it billions of years old.
On the other hand, if God created a mix of Postassium-40 and Argon-40 to make it look like things were really old, then God would be a pretty deceptive Guy.
No. It was the way it was for other reasons of which poor little man has no possible idea. What do we know of what creating a universe with a word out of nothing involved? What would we know of what happened to matter or anything else in, say, that four hours it was brought to exist and then formed in various ways? In what way could we possibly call God a deceiver for the way it ended up? Any deception would come from enemies of His that ignore creation totally, and try to use the processes now happening in that rock to explain how that rock came to exist 'naturally'.
The same principle would apply if, His presence or force of His will later affected materials or processes or forces etc on earth. We have no way of knowing. All the scientific method does is provide alternate explanations religiously under the excuse that that is all they know about and can do! That obviously is exalting science and the natural and physical and man's wisdom above God. The job of Christians includes exposing this sort of thing.
2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
One evidence I submit in this court of opinion here for the source of such doubts and methods (that oppose and exalt themselves above God) is that the final world leader prophesied about in the bible and possessed by Satan personally does the exact same thing!
2 Thes 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition;
4 Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.