If you drag in the baggage [...] If you don't [...]
The baggage is part of the meaning of the word. Look it up in a good dictionary. Look at how it's actually used.
They are that same general idea
I'm not sure what you mean by that. If you mean that you agree that they're different special cases of a single general idea, then I think we are in agreement (and I just don't understand why you're so determined to call them "the same" when they are in fact not the same). But if you mean that they are not merely different special cases, but that each in fact has the exact same meaning as (what I'm claiming to be) the more general idea, I think that's flatly wrong.
(The best answer I can see: our universe is being simulated by the Mind of God. No, says the traditionalist Christian, our universe is not a part of God, it is not a mere mental creation; it is an actual separate thing.)
Suppose traditionalist Christians are right in every detail. Then creationism is correct; if creationism and simulationism are the same thing, then simulationism must also be correct. In that case, please tell me what is simulating our universe.
Suppose our universe was made by a hacker in another universe who set his unthinkably powerful computer simulating universes with random simple-ish physical laws and has since then completely forgotten the program is even running. Then simulationism is correct; if creationism and simulationism are the same thing, then creationism must also be correct. In that case, please tell me what being plays the role of God in this scenario.
(The best answer I can see: the hacker is God. But he doesn't even know our universe exists and certainly has no idea what's going on within it. In principle he could discover the program running on his computer, find a way of inspecting its state, and figure out what that means in terms of in-universe events; but as it happens he has nowhere near the brainpower or the patience for that. Neither is he supremely wise or good or anything of the sort. He just happens to have a really fast computer.)
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.
Notes for future OT posters:
1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.
2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)
3. Open Threads should be posted in Discussion, and not Main.
4. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.