[grey_whiskers]

The science is quite simply not on the side of a literal Biblical interpretation, and has not been for several hundred years. If people can't deal with that, it's not a problem with the science, it's their own personal problem.

Not necessarily.

You forgot that there are certain metaphysical underpinnings to the science, namely that there is now, and never has been, any interference or misunderstanding of the physical data; and that the laws of nature as currently observed, and extrapolated, have always held true -- at least to great enough of an extent that the findings remained consistent.

Those are metaphysical and / or theological considerations, however.

Cheers!

[Quark2005]

You forgot that there are certain metaphysical underpinnings to the science, namely that there is now, and never has been, any interference or misunderstanding of the physical data; and that the laws of nature as currently observed, and extrapolated, have always held true -- at least to great enough of an extent that the findings remained consistent.

That is true - that's why I keep using the word consilience over and over again here; consilience between separate lines of data is essential when looking at information concerning the distant past, and why any science theory can only be considered as good as the consistency of its models and the veracity of its predictions.