You know, it's precisely because the book was written so long ago--and stands the test of time and very closely parallels the scientific account of Earth's creation and evolution (yes, I used the "E" word!)--that I believe in it.
The Bible does not exclude evolution. It does not exclude even abiogenesis (life creating itself spontaneously). Cf. Genesis 1:11-12, which says outright that the EARTH brought forth life (in response to a Divine command to do so).
Remember, Genesis ain't a science text. It was never written to be one--merely a (greatly) condensed, easy-to-understand version answering how the world came to be, written for nomadic shepherds.
How does the Judeo-Christian creation account fare vs. other creation accounts?
It fare far better than other creation myths where the world springs, fully formed, from an egg.
Better than Atlas holding the world on his shoulders.
Better than a great celestial snake barfed up the world, then the stars, etc.
Better than any other creation account, Genesis basically gets things in close to the right order.
Not bad for a buncha dumb shepherds, huh? ;)
Sauron (But then, some think it was an inspired writing. Of course, you know they're wrong, dontcha?)
I agree that there's no particular bar to evolution in the Genesis account. An awful lot of Jewish and Christian scholars believe as you do, and with good reason. They understand the primitive nature of the Genesis account and accept that human beings are capable of figuring out the details.
That said, the same can be said about some of the other creation myths. It's just a matter of explaining their allegories in a way that works.
The general order of things is:
1. There was nothing. (a blank slate on which to write)
2. The deity (of whatever nature) appears or already exists
3. The deity speaks or waves or whatever, and things appear, although the order is sometimes different. Earth, Sun, Moon, Water, etc.
4. Somewhere in the process, human beings appear, generally after the animals, because there has to be something for the humans to eat.
That pretty much covers most creation stories. And that's natural. Humans had logical powers quite early, or they wouldn't have been human.
The order above is logical, with each thing appearing before the thing that requires it appears. Not too complex, really.
If you look at the various creation stories in their basic foundations, they are all pretty much the same. Some are animistic, with players like the Crow and the Coyote. Others are more oriented toward invisible beings. But the order is essentially the same.