[mcg1969]

I believe the Christian astronomer Hugh Ross uses the Day Age theory to reconcile his scientific understanding of the universe with Scripture.

Yes, that's roughly correct, although I find his model interesting in that he directly addresses the apparently "strange" order of creation events in Days 1-4 (for example, the sun after the plants). Obviously, to anyone who holds firm to a 144-day creation account, it will still sound like a stretch.

I'm not sure what quoting Exodus 20:8-11 is supposed to communicate. After all, God chose to use the language of days in order to describe His creation account. Whether His days were literally 24 hours long or whether they symbolized longer time periods, it is still entirely reasonable for Him to use that day language to justify the institution of the Sabbath.

[bondserv]

God has the power to keep plants alive on the entire surface of the earth without a sun for billions of years, but it is oh so confusing and unlike the way He communicates.

He can walk on water, physics is a point of reference for Him not a restriction. Therefore it is easy to believe He did it the way it reads. When is the last time you saw one man kill 1,000 men with the jawbone of an ass. (Matrix: Reloaded excluded, I kept thinking of Samson in that park scene).