[Lexinom]

The weakest of all philosophical and theological viewpoints is born out of attempting a merger of the two.

Brilliant! Someone gets it!

There are basically four attempts at reconcilliation:

The Ideal View. Genesis 1 is merely a poetic description of the creative acts of God. This has its forerunner in the allegorical interpretations of Genesis 1 or Philo, Origen, and Augustine. The "days" are seen perspectively and not chronologically. A corollary is Kurtz's visionary theory, which sees Genesis 1 as a backward-looking prophecy.

The Restitution View. This draws a radical divide between Genesis 1:2 and 1:3, placing all events and phenomena taught by geology in between. The six-day "restitution" begins in verse 3, wherein God makes the earth inhabitable for man.

The Concordistic View. The days are lengthened, but their chronological order is maintained. Many well-respected natural scientists of their day, including Cuvier, embraced this view.

The Literal-Historical View. The results of geology are to be found partly in the six days, and partly in cataclysmic events thereafter. The flood and the Ice Age are intimately intertwined.

[bigLusr]

The Restitution View. This draws a radical divide between Genesis 1:2 and 1:3, placing all events and phenomea taught by geology in between. The six-day restitution" begins in verse 3, wherein God makes the earth inhabitable for man.

Not to be nitpicky, but the restitution view (aka gap theory) actually puts the gap between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2, not Gen 1:2 and Gen 1:3.