O.K., We don’t kick the really tender spots..for now. But as I said, I don’t see that, “In the Beginning...” has time associated with it or “day” must be 24 hrs. and since I have hope for you, I won’t be mean.
I have hope for you too. Perhaps that is why we get along so well (outside of AIDS :o)
I believe that DallasMike is working on a word-study to explain how the terms 'evening' (ereb) and 'morning' (boqer) as applied to the use of the word for day (yom) are absolutely, positively inappropriate for 6 literal 24-hour days of creation in Genesis.
I think the main purpose of Young Earth Creationism is to validate the Premillennialist view of the Last Things. Most premillennialists believe that God will create a new earth after 7000 years (premillennialism makes heavy use of numerology and 7 is supposed to signify perfection or completion - hence, God will destroy the old earth after 7000 years). Premills believe that Christ will rule 1000 years before the end of the world, and that Christ will set up his kingdom any day now. Therefore, they believe the earth "must" be right around 6000 years old. Naturally, people who believe in premillennialism also tend to believe in YEC. So, YEC is really all about religion.
Most Christians throughout history, while expecting Christ to return soon, had no belief in an exact timeline. That is why Christians from many of the older traditions do not see the age of the earth as having anything important to do with their faith. And that is why other Christians see the young earth idea as being central to their faith. This is unfortunate as some Christians anxiously read the news, basing their salvation on their correct reading of the "signs of the times" rather than trusting in the finished work of Christ.
In an odd way, premillennialism shares much with the old Gnosticism - one can have "secret knowledge" about some very esoteric things and this knowledge is an important factor in one's salvation.
I agree that this makes it hard to be a Christian witness. In American popular culture, many people are only familiar with the cheap grace of liberal Protestantism or the legalism of Fundamentalism (often including premillennialism). If people see you reading a Bible, they assume you must believe that Moses walked with the dinosaurs and somehow your life is centered on this belief! No wonder that many are turned off by Christianity if all they see is liberalism on one hand (if nothing matters, why bother?) and legalism over obscure, minor things on the other hand.