[ALS]

"And the earth was without form, and void"

If the actual phrase is rendered according to Strong's it reads more accurately "and the earth BECAME WASTE AND RUIN", doesn't that change the accepted meaning and along with it all the erroneous assumptions?
The very first sentence should read "A" beginning, not "the" beginning.
I contend that the earth indeed did exist for a very long time prior to Genesis, and a war between the angels and demons(you'll see reference to this in Revelations, because there are 2 wars of this type, one that was and one yet to come) destroyed the earth, and Genesis is a story as told by an observer standing on the earth under dark thick clouds, watching God restore its life and beauty.
This take not only adheres to what the bible actually says, without spiritualizing everything to fit a particular belief, but it also squares with the observable sciences, and is primarily the cure for this silly debate between creationists and evolutionists. The original truth has a tendancy to clear things up.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for sharing your views, ALS!!!

I'm not trying to change your view, but since you mentioned Strong's - if you'd like to see a little more about the language behind Genesis 1 (from the Jewish perspective) you might find this article interesting: The Age of the Universe