I am raised in YEC and had a long struggle with ET whether its worldview or the Christian versions. I rejected ET out of first hand as a lie from hell because millions lost their faith because of it.
And yet, during time, reading others, following the heated debates I got confused, only one side could be right.
On a good day (not so long ago) I was reading Gen 3 for the umpteenth time and (finally) saw it in another light. A&E were living in the presence of God in Paradise, direct communication, no death, a supernatural place without the laws of physics as we know it. A&E lived as it was meant to be, the human race living in the presence of God, as it will be when we die.
But A&E became disobedient, they insisted to know the difference between good and evil. And ironically God gave them what they wanted, He removed them from Paradise, away from His presence and they landed on the evolved earth, a place with a different ruler, but fortunately on a leash from God. And so we learn, both good and evil and everyone will receive its portion, for a short meaningless time in eternity, trillions x trillions x trillions of years. As such I am finally at peace with the issue.
I respect YEC believers, they are faithful and I don’t chase them. Other than that I don’t believe it is a salvation issue, the belief in Christ as savior of the world is, ensuring a return to Paradise for those who believe.
Other than that [2], Genesis 1 is interesting also. First, it’s written in a Jewish framework (work 6 days, rest on the 7th), secondly if you focus on the order of Creation it’s compatible to a great extend with science. Well done science. They confirmed what was written (and thus already known) at least 2500 years ago.