about the science:
about the theology:
If we wrote a book with all the answers, we wouldn’t have any more website content. 
jk
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Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like some interesting content.
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More like the dilemma of arguing about fuzzy boundaries.
If you wrote a book to answer every answer or objection, they would just come up with more. It’s a hydra of sorts. Cut off one head and a few more replace it. The stakes really have nothing to do with science and must be defended at all costs.
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I’ve lowered my sights to a coalition of the willing.
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I’ll add that there is a potential for more traction with pastoral leaders in addressing the theological issues rather than the scientific data. An OT theologian in a single chapter opened my eyes to see the Genesis account does not necessarily contradict evolutionary science.
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And it seems that the best ANE scholars I know (Walton, Longman, and Heiser) are open to evolution.
For example Heiser says, “Let me say first that, despite an interest in genetics, I find it hard to care about evolution, theologically. I’m not offended by the thought at all. I really don’t care what mechanism God used to do what He did.”
“Let me also say that, despite an interest in genetics, I’m not a scientist. Neither is Peter Enns. We both would say that it’s best to let scientists (and, specifically, geneticists) committed to the Christian faith parse all this.”
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The ‘bubble’ comments are particularly apropos with respect to YEC ‘science’:
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You reminded me, theres also a website, its more based on science, its called “Talk Origins”.
Its an older website, but its relatively comprehensive. I remember some years ago when i first began studying the sciences, i came across this site.
You could just use the “search” option to look up random topics to see what’s on record. Quotes, cited research, historical context of various topics etc.
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Exactly. But I would say it’s even more severe, especially for kids growing up. It’s more like a concrete cell. And that kind of severe information bubble is possible without necessarily appearing extreme or sheltered (ie Amish, Mennonites, or hyper aggressive fundamentalism).
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A concrete bubble? 
But that’s what you said (I don’t always have very good retention ; - ).
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I’d forgotten about that – yes, that is a good index, and the rebuttals to specific YEC arguments can be found here:
If I remember correctly, some responses were not necessarily from a Christian perspective (or at least didn’t seem that way to me at the time), but it was still a good starting point for me since I’d absorbed a lot of the more extreme arguments from Kent Hovind.
Definitely. Especially being homeschooled and having all of my education filtered through YEC (which might in itself qualify me as hyper aggressive fundamentalist ). And a lot of it is mental too – we would still sometimes go to museums or watch secular documentaries, but had just become so conditioned to ignore or mentally replace words like “millions” or “billions,” which is probably why some still get physical responses to that even after changing their mind.
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Unfortunately the Bible is not a scientific manuscript and should not be used as one. It is a 3,000 year old narrative that describes Gods relationship with his highest creation, mankind.
For me the “creation story” can be summed up in the first four words of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning GOD”
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Good luck @CuriousBatman.
PS we can deal with any pseudoscientific catechism here, but that just generates infinite tennis matches, some more crazed than others. It’s best, as in infinitely better, to deal with pseudoscience as a whole. With epistemology. Are you up for that?
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Thankfully my acceptance of biological evolution didn’t involve any trauma or PTSD like that (I had already been an OEC for quite a while).
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Unfortunately the first 80% of the Bible is a 3,000 year old narrative that describes humankind’s relationship with its highest creation, God.
There is no beginning, no end of beginnings.
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There’s an infinite regress of cats and fleas, too.
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You may want to make sure @CuriousBatman grasps what you have in mind by “dealing with pseudoscience with epistemology” first. Or @CuriousBatman may wish to clarify. It’s best for one to thoroughly understand what one is signing up for.
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I would like to encourage you to continue your commitment to gracious and civil dialogue about the Christian Faith and Science. It stands in contrast to some organizations (you will know the ones I’m talking about) that level unkind, and sometimes laughable, accusations against BioLogos. I believe that people see this and take notice and see your witness to who Jesus Christ is.
If anyone is interested, here is my experience: I didn’t grow up in the church and, while it would have been a good thing to have more of the teachings of Christ at that age, I didn’t have the baggage of the American/Canadian church with respect to YEC. When I came to Christ as a young adult, I joined an evangelical church in Canada. I enjoy fellowship with many Christ- followers to this day. My denomination doesn’t have anything about the age of the earth in its doctrinal statement - just the basic doctrines about God and creation. It seemed like many people I came across were YEC, but it became clear that they hadn’t thought about it deeply.
My education was in Mathematics/Computer Science, and I had little background in Biology. When I came to Christ, my head was in a different space, so I too didn’t think very much about YEC, and I just tacitly accepted it to be a “part of the group”.
One day, a representative of a YEC organization (I’m not absolutely sure which one) came and spoke at my church in a Sunday service. I may not have thought much about YEC, but I recognized pseudo-science when I saw it. As far as I can tell, my rejection of YEC began that day.
When I retired from my career, I started reading about Natural History with the wonderful essays of the late Stephen Jay Gould. (While Gould may have called himself an agnostic, he was not anti-Christian, like some others that are easy to spot). I found that I could fairly easily separate evolution, as a well-proven scientific principle of Biology, and “evolutionism” as a worldview. Then, I came across the book “Language of God” by Francis Collins, and I was greatly relieved that I didn’t have to feel conflicted between my scientific background and my nature in Christ. Of course, this led me to this excellent resource.
I think there may be many people in the church that haven’t thought much about YEC, but just accept it to feel a sense of belonging. If the subject comes up, I try to be mindful of where their mind is at. If they aren’t open to accepting an old earth, I just leave the topic, respectfully. I am grateful that my Pastors do not consider YEC to be an essential doctrine of the Christian faith. On the other hand, if people are open to talking about the topic, I am willing to share my sense of awe and wonder at God and His creation, and its majesty over incomprehensible periods of time, as we have learned from many honest Scientists and Natural Historians.
If this helps anyone in their interactions with people with different views on the Natural World, it would make me happy.
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Welcome, and thank you for your story and perspectives!
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