Is an old-earth interpretation of Genesis 1 satisfactory?
In a young-earth 144-hour interpretation, each “yom” is a 24-hour day. In a day-age view, “yom” has one of its other meanings: a period of time with unspecified length. Or maybe creation occurred in six nonconsecutive days with long periods between the days; or in six days of proclamation God described what would occur during creation. A gap view proposes an initial creation (in Genesis 1:1), catastrophe (in 1:2), and re-creation on the earth (beginning in 1:3). In a framework view, the six days describe actual historical events, arranged topically instead of chronologically. The framework is based on two problems in Genesis 1:2, with the earth being “formless and empty.” The two solutions are to produce form (by separations in Days 1-3) and fill these forms (in Days 4-6) to connect related aspects of creation history in Days 1-and-4, 2-and-5, 3-and-6. { If you carefully study the text, you’ll see the pattern; then look at the visual summary in the full FAQ for 3A. } Or maybe the only
