I would guess that few of us would have trouble holding passionately to verse 1.  But what about the end of verse 5?  Fewer and fewer Christians want to maintain the same passion for verse 5 as they do verse 1.  Did God create the universe in 6 literal days?  Well, it strikes me that if you never read a science book in school and examined just Genesis 1, you would have to conclude that God created the world in 6 literal days, not over the course of 6 million years.  Much of the struggle comes with the Hebrew word "yom."  "Yom" can mean either a literal day or a general period of time.  We like the out of the second option, because it fits with what scientists try to tell us.  However, "yom" is interpreted by its context.  Whenever it is accompanied by a reference to time, such as the "evening and morning" found in Genesis 1, it refers to a literal day, not an unspecific period of time. 

In fact, look at what Jesus says,

Genesis 1 tells us that Adam and Eve were created on Day 6 of creation.  Jesus HImself says that Adam and Eve are created at the beginning of Creation.  If we hold to a literal 6 days of Creation, this statement by Jesus makes sense - Adam and Eve were created within a matter of days in the process of Creation.  If we agree to what science tells us, that the earth if perhaps billions of years old - then Jesus' comment has to be wrong.  As you trace the geneologies, Adam and Eve lived 6,000-8,000 years ago.  If the Bible supports a 6 billion year old earth, how can Adam and Eve's existence billions of years after the start of Creation be connected to the beginning of Creation.  It seems clear to me from Jesus, the Creator Himself, that Genesis does in fact refer to 6 literal days, not a process drawn out of millions or billions of years.

So, what are we to do with the findings of science?  Science is a valuable discipline.  Without science we would not have medicine, and other valuable resources.  However, true science is the process of examining and proving theories by repeated, observable testing.  You can do that with medicine.  You cannot do that with creation.  Scientists, many of which are atheists, has come up with the theory of evolution.  They have made an assumption that the earth is billions of years old.  All science begins with a theory, an assumption.  Scientists begin with the assumption that there is no God and that the Bible is not true.  Therefore, they seek methods that will support that theory.  Carbon 14 is one of those methods.  Carbon 14 dating is a useful, but flawed process.

So, why does it matter whether we believe in 6 days of Creation or if we believe that the earth is actually billions of years old?  I believe that it matters a great deal.  The reason is in what motivates us.  If you look at the language, I do not see anywhere in the Bible that would suggest anything other than 6 literal days of Creation.  The only reason we hesitate is because of secular science.  God is the Creator of all things.  He seems to have told us clearly that he created all things in 6 days.  Scientists were not there.  They tell us about 6 billion years.  Who will we believe and why?  If the Bible and modern science clash, who will we believe? 

Some Christians like to say, "But Genesis isn't trying to tell us how long it took God to create all things - it is just telling us that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  If that is true, why do we have the rest of Genesis 1?  Why not just jump to chapter 2?  No, chapter 1 goes into great detail about a first day, a second day, and so on.

Will we trust the Word of God?  Do we trust God who has never lied and has never failed us?  Or will we trust science?  Keep in mind that, at one time, the best scientific minds in the world used to believe that the earth was flat.  They used to believe that the way to cure disease was by draining the blood out of a person's body.  It is a science that, for decades, overlooked a 10th planet in our own solar system. 

Science is telling us that homosexuality is not a choice, but simply a natural part of who a person is.  The Bible calls it a sin against God.  We must decide who to believe.  How we approach Genesis 1 goes a lot deeper than just creation - it reveals how we approach many issues throughout Scripture.  I believe it is a measuring rod to how we view the truth of the Bible.