The Bible is not a science or history book, but rather a theology book. Also, keep in mind that the original books of the Bible were designed as narratives by God for the people of Israel to be passed on from generation to generation through storytelling before writing even existed.

Now try of a second to think, if you could not read or write, how much could someone tell you about the universe that you could remember and keep straight and pass on to the next generation for hundreds maybe thousands of years about events that occurred billions of years earlier?

When viewed from this context, the Bible is amazing (a miracle of communication). How many people can roughly repeat many of those passages in Genesis after hearing them a few times.

More importantly, what was God trying to tell the people of Israel. Was He really attempting to give a precise history of the universe or even history of earth summarized in a few chapters. Probably not.

Was He attempting to give the people of Israel a science book to teach scientific principles to people that for the most part could not read? Again probably not.

I think it was clear, God was giving the people of Israel a theology book that provided a high level overview of how they and He arrived at the point where the God was the God of the people of Israel and they were His people, His remant on earth that would keep His "name" alive as time passed.

God would continue to add to those "books" more books, each book designed to reveal a little more about God's plan to save the world through His Son Jesus. In that sense, the Bible is truly an amazing work.

When reading the Bible, it is important to approach it from a simple perspective... what is God trying to tell me?

Few people believe that God is telling them to rip out their eyes if they look upon a woman with lust in their hearts. But there is a message in that passage. And the message is not that we should all be blind by now.

So go back and re read Genesis. This time ask yourself, what is God's message. What is he trying to tell me? How does Genesis link to the other books and where is this narrative heading? More importantly, try reading a science book and the Bible at the same time... which one do you remember the core message within the book and which one don't you.

Now try to tell someone else what you read about in those two books and have them repeat it. How well did they grasp what you were telling them. The Bible is such an amazing text, it reveals so much about God's plan in a way nearly everyone can grasp with some prayerful contemplation.