Using the Bible as a Starting point for Scientific questions

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...a middle ground has to be achieved so that an equal footing can be given to both viewpoints.

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The "middle ground" is the empirical evidence.The beauty of science is that everybody has the same empirical evidence to look at, regardless of their philosophical or religious biases.When you ask for your statements of faith to be put on the same footing as empirical evidence, you're not asking for a level playing field. You're asking for the playing field to be slanted in your favour.

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People who think they have all the answers usually don't understand the questions.

Jor-el said: I didn't say whose shoes I was in, did I?In fact, I can accept evolution without reservations and I can accept the creation story without reservations. I don't see any necessary conflict between the two. But I don't use the Bible as a telephone directory and I don't use it as a science textbook either.The title of this thread is "The Bible as a starting point...." But what about the Quran? Or the Book of Mormon? Or the Sacred Tome of the Giant Pink Unicorn? We can't use any of them as a "starting point" because we can't agree on which one to use. By merely suggesting the Bible as a starting point, you're trying to slant the playing field in it's favour.You can't start a meaningful discussion by asking everybody to accept your interpretation of the Bible. You have to start out by deciding which of your own subjective beliefs you can set aside.

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People who think they have all the answers usually don't understand the questions.

There is nothing "mutually exclusive" about creation and evolution. As Jar pointed out in Message 22, most Christians accept both.

Notice that I said "most Christians" and you said "creationist factions".Yes, there is a conflict between science and YECs who misinterpret the Bible.No, there is no conflict between science and Christians who read the Bible properly. I repeat, many of the "evolutionists" on this forum are Christians (or believers of other faiths).It is the "creationist factions trying to discredit TOE at all costs" who want their peculiar interpretation to be accepted by everybody. That's not going to happen. If YECs want a meaningful discussion, they'll have to learn to understand the Bible the way the majority of Christians do.

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People who think they have all the answers usually don't understand the questions.