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Ah yes, wonderful! The Catholic church would agree with you about Genesis, as would I. I find it possible to appreciate parts of the Bible so much more when I understand that its supposedly historical accounts are riddled with metaphor and augmented with stories and miracles to enhance meaning. A really neat book on this subject is Jesus for the Non-Religious, by John Shelby Spong. I HIGHLY recommend it, and I'm an atheist. While I ultimately disagreed with some of his final premises and conclusions, I thought it was a tremendous work to rationalize a belief in and worship of Jesus. Here's a review from a secular organization, which still praises it.

Thank you for acknowledging my nonbelief. I appreciate that. As for "god v. science," I agree that I don't think there is a necessary dichotomy. Even such ardent atheists as Richard Dawkins have admitted that there is a possibility that a designer was involved in the origin of life, even though that conclusion is not supported by evidence and abiogenesis is a more compelling theory. And I will be the first to admit that there are still many questions that need answering about the origin of the universe, though the assumption that a "first cause" was responsible is flawed. What I hoped to hint at above is that even though there is no intentional enmity or conflict, as you say and I second, there are better ideas than a god to explain things once attributed to gods. It is entirely possible that Poseidon is still somehow responsible for the weather by controlling air pressure and humidity, but we have rejected any claims to his existence because it does not make sense anymore. Science does not set out to disprove the existence of gods, it merely moves forward, leaving old ideas behind it. I should also note (for the trolls out there) that I do not perceive science as an "alternative" to religion, nor do I have "faith" in it, nor is it the only means by which people can leave their religion; such descriptions and claims are misleading and untrue.

EDIT: Links, for sheer justice.

TL;DR Yay, science! I agree that the Bible should be read allegorically; read Jesus for the Non-Religious! Science doesn't seek to conflict with religion, nor does it render supernatural entities impossible; it just makes them obsolete and highly improbable by explaining things better, with more evidence.

Also, I really appreciate this conversation :-) Thinking about this stuff is fun and engaging.