But misidentifying the timing of God's past works in the cosmos has little or no bearing on that relationship. Nor does it bear upon the Bible's authority. It appears ill-advised, then, to make an issue out of such a trivial doctrinal point. For creationists to make an issue of such a relatively trivial difference seems both impolitic and unnecessary. The emotionalism associated with the young versus old universe debate also is unnecessary.
Science is an attempt to interpret the facts of nature.
Christian theology is an attempt to interpret the words of the Bible. Since, according to that theology, God created the universe and is also responsible for the words of the Bible, and since He does not lie or deceive, there can be no contradiction between the words of the Bible and the facts of nature. Any conflict between science and Christian theology must be attributed to human misinterpretation. Such conflicts should be viewed with neither fear for the integrity of the Bible nor outrage against science, but rather should be accepted for the time being as indications that further research is needed. The Christian expectation is that such research will lead to greater understanding of both science and theology and to an eventual reconciliation that will uphold both the Scriptures and the data from nature.