Questions For Young Earth Creationists

While Christians everywhere are dying on the culture war's hills in the wake of the Bill Nye v. Ken Ham debate and the new film Noah, I want to appeal to Evangelicalism to please choose your battles more wisely.

Here are some questions I have about the Bible for Young Earth Creationists and for those who generally insist on a literal, straightforward reading of the Bible.  My hope is that these questions might cause readers to study the text carefully before rallying the troops for the culture war's next big battle.

Wasn't the earth already there before the "first day" of creation (Gen 1:2)?  If so, does the text ever tell us how long it took God to create the earth?

Can the first 3 days of creation be understood literally without the presence of the sun, moon, and stars which weren't created until the 4th day (Gen 1:14-18)?

If God "planted a garden" and "caused all kinds of trees grow out of the ground" (Gen 2:8-9), then how does it make sense that vegetation, created on the 3rd day (Gen 1:11), grew and became fully mature by day 6 when humans were created (Gen 1:26)?

If God resting from his work and being refreshed on the 7th day (Ex 31:17) is an anthropopathism (attributing human characteristics to God) since he obviously never grows weary, doesn't it follow that his actions the other 6 days are also anthropopathisms?  And if these are examples of figurative language, must we still read the text in a literal, straightforward way?

How likely is it that Adam is formed, put in the garden, receives instructions from God, names all the animals, falls into a coma, undergoes major abdominal surgery, wakes up, reflects on his wife being created, writes a poem about her, all in a single day?

If we understand the formlessness and darkness of the earth (Gen 1:2) as being evil chaos that God was restraining through his creative activity, how are we to believe that physical evil was brought forth by the Fall (Gen 3)?

If we understand the serpent (Gen 3:1) as the representation of moral evil, how are we to believe that moral evil was brought forth by the Fall (Gen 3)?

Isn't the message of Job that not all evil is due to sin?

Is Genesis 1-2 primarily concerned with the who or the how of creation?  Should Genesis be read as a straightforward scientific explanation that answers the type of questions we ask today?

Are the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 10 an exhaustive list of every single generation?  Are the genealogies in Genesis meant to function the same way genealogies do today in our culture?

Who is the original audience of Genesis and what is the author's primary message?

Should a Young Earth Creationism view be mandatory for Christian orthodoxy?