Why I oppose the so-called "gap theory"

The first two verses of the Bible describe in simple terms "the beginning" of earth.

Verse 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

Verse 2: Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The "gap theory" is the idea that there is vast amounts of unrecorded time between these two verses. While this notion is intriguing to say the least it has many problems when one carefully considers it as a legitimate explanation of origins. 

[an edited exerpt from Wikipedia follows]

Proponents of the "gap theory" believe that science has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Earth is far older than can be accounted for by scripture. In order to maintain that the Genesis creation account is inerrant in matters of scientific fact, "Gap creationists" suppose that certain facts about the past and the age of the Earth have been omitted from the Genesis account; specifically that there was a gap of time in the Biblical account that lasted an unknown number of years between a first creation in Genesis 1:1 and a second creation in Genesis 1:2-31. By suggesting such an event, various observations in a wide range of fields, including the age of the Earth, the age of the universe,dinosaurs, fossils, ice cores, ice ages, and geological formations are allowed by adherents to have occurred as outlined by science without contradicting their literal belief in Genesis. [end of Wikipedia exerpt]

Lets look at the pros and cons of this idea.

pro 1: There seems to be a narrative disconnect between verse 1 and 2. The word "now" implies an undisclosed passage of time.

pro 2: The mentioning of a formless and empty Earth, devoid of life, with a mention of the phrase "the deep" implies a flood-like occurrance, many years before Noah's flood. Elsewhere in Genesis Adam and Eve were commanded to "replenish" the Earth. Does that imply that there was once life on Earth, but it had somehow been wiped out? Was Noah's flood actually a second global flood?

con 1: One must literally "read between the lines" to make this idea work.

con 2: NO WHERE in the Bible is it stated that there were people before Adam. That isn't to say it isn't possible. But there is no indication of this anywhere in scripture. Jesus referred to Adam as "the first man". Had Adam NOT been the first man, why would Jesus (who created everything) call him that? 

con 3: NO WHERE in the Bible is it stated that Noah's flood was one of many (or two) global floods.

con 4: To claim that "vast amounts of time" passed between these verses concedes the evolutionary notion that the Earth is billions of years old. This plays into the hands of evolutionists and concedes their main point. That given enough time, life can evolve. Making such a concession implies that evolutionists have proved their point in an ironclad way. Since their opinion about the age of the Earth is not supported by any empirical facts, and since their theory is really only an assumption, such a concession is not necessary. 

Therefore, I do not believe there is anything to the "gap theory" as it has been called.