SF:
I don’t see how somebody who does not believe in the ikkarim of Judaisim can not be an apikores. But I’m no halachic authority, so you probably shouldn’t take my word for it.
VM:
If somebody you completely trust tells you that a particular event occurred, your certainty is no less than it would be if you could logically prove that the event happened. The end result is the same: you believe/know that this event did indeed happen. And that, IMHO, is what matters.
“And what distinguishes the guy who thinks that he can reconcile the scientific and Torah accounts of creation? Even if he’s wrong, as long as he doesn’t know he’s wrong, he thinks he knows that he believes in the Torah version.”
Ein hachuh nami. As long as he is reconciling science to the Torah and not vice versa I don’t see any problem, even if the reconciliation doesn’t actually work.