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November 19th, 2012
04:19 PM ET
Rubio ignites debate with answer about creationismBy Dan Merica and Eric Marrapodi, CNN Washington (CNN) – Florida Sen. Marco Rubio attempted to walk the line between science and faith-based creationism in remarks that that have provoked the ire of liberal blogs, leaving the door open to creationism in responding to a recent question about the age of the Earth. When GQ’s Michal Hainey asked Rubio, in an interview released Monday, “How old do you think the Earth is,” the rising Republican star described the debate about the planet’s age as “one of the great mysteries.” “I'm not a scientist, man,” Rubio told the interviewer. “I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States.” “Whether the Earth was created in seven days, or seven actual eras,” Rubio continued, “I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries.” Most scientists agree that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old and the universe is 14.5 billion years old. Christian Young Earth Creationists, on the other hand, argue that the weeklong account of God creating the Earth and everything in it represents six 24-hour periods (plus one day of rest) and date the age of the Earth between 6,000 and 10,000 years. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Left-leaning blogs and sites like ThinkProgress and Huffington Post jumped on Rubio’s comments, with the Zack Beauchamp from ThingProgress writing, “To suggest we can’t know how old the Earth is, then, is to deny the validity of these scientific methods altogether — a maneuver familiar to Rubio, who also denies the reality of anthropogenic climate change.” Rubio is regarded as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016, though the senator says his visit last week to Iowa, home of the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, had “nothing to do with 2016.” His response to GQ’s age of the Earth query has also provoked questions about his political aspirations. Dave Weigel of Slate writes, “How can you read that and not think ‘Iowa’? ” The state is the first to hold a presidential caucus in 2016. Forty-six percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form at one point within the past 10,000 years, according to a survey released by Gallup in June. That number has remained unchanged for the past 30 years, since 1982, when Gallup first asked the question on creationism versus evolution. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories The second most common view is that humans evolved with God's guidance - a view held by 32% of respondents. The view that humans evolved with no guidance from God was held by 15% of respondents. The Gallup poll has not specifically asked about views on the age of the Earth. Rubio attends a Baptist church in southern Florida but also considers himself “a practicing Catholic.” He was born Catholic, but his family converted to Mormonism when Rubio was 8 years old, according to Rubio’s recent memoir. The family left its LDS faith behind when it moved from Nevada back to Florida and Rubio was confirmed in the Catholic Church. Catholic teaching is that science and faith are not at odds with one another and it is possible to believe what scientists say about the Earth’s age and in God. But many evangelical churches, including Baptist ones, promote a version of creationism. When CNN reached out to Rubio’s Baptist church in Florida on Monday, a person answering the phone would not comment on its teachings about the Earth’s age and said that a church representative was unlikely to be available in the near term. During the GQ interview, Rubio argued that “there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all.” For the past 30 years, the “equal-time argument” –- the idea that Creationism taught alongside evolution -– has been popular method for Creationists to advance their cause. In the late 1980s, some state legislatures passed bills that promoted the idea of a balanced treatment of both ideas in the classroom. In 1987, the issue made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where a Louisiana "equal-time law" was struck down. The court ruled that teaching creationism in public school classrooms was a violation of the Establishment Cause in the Constitution, which is commonly referred to as the separation of church and state. |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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And people wonder why the Republicans lost the presidential race.
What was wrong with his comments? He said he didn't know & he wasn't a scientist. Are you a scientist, that's why you look down on his comments?
He sits on a SCIENCE committee, Dan.
Since the Republi-tard party wants to rewrite, or at least make their own version of, history, then maybe they can rewrite an old hit from the early '60s as their new theme song.... everybody sing.. you know the words ... "It's my party and I'll lie if I want to, lie if I want to..."
If he wanted to run for President, maybe he shouldn't have said anything. I'm sure he'll be in politics for a long time, but not as Pres or VP.
Throw science out the window, and the future is lost. How can politicians be so stupid? How can the electorate elect such stupid politicians. The recent characterization of the Republican Party still stands, now, even more firmly: "... stuck on stupid, dazzled by dumb."
Don't you know that science is provisional, and that what is believe on the evidence we now have may change as new evidence comes in? In other words, science is a kind of faith, also. Nothing wrong with that.
sorry.. but science relies on evidence, and as new evidence emerges, science adapts. Faith is to believe WITHOUT evidence. Science welcomes questions .. loves questions actually ... religion doesn't like or want to be questioned.
Rubio may turn out to be another clone of Romney... will to take ANY position [and ready to flip-flop] to get elected.
Question 1-Is God's day only as long as Eath's day or could God's day be longer, say like a Jupiter length day?
Question 2-Did God create the world in six days on Eastern Time, Central Time or Mountain Time? When you say he started on Monday, was that Monday in Australia or Alabama?
Question 3-Were there Poodles and Yokshire Terriers on the Ark?
@just: ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD
i bet ten to nothing there truly is a christian out there that thinks dogs were on the ark, that's what makes this so funny.
I don't know about the last 2 questions you asked, but I need to tell you that a day on Jupiter is NOT longer.. a "day" on Jupiter is only abut 10 hours. Yes, it spins THAT fast. Might I suggest a basic astronomy course in your near future?
My Airedale terriers great great......grandfather was on the ark
I guess if his religion (what ever it is) said the earth was flat he would believe that also. Time to get out of the dark ages.
Pandering to everyone will not get him elected, Romney proved that.
“Pandering to everyone will not get him elected, Romney proved that.” Good point. Obviously Rubio is pandering to the ignorant vote. Hopefully that will prove fruitless once again.
The repubs are so positive of the validity of trickle down economics but have doubts about how old the earth is ....hmmm...the pattern of the lack of critical thought is apparent.....
Lack of critical thought isn't just a Republican problem... and no, I'm not a GOP supporter.
@jo...
nope
nope is false
I want my party back. The Republican Party was never perfect, but to now leave the Democrats the high ground of positions based in reason and fact while pandering to the ignorant reactionaries mistakenly perceived to be our base will set us back even further.
Where is the leader who will significantly change our course? Apparently it's not this guy.
His name is Mike Huckabee, but he needs to soften his stance on abortion and on Israel.
Definitely would NOT get my vote now. We need to crush religious idiocy (liberals have their own as well) in our country, not encourage it!
Bet this guy never goes on a cruise. He might fall off the edge of the world.
Just another Stoopid Repugnican
All these dummies that reject science, should not be allowed to use anything that was created by it; automobiles, TVs, PCs, cell phones, Viagra. Just another GOP race to the bottom. Whoever does best at embracing their stupidity wins the primaries!
Mor(m)ons are worse than the average idiot...
So I guess Ancient Fossils were all bought at
WAL -MART
Actually, the devil planted them to test our faith 😛 (that is their serious reply!)
Mormons believe Science when it comes to the age of the earth. We teach evolution at church owned universities and believe that Science explains the "How" of the Earth while religion explains the "Why". God is the supreme Scientist.
"God is the supreme Scientist." That means we are an experiment, trial and error, without a design. Very good logic.
"God is the supreme Scientist."
Oh the irony in that statement.
I am not a Mormon, but agree with your perspective. Science does not address the why of creation.
People who openly distrust the scientific method should be prohibited from driving a car,flying in a plane, using a computer/smart phone or taking helpful medications. These are all fruits of science and the scientific method. Untold numbers of scientists have labored long and hard so that this idiot and others like him can take advantage of them and then deny the source...
Belief in a young universe is the rejection of science in general.
Rubio dumbs down his answer to attract dumbed down supporters. These are people who believe Fred Flinstone really did have a pet dinosaur, and Rubio wants their vote.
@he...
nope
I believe in Fred Flinstone but not Marco Rubio.
nope is a dope
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Prayer changes things .
Can you name something that you changed with prayer?
Neither is stupidity but the chruch seems to bask in that...
Aethism like everything else
Is just a point of view
I agree that there is a significant benefit to be had by adhering to certain religious tenets. It is significantly less convenient for atheists to develop their own rationale for structuring and pursuing a positive and meaningful life, vs. the well established traditions and teachings of major religions. For the significant majority, religion provides a good road map by which to raise children to become good members of society.
But there is a deeply troubling extreme to adherence to certain traditions and teachings of major religions. Witness the ignorance of those who deny science in the name of sentences attributed to ancient men in the Bible, Koran, or other religious holy books.
Oh yeah, atheism lacks morality and religion has lots of it. That must explain all those pedophile priests and religious wars.
I don't see any atheist wars happening.
Well, this tells me all I need to know if he decides to run for President. If he can't trust the facts that science provides, how can we trust him to make Presidential decisions?
@ne...
nope
sigh...agreed. Cant the Republicans find one decent candidate? Actually I like Herman Cain. He seemed more down to earth and less worried about controlling my thoughts, marriage, education, religion, etc than the other idiots desperate for my vote. I don't think we'll see a republican president for quite some time...
Herman Cain? Really?? He may not be what you described, but he's a moron. Why would you want that? The Republican Party can do better.