Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is a rising GOP star.(Photo: Charlie Neibergall, AP)
Sen. Marco Rubio tried Wednesday to clear up his stance on the
Earth's age, after getting into some hot water when asked about the
topic during a magazine interview.
"Science says it's about four
and a half billion years old and my faith teaches that that's not
inconsistent," the Florida Republican said at a breakfast sponsored by Politico.
"The
theological debate is how do you reconcile what science has definitely
established with what you think your faith teaches," Rubio continued.
"For me, actually, when it comes to the age of the Earth there is no
conflict: I believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and
the Earth and I think scientific advances give us insight into when he
did it and how he did it."
In an interview with GQ
magazine, Rubio gave a rambling answer that side-stepped the specific
question on the Earth's age as he discussed that he is "not a scientist"
and acknowledged a "dispute among theologians." He ended his response
by saying "it's one of the great mysteries."
Rubio got drubbed in
the liberal blogosphere, highlighting the sensitive debate over
evolution vs. creationism -- the view that God created the world.
Rubio told the Politico audience on Wednesday that he doesn't "regret" what he told GQ
-- but wishes he would have given "a better answer, a more succinct
answer." The senator also noted that he was talking to the magazine
about hip hop and then the discussion jumped to the age of the Earth.
"I'm not a robot," he said. "I got caught off guard, I guess."
USA Today