Jon Carroll in today’s San Francisco Chronicle:
Marco Rubio is a Tea Party Republican and a senator from Florida. He is mentioned as one of the hopes of the party for 2016. Recently he was asked an interesting question by Michael Hainey of GQ magazine: “How old do you think the Earth is?” This was his reply:
“I’m not a scientist, man. 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. … At the end of the day, I think 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. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in seven days, or seven actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.”
….
If parents would like their children to take part in the grand adventure of understanding the mysteries of the universe, they should be taught why science thinks what it thinks and how its suppositions are supported by evidence. Some religions, alas, must then resort to the “God left this so-called evidence to test our faith,” which is the end of all conversation and the beginning of fanaticism.
I wrote a song about this shit: “Save Us from the Saved”
I put my faith in nature
What I hear and smell and see
Until I meet that Higher Power
I’ll do what makes sense to me