Huckabee: I'm not writing a science book
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an ordained minister who has said that he does not believe in evolution, said this type of question should not be asked of someone running for president because he is "not planning on writing the curriculum for an eighth-grade science book."
"If they want a president that doesn't believe in God, there's plenty of choices," Huckabee said.
He added, "My point is, I don't know. I wasn't there. But I believe whether God did it in six days or whether he did it in six days that represented periods of time, he did it. And that's what's important.
"But you know, if anybody wants to believe they're the descendants of a primate, they're welcome to do it."
After he finished his answer, Huckabee received loud applause from the audience and praise from his Republican rival Sen. John McCain.
–CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich
Humans ARE primates.
And why is so ingrained in these people that belief in evolution precludes a belief in God. He may not be writing an 8th grade textbook, but he could read one.
Gov. Huckabee may not be “writing a science book” but maybe he should READ a history book. He stated with reverence that today is Ronald Reagan’s birthday when it is really the anniversary of Reagan’s death!!! I realize that Republicans have become expert at rewriting history, but you would think at least one of these brilliant Reagan-worshippers should correct the record. Unless it was repealed during the Republican control of Congress, Reagan’s birthday has always been February 6 NOT June 5!!! Maybe it helps that I'm a Democrat to be able to distinguish between birth and death.
I'd like to ask a question on abortion. Would you appoint pro-life supreme court justices if you had the chance? Would you work to overturn Roe vs. Wade?
Although we certainly shouldn't require our President to be able to write a science textbook, we should expect rationality. Anybody who looks at the world and does not see evidence of evolution, or more specifically natural selection, is not a rational or reasonable human being. Creationism and ID deny what is real and known, and we certainly don't need another president who ignores the truth. Acknowledgment of evolution is not, by necessity, a denial of God, but, simply, an understanding that we didn't know everything we know now 2000 years ago.
Are you kidding me? There are educated, intelligent men that still believe that the Earth was created in six days?
Watch Walter J. Veith – From Evolutionist to Creationist on youtube.
Yes there are a few.
I liked his answer on Evolution. As a undecided voter he never fugged on what he believed... And that in my opinion was more "Stand Up" than any-one Republican or Democrate than I have seen in all the debates. I will watch his answers in other debates very, very carefully. and most likley will change my voter registration, So I can cast a vote for him.
It certainly is appropriate to ask someone who wants to lead the most advanced nation on earth whether they reject virtually every form of science and every scientific advancement, because to not "believe" in evolution is to do just that. Mr. Huckabee should read Francis Collins' "The Language of God" and he might learn something, that science, evolution and God are not incompatible, and in fact the beauty of God's creation lies in the complex universe He created. But to think that it was just "poof" and there was man in his present form is ignorance beyond the pale, and a failure to understand the complexities of the natural world. Not a trait we want in a president.
Ross, I can say the same thing about creation...anybody who looks at the world and doesn't see evidence of a creator is not rational. Evolution is a theory that was created by athiests whose goal was to eliminate God from the equation, it is not science. The complexities of the world point to a creator, God. In the words of Gov. Huckabee, “But you know, if anybody wants to believe they’re the descendants of a primate, they’re welcome to do it.” Just don't teach it to my child.
Those that write that "evolution was invented by athiests to eliminate God from the equation" have obviously never read Darwin's book which concludes: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one..." and that many devout theologians have accepted science and evolution and the Big Bang theory. Saint Augustine wrote that the Bible should not be interpreted literally because science may end up refuting a narrow position. Pope Pius XII supported the Big bang theory early on. Those who see an athiest conspiracy have some learning to do...unless of course they are afraid to do so.
Huckabee's response was great! Seems very articulate and personal. I like him already.
Where is this evidence of a creator, Julie? If evidence just means that you can't prove an alternate explanation, then I could say that your creator is an invisible pink unicorn and you could not disprove me. And if you take the regressive logic that a creator is required to create the universe, who created God?
Evolution works because it has testable consequences. We can make predictions based on the theory of natural selection.
In addition, evolution was not created, it was discovered and if you don't want your child taught rational science, you're living in the wrong century. 1000 years ago, we couldn't prove that the Earth wasn't the center of the universe but then we invented the telescope and suddenly our universe changed. Darwin (not an atheist, a genius) gave us the apparatus to examine our descent and if you are too arrogant to believe that we could evolve from something "lower", you are simply blind to what is real.
Finally, to those that are saying that they like Huckabee because he said what he believed, a friend of mine works with someone who believes that the paperclip icon in Microsoft Word is spying on employee email. Should I vote her for president just because she says what she believes? We need slightly higher standards for the leader of the free world.
12 people commented on this man as of the 9th of june and only one picked up on the fact the guy believes ronald reagan was born in june.....mistake or not, reagan is supposed to be the republicans hero, they should know when he was born.....i've been an independent for a long time and what i've admired in my friends that were staunch republicans was that they claimed republicans were for freedoms and less government. well all i see in the last twenty years and especially in the last 6 is the republican party being puppets of the religious right....stricking down freedoms.... and making government our parents .....no thanks to any of them they are all the puppets of religion and wafflers on any issue they truly believe in.....at least i know what i'm getting with democrats and from my experience they do believe in the foundations of this country....
Having professed to being a political independent all my adult life,as soon as the"Wall"was torn down,and USSR destroyed,I made the statement:The Dems will never forgive Reagan for this.Every Republican since has been much hated.Being used to it,most consertatives blow off the biased opinions if the libs.Evolution,as creation,is the posters opinion,and neither is conclusively proven. Anything in the Bible must be taken on faith.
Why is Ron Paul's story linking to Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee? Come on CNN this is just getting rediculous now.
What people don't realize or think about, is that what if GOD gave us the ability to learn (emphasis added) where we came form. What if GOD gave us the ability to comprehend things through the use of science?
What is so bad about that?
Why is this guy even running? This country will never elect a preacher into the white house who'll push his moral agenda on the country.
Hell if he is even a VP, I'll vote against that ticket because I don't want religion to do anything with politics.
This is actually a pretty comical discussion. The conspiracy against religion are the comments that really make me chuckle. How insecure people seem even in their own convictions. It always has to be some conspiracy against them regardless of the side they might be on.
In all honesty I could care less what Huckabee's religious beliefs are. He could worship trees like the ancient Europeans once did and it would have no effect on me whatsoever. I find it insulting that a candidate even has to discuss the topic of religion in the first place. The concept is actually a violation of our very own Constitution, which states "there will be no religious test for anyone running for public office." Do you know why our Constitution makes this statement? Because NO ONE would pass such a test. Religion is a personal matter not a political issue.
As far as evolution and creation are concerned they are both theories. They both require a certain amount of faith. The main difference between the two is imperical evidence. There is real evidence of a past Earth very different from the origins described in the Bible. Does this prove evolution? No. On the other hand this archeological evidence bodes poorly for creation as well.
Evolution is not science fact. It is a theory based on circumstantial, albeit compelling, evidence. Even so there is still enough benefit of doubt to keep evolution from becoming fact versus theory.
If the Bible is to be held up high as the Truth the ENTIRE book must be believed and upheld, not just those sections which bolster a specific argument. That alone opens a big can of worms, which again is why our Constitution reads the way it does. Otherwise no divorced person would pass a religious test regardless of the circumstance.
When asked about divorce Jesus said let no man seperate what God has joined together. Does Jesus' word no longer have value? If not then it discredits the entire book.
Take a step outside the box. It is just as likely that both theories are wrong. There are many theories as to why we are all here, not just two. Disproving one does not prove the other. When the "A-HA" moment comes where evolution is proven incorrect this absolutely in no way means creation has to be the correct answer. That is the mistake many people make. You cannot prove a theory correct by disproving another theory unless ALL other options are discounted.
So to end my rant, I care infinitely more about what Huckabee will do about foreign policy, health care, and the economy than I do about which god he believes in. Those issues effect me today and my children to come not his belief in God.
I've never quite figured out why creationists are so afraid of Darwin's theory. Why are they so arrogant to think they know how God created the Earth and what his vision is? What is so offensive about the idea that man is descended from apes? Perhaps God's wisdom was for us to evolve from very basic to a very complex life form so that we would appreciate that living creatures of all varieties have so much else in common besides God's vision and that we should care for them?
The more science reveals, the more question about the wonders of life appear.
If you are so scared that you might be descended from apes, perhaps you have little meaning in your life. Be worried about what you are, not what your distant ancestors were. It's oddly un-American. Didn't we slough off the old ways castes and class?...
Who cares if you father was a garbage man or a CEO or hung from trees- what have YOU done?