デラウェア州の共和党上院議員候補は"若い地球の創造論者"

先月(2010/09/14)に共和党デラウェア州上院議員候補になったChristine O'Donnellは、"若い地球の創造論者"だという。

[Elizabeth Tenety: "What does Christine O'Donnell believe about God?" (2010/09/16) on The Faith/WashingtonPost]

Much has already been written about Christine O'Donnell, "the Sarah Palin and Tea Party backed candidate" who won the Republican Senate primary in Delaware Tuesday.

Sarah PalinとTea Partyに支持された候補で、火曜日にデラウェア州の共和党上院議員候補になったChristine O'Donnellについて多くが書かれてきた。

...

On creationism, O'Donnell's beliefs, at least as expressed in 1996, mirrored that of some Christian churches who promote creationism over evolution as an explanation for the origin of life on earth.

"Well, creationism, in essence, is believing that the world began as the Bible in Genesis says, that God created the Earth in six days, six 24-hour periods. And there is just as much, if not more, evidence supporting that," than evolution, O'Donnell said in a CNN interview.

The now-Catholic O'Donnell's beliefs on creationism are at odds with her church and pope. Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 addressed the debate between creationism and evolution, insisting: "This clash is an absurdity because on one hand there is much scientific proof in favor of evolution, which appears as a reality that we must see and which enriches our understanding of life and being as such."

創造論について、O'Donnellの信条は、少なくとも1996年に表明されたものは、地球上の生命の起源の説明として、進化論よりも創造論を推進する、ある種のキリスト教会の考えを反映したものだった。

「創造論は、本質的には、聖書創世記にある通り、神は地球を6日間、6×24時間で創造したとういうものです。進化論以上に、少なくとも同等に支持する証拠があります」とCNNのインタビューで述べていた。

現在はカトリックであるO'Donnellの創造論についての信条は教会や教皇とは違っている。教皇ベネディクト16世は2007年に、創造論と進化論の論争について「この衝突はおろかである。一方に進化論を支持する科学的証拠が多くある。これは我々が直視する現実であり、生命の有様についての我々の理解を豊かにするものである。」と述べている。


["O'Donnell In 1996: 'Just As Much, If Not More' Proof For Creationism Than Evolution (2010/09/15)]

Another goody from the transcript is O'Donnell's insistence that not teaching creationism in schools, as a counterpoint to evolution, violates the separation of church and state its opponents would usually invoke:

MILES O'BRIEN: Ms. O'Donnell, would you agree with that, that if it's brought forth as a theory and then the evidence is laid out so the student can make his or her own decision, is that OK?

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL: Well, I think definitely. However, you need to weigh them side by side - creationism and evolution side by side. When they're-

MILES O'BRIEN: In the same classroom?

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL: Right. When they're-

MILES O'BRIEN: Science.

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL: -together then it is not the establishment of religion. And another thing that we're overlooking is that evolution is also based on a set of belief systems, i.e., a religion and that's secular humanism. So if you're going to say that you can't have religion in school, you-

Dr. MICHAEL McKINNEY: I disagree with that.

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL: -can't have secular humanism in schools either, and if you're- and that's just impossible