Marco Rubio said the age of the Earth does not conflict with Christianity (Photo: Creative Commons)

The Marco Rubio age of the Earth gaffe made rounds last month when the senator said he did not know the age of the Earth. But on Wednesday, Rubio clarified his age of the Earth statement by saying that he does know, and that it doesn't conflict with his faith.

The Rubio age of the Earth gaffe came when Rubio called the age of the Earth 'one of the great mysteries."

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"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 and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States," Rubio told GQ's Michael Hainey, according to Forbes. "I don't think I'm qualified to answer a question like that. 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."

The Rubio age of the Earth gaffe drew harsh criticism from scientists who say it's clear how old the Earth is, and to think otherwise is wrong. On Wednesday, Rubio clarified his age of the Earth comments by saying that he does know the age of the Earth, and its age does not conflict with his religious beliefs.

"There is no scientific debate on the age of the Earth, it's established pretty definitively, it's at least 4.5 billion years old," he said, according to Politico. "I was referring to a theological debate."

In the Bible, God creates the Earth in only 6,000 years, but scientists put the age of the Earth at much older. However, Rubio said the age of the Earth can take both views into account.

"Science has given us insight into when he did it and how he did it," Rubio said  about the age of the Earth, according to the Huffington Post. "The more science learns, the more I'm convinced that God is real."

The Rubio age of the Earth gaffe made headlines because of the debate of whether creationism should be taught in schools. But while he clarified the Rubio age of the Earth gaffe by explaining that he believes science and the Bible can coexist, he said more people need to look to science for the abortion debate.

Rubio said science proves that life begins at conception, and if you're going to say the age of the Earth is 4.5 million years old, you need to say life begins at conception too.

"I wish there were more folks in this town who are deeply committed to science and the belief in science [and] would not ignore that scientific fact," he said. "They're pretty brave about saying the age of the Earth, but they don't want to say when life begins?"