Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Evangelicals And Global Warming - It's Disturbing
What's a Christian Environmental Professional to do when he reads polling data like this?
Forget the gross misconceptions of the climatology involved and consider just what this says about the state of evangelicalism. The organized political activity of evangelicals to date has been largely limited to matters that were scripturally. morally, and practically mandated - abortion, same-sex marriage, and to some extent teachings about the origins of life. But this?!
This is the creation from whole cloth of a Christian issue based on limited data and a rightly conceived if wrongly aimed need "to do something." This belies a focus on fixing the other guy instead of fixing yourself, I think I am supposed to work out my salvation with fear and trembling and let God worry about the worlds.
And the real problem is that there is no way to address this other than through coercive means. Think for just one minute, PLEASE! Western economies can perhaps bear the cost of what is necessary to "prevent" global warming, it's an unnecesarry expense, but we can. But we got here through a whole boat load of greenhouse gas emissions. Alterntive technologies will raise the capital barriers to entering the world economy enormously. Thus the developing world -- the places where poverty is at its worse will never be able to join the world economy under such circumstances. We will condemn them to poverty!
The only possible ways out of that are enormous wealth transfers or they will develop grossly polluting underground economies. When it comes to wealth transfer - socialism has been tried and found wanting - despite this person. Unfortunately sin prevents it from functioning. When it comes to an underground economy, if they are going to ignore the specious greenhouse standards, don't you think they'll ignore the actually important stuff like nuclear waste or huge oil spills? It's a nightmarish scenario.
So what are we to do? Do we have to start to travel from church to church and teach people the truth behind global warming? It makes me shudder. I want to visit churches and talk about JESUS, not about hockey stick curves, statistically significant sampling sizes and urban heating effects.
The church has so lost its way here. Greenie Watch has an interesting look at some of the exegetical extremes that have been necessary to get us to this point.
If you want a bit more scholarly look at the issue, consider this, written in 1998.
As I said when the initiative was announced, I weep for the church. In the ensuing couple of weeks things are much worse than I had anticipated. I must spend much time on my knees about this, seeking guidance and wisdom on how to proceed. I hope you will join me, it appears the gospel itself stands in the balance.
Related Tags: global warming, Evangelical Climate Initiative, church, gospel, Christinality, evangelicalism, prayer
- In the poll, 84 percent of evangelicals agreed that reducing pollution is a form of obedience to the biblical command to love your neighbor.
- 92 percent agreed that "in the long run, it will be cheaper to protect the environment now than to fix it later."
- "95 percent agreed that "a healthy environment helps to keep your family healthy."
- A majority of evangelicals-51 percent-said the U.S. should take steps to address global warming, even if there is a high economic cost.
- Two-thirds of evangelicals are either completely or mostly convinced that global warming is actually taking place.
Forget the gross misconceptions of the climatology involved and consider just what this says about the state of evangelicalism. The organized political activity of evangelicals to date has been largely limited to matters that were scripturally. morally, and practically mandated - abortion, same-sex marriage, and to some extent teachings about the origins of life. But this?!
This is the creation from whole cloth of a Christian issue based on limited data and a rightly conceived if wrongly aimed need "to do something." This belies a focus on fixing the other guy instead of fixing yourself, I think I am supposed to work out my salvation with fear and trembling and let God worry about the worlds.
And the real problem is that there is no way to address this other than through coercive means. Think for just one minute, PLEASE! Western economies can perhaps bear the cost of what is necessary to "prevent" global warming, it's an unnecesarry expense, but we can. But we got here through a whole boat load of greenhouse gas emissions. Alterntive technologies will raise the capital barriers to entering the world economy enormously. Thus the developing world -- the places where poverty is at its worse will never be able to join the world economy under such circumstances. We will condemn them to poverty!
The only possible ways out of that are enormous wealth transfers or they will develop grossly polluting underground economies. When it comes to wealth transfer - socialism has been tried and found wanting - despite this person. Unfortunately sin prevents it from functioning. When it comes to an underground economy, if they are going to ignore the specious greenhouse standards, don't you think they'll ignore the actually important stuff like nuclear waste or huge oil spills? It's a nightmarish scenario.
So what are we to do? Do we have to start to travel from church to church and teach people the truth behind global warming? It makes me shudder. I want to visit churches and talk about JESUS, not about hockey stick curves, statistically significant sampling sizes and urban heating effects.
The church has so lost its way here. Greenie Watch has an interesting look at some of the exegetical extremes that have been necessary to get us to this point.
If you want a bit more scholarly look at the issue, consider this, written in 1998.
As it was said in the beginning, Christian environmentalists have turned the world on its head. In using language reserved for God to show their concern for the Earth, they have only bred contempt for man and made a mockery of real religion. What they have not done is to make the Earth a proper object of worship. It can't be. But more to the point, theirs is not a genuine religious concern. They have simply invoked religious rhetoric to give new urgency to their worldly agenda. Sadly, for those who don't discern this agenda, this manner of speaking will make an idol of the Earth.Consider this point just from the "initiative's" home web site
The same love for God and neighbor that compels us to preach salvation through Jesus Christ, protect the unborn, preserve the family and the sanctity of marriage, and take the whole Gospel to a hurting world, also compels us to recognize that human-induced climate change is a serious Christian issue requiring action now.I cannot and do not argue about the necessity to use good judgement and stewardship when it comes to matters environmental, but to link the salvation message of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection to this issue is idolatry in its worst form. Not satisfied with merely distracting the faithful this initiative seems to want to water down the gospel to mere social action.
As I said when the initiative was announced, I weep for the church. In the ensuing couple of weeks things are much worse than I had anticipated. I must spend much time on my knees about this, seeking guidance and wisdom on how to proceed. I hope you will join me, it appears the gospel itself stands in the balance.
Related Tags: global warming, Evangelical Climate Initiative, church, gospel, Christinality, evangelicalism, prayer
