[lit-ideas] Re: Global Warming Ice Age
- From: Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 23:01:46 EST
In a message dated 2/10/2006 8:46:43 P.M. Central Standard Time,
aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Here are a few links for those interested in the idea that global warming
has begun.
HI,
I have several thoughts on several threads (I know you are all anxiously
awaiting them <g>) but wanted to share this one as is shows a crack within the
whole fundamentalist world...particularly the Baptist one.
(though there is the 10% like Someone We All Know and Love who would not
ever understand or comprehend the attraction of 'church' much less
religion...in
spite of my being convinced that said person would have an eye opening
experience if said person attended a Unitarian Church where diversity of belief
is
embraced and discussion of such encouraged...yet still having all the
trappings of a healthy 'church' community which cares for the Other within it
as an
extended family)
Wonder if we might begin to see a swing back towards a moderate viewpoint of
political values--at least in regards to 'religion' dictating one's vote--?
So that one's religion took one towards the caretaking of people and the
world in a practical sense as it used to (in one religious tradition,
anyway--and within that tradition, there has been a lot of underneath
discussion going
on...a lot. Thanks to John M for the quote from the book--I had heard about
it and have it on request at my library...it does sound like it will be an
intriguing read...and I do think what you write definitely has merit. More to
say on it later...We're skiing tomorrow so will have to get some rest!)
The list of names, for those who track the 'who's who' in the
evangelical/fundamentalist world is kind of interesting in terms of the
different stances...
Best,
Marlena in Missouri
Evangelicals issue global warming
stance; notable names absent
By Tom Strode
WASHINGTON (BP)--A coalition of 86 evangelical leaders called Feb. 8 for
action on global warming, most significantly the passage of legislation to
decrease carbon dioxide emissions.
In a statement an organizer of the coalition described as
âground-breaking,â
the leaders said global warming, also known as climate change, is âmainly
human-inducedâ and they urged other evangelicals to help combat the problem.
Several prominent evangelicals, however, did not endorse the statement,
including Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land, Focus on the Family founder
James Dobson and Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson. They have said
there
is a lack of consensus among evangelicals about the extent and
cause of global warming.
Among those signing the statement were several Southern Baptist leaders,
most notably author and Southern California mega-church pastor Rick Warren.
Also
endorsing the document were some Southern Baptist academics, including
Timothy George, dean of Samford Universityâs Beeson Divinity School in
Birmingham, Ala., and David Dockery, president of Union University in
Jackson, Tenn.
The current SBC president, Bobby Welch, was not among the signers, nor were
any former SBC presidents or any of the six SBC seminary presidents.
The new global warming coalition, known as the Evangelical Climate
Initiative (ECI), made four claims in its statement, which was unveiled at a
Washington, D.C., news conference. They were:
-- âHuman-induced climate change is real;
-- âThe consequences of climate change will be significant and will hit the
poor the hardest;
-- âChristian moral convictions demand our response to the climate change
problem;
-- âThe need to act now is urgent. Governments, businesses, churches and
individuals all have a role to play in addressing climate change -â starting
now.
â
In their statement, the signers said âmany of us have required considerable
convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem
and that it ought to matter to us as Christians. As evangelicals we have
hesitated to speak on this issue until we could be more certain of the
scienceâ of global warming.
The evangelicals cited the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), which has been researching the issue since the late
1980s,
and the National Academy of Sciences in asserting that global warming is
mostly caused by human beings. According to the evangelicalsâ statement,
the IPCC has documented a 50-year rise in global temperatures and has
predicted a continued increase, mostly because of human beings.
The statement said the biblical basis for evangelicalsâ work on global
warming is love for God, love for neighbor and the responsibility for
stewardship
of creation.
Climate change likely will produce more droughts and floods, more powerful
hurricanes and the spread of diseases â- all of which will affect the poor
more significantly, the statement said. âMillions of people could die in
this
century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global
neighbors,â according to the statement.
Wheaton (Ill.) College President Duane Litfin said at the news conference
that climate change has been one of evangelicalsâ âblind spotsâ but it
âneeds
to be our issue.â
Leith Anderson, a mega-church pastor in Minneapolis and former president of
the National Association of Evangelicals, told reporters a âgrassroots
constituencyâ already was âon boardâ on the issue. He predicted the
number of
leaders who endorse the statement will increase, as will the involvement
of churches and the personal and political action of evangelicals.
In January, Land, Dobson and Colson were among 22 conservative Christians
who signed a letter urging the National Association of Evangelicals not to
take
an official position on global warming because it âis not a consensus
issue.â
âWe are evangelicals, and we care about Godâs creation,â the 22 leaders
said. âHowever, we believe there should be room for Bible-believing
evangelicals
to disagree about the cause, severity and solutions to the global warming
issue.â
The NAE did not endorse the new statement, and its president, Colorado
Springs mega-church pastor Ted Haggard, did not sign it. Haggard told The New
York
Times he is convinced climate change is occurring and action should be
taken, but he did not want his signature to be interpreted as an
endorsement by the NAE.
A lack of consensus among Southern Baptists is enough to keep him from
signing the new statement, said Land, president of the SBCâs Ethics &
Religious
Liberty Commission.
âIt would be unethical and irresponsible for me to sign such a statement
giving the impression that there is a consensus among Southern Baptists on
this
issue when there is clearly not one,â Land told Baptist Press. âWe will
continue to foster discussion and debate on issues such as global
warming and Christiansâ responsibility for the stewardship of the
environment and the best ways to address our energy needs in the future. But
until and
when a consensus develops among Southern Baptists, it would be a disservice
to Southern Baptists to give the impression that such a consensus
existed.â
Land, Dobson and Colson signed on to a 2000 statement known as The Cornwall
Declaration on Environmental Stewardship that called for care of creation but
rejected the certainty of human-caused global warming. The Interfaith
Stewardship Alliance (ISA) was founded in November, with the Cornwall
Declaration as its statement of principles. In a 20-page paper on global
warming, the ISA has contended that climate change is difficult to verify and
some proposed responses would harm the economy and be most detrimental to the
poor.
In addressing the differences between the signers of the new statement by
the Evangelical Climate Initiative and those who do not support it, Anderson
said at the news conference he thinks âthat where there may be disagreement
on
cause, there can be agreement ... on consequences. And I think that
that is where we have our common cause.â
âWhat we can agree on,â Land told Baptist Press, âis we have a
responsibility for earth care and being good stewards of the environment God
has
entrusted to our care to both till and keep.â
Land has written on environmental issues in two books, and the ERLC, the
entity he heads, sponsored a conference on Christians and the environment in
1991.
Among other signers of the new ECI statement were black pastors Charles
Blake of Los Angeles, Wellington Boone of Norcross, Ga., and Floyd Flake of
New
York City.
The signers also included Todd Bassett, national commander of The Salvation
Army; Paul Cedar, chairman of the Mission America Coalition; Jack Hayford,
president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel; David Neff,
editor of Christianity Today; Ron Sider, president of Evangelicals for
Social Action; and Richard Stearns, president of World Vision.
Other Southern Baptist academics endorsing the statement were four college
presidents, David Clark of Palm Beach (Fla.) Atlantic University, Douglas Hodo
of Houston (Texas) Baptist University, Lee Royce of Mississippi College and
Pat Taylor of Southwest (Mo.) Baptist University, along with Union
University professor David Gushee.
At the news conference, the coalition announced an advertising campaign that
includes a full-page ad in the Feb. 9 issue of The New York Times and the
March edition of Christianity Today, as well as television spots on the Fox,
CNN and ABC Family channels and ads on the Salem Radio Network.
The new ECI statement may be found on the Internet at
www.chistiansandclimate.org.
The ISA website is www.interfaithstewardship.org. The Cornwall Declaration
may be accessed at that site.
But, that is a different topic--this one kind of speaks for itself in
recognizing
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