In our faces
Climate change is in our faces. Cars must have ‘low emissions’; airlines ask you to pay for the pollution your flight will cause; businesses advertise by claiming they will help us lessen our ‘carbon footprint’, and last December there was the Copenhagen conference: 55 nations, thousands of delegates, all talking climate.
Unless you’ve been living in the middle of a jungle, you will know that most scientists are saying the world is warming up due to all the C02 being pushed into the atmosphere. The C02 produces a ‘green house’ which seals in the heat. So the bottom line is that humans have to bring down C02 emissions, or we are in for climate chaos: ice caps melting, sea levels rising, severe summers, drought…and lots of death.
The evidence
The evidence for all of this is that records from at least four major independent scientific climate research institutions show that the average temperature of the world climbed by just over one degree Celsius during the 20th C. And ordinary people have noticed life has been getting warmer – generally less snow in winter, spring coming earlier, summers being hotter. In fact every decade since the 1970’s has been hotter than the one before. Nobody denies this.
Back in the 1930’s when climatologists started noting the increase in the temperature, some posited emissions of C02 as the culprit, but most thought it was just a temporary fluctuation, probably due to solar activity. Others said it could be to do with the patterns of the way the earth revolves round the sun. Others said it could be to do with the increase in urban areas, always warmer than the country-side. But as temporary has come to look more permanent, and as the predictions of those who said the impact of green house gasses would be clearly seen by at the start of the 21st C, most scientists are now saying that C02 is guilty as charged. Benjamin Santer from the Lawrence Livermore Lab concluded in 2006 that the evidence pointed to a 95% likelihood that C02 emissions are the cause.
Christian views
As with many things there is a wide spectrum of opinion in the church. At one end there are those who do not believe there is an issue to address. They tend to think climate change is a half-baked theory supported by governments so they have an excuse to interfere more with our lives, e.g. by telling us what car to drive, and to get more money out of our pockets under the bogus pretext they are going to save the planet. Some add a further twist which is that Western governments have been pouring money into climate change research to prove that nuclear power is the safest form of energy. The public will support the building of more nuclear power stations so freeing the West from dependency on the turbulent oil sources of the Middle East. They argue that the present conclusion of the research – oil bad, nuclear good – has served this purpose admirably. They mistrust the science because they mistrust the motive.
At the other end of the spectrum are Christians who, as a matter of biblical conviction regarding our stewardship of the planet, passionately campaign for C02 emissions to be stopped. They hold church seminars and workshops on the climate change and send delegations to international conferences. They are passionately committed to reversing climate change.
The duty of Christians: 1. Reject cynical climate scepticism
If it fine for Christians to research and robustly question the conclusions of scientists regarding C02 emissions and the timescale of the impact of global warming. For while nobody denies the warming, these areas are still being debated by scientists. However what is not acceptable is for a Christian to engage in a cavalier and cynical rejection of the whole subject.
Such a position is out of touch with most science; judgemental; and against traditional Bible teaching. Unless we are experts we should be wary of concluding that 95% of the world’s scientific community have got it completely wrong with their assessment that C02 admissions are behind global warming. This would be to repeat the mistake of earlier church leaders who refused to believe Galileo’s telescope which had the earth rotating round the sun and stuck to a very literalist view of Scripture which has the sun going round a fixed earth . The church looked stupid then – and Christians who blankly refuse to believe what science is saying about global warming today, look out of touch.
This view is also very judgemental: that the scientists are unprofessional; worse, they are in it to make a name for themselves; or, even worse, they are intellectual prostitutes, ready to sell their academic integrity to a political master. Nobody has the right to cast such aspersions on these scientists – least of all Christians.
And finally there is clear bible teaching regarding man and creation. Adam was called to till and preserve the earth, i.e. to be stewards of the planet. Christians are in the new Adam, so this responsibility is renewed, not abrogated. This creation covenant is underlined by the whole Christian concept of a Sabbath, a time of rest and renewal, for man, animal, and the land, and the exuberance throughout the Scriptures for the earth and its bounty. The idea that Christians have no responsibility or concern for the earth is thoroughly out of step with the Bible. So Christians should never pander to the position that pours cynical scepticism on climate change.
The duty of Christians: 2. General support, but focus on church’s first calling
Given that unless we have very good reasons for not doing so, Christians should accept the science, does this then mean we should fully sign up to the campaign to stop global warming? Some might be called to do just that, as others are called to campaign for other environmental issues. But most Christians should limit their involvement to giving general support. This is because stopping climate change is not the church’s major agenda. Jesus said to a follower who wanted to go and bury his own father, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” This then is the agenda– proclaiming the Kingdom of God, preaching the Gospel. The number one concern of the Christian is to bring people into the church, and then to see the church built up. What though about the climate crisis? How can we ignore it? In this verse Jesus deals with the need for action. He says, ‘let the dead bury the dead’. Yes, something should be done about climate change, but let non Christians get on with this. There are hundreds of thousands of extremely competent non Christians who are campaigning against carbon emissions. Let them give this cause their passion and energy. But these people cannot explain to a sinner the love of God in the face of Christ, they cannot pray for people to be filled with the Holy Spirit; they cannot break the bread of take the cup and celebrate the holy sacrament; and they cannot exorcise demons.
So Christians should give general support for those who want to see global warming end. For some there will be a a specific calling to get more involved. They will need to be very strong, for being with people who are saving the planet can become very absorbing. When Christians become activists, which should be happening so they can be a witness, then they must remember the church is still more important than the earth.
Duty of Christians: 2. Give the theological perspective
As a part of our general support, we should seek to give the climate change debate a theological perspective. For as with all major issues, this is an important opportunity to share the Christian view. Top of the list should be the sovereignty of God. In the secular press the whole crisis is presented with no reference to the Almighty. That is not surprising. What is surprising is when Christians join the debate, and make no mention of God. The debate needs to know that God the creator exists, that He cares not just for His creatures, but also for His creation, and He has sovereign power: with one word He can freeze or burn the entire universe, not just our little planet. There is a deceit and pride at the heart of much of the climate change campaign that needs to be challenged: it is that sinful, death bound creatures can save God’s planet. Christians also need to speak out about the judgment of God. The whole of the climate change crisis proves two Scriptural principles: that we reap what we sow, and that all of creation is ‘under the bondage to decay’. The crisis shows that the consequences of sin are at work, and there is a price to pay. Finally Christians need to insist that while we have a duty to look after what God has given us, campaigning against Co2 emissions is not the way to salvation for the planet, – and certainly not for fallen humanity. Christians need to speak out in the midst of the climate crisis about the much more serious crisis of man’s broken relationship with God the Father, and how this can only be restored through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ’s work of atonement through the cross and resurrection.
Theological input raises two warning flags: dictatorship and hippies
This theological emphasis will also raise two important warnings. One is it will remind governments of their place in the scheme of things. A cursory glance at 20th C history gives the stark warning that when ambitious politicians get hold of ‘big causes’ there is a real danger of cruel dictatorship. The interests of ordinary people are crushed to make sure the ‘cause’ flourishes. In Russia the big cause was the proletariat; in Germany it was the purity of the Aryan race; in North Korea it is ‘the leader’; in other countries it’s been a religion. A few years ago a Western left-wing politician said, ‘Green is the new red’. This epitomizes the danger. Red for communists was the colour of social salvation, a system that demanded the whole soul. If Green is the new Red, this means there are politicians who want to elevate a legitimate concern over climate to a quasi religion which demands people’s souls. The best rebuttal to this over-reaching of the state is to emphasize that the only ‘big cause’ that has a right to demand the soul of a human being is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The theological emphasis will also weaken the accusation there has been some great ‘wrong turn’ in modern industrial society taking us away from nature. This accusation arises very naturally out of the climate change debate and is further reinforced by popular Hollywood films like ‘Avatar’ where dancing naked natives are the goodies and uniformed machine users are the baddies. The argument is that the industrial revolution was a terrible mistake, it has taken man away from nature, taught him to exploit the earth like a commodity, and now we are paying a terrible price: mother earth is dying. The answer is to reject industrialization and the values that brought it about and ‘get back to nature’.
Christians should speak out against this sentimental and dangerous thesis. Sentimental because living like a native is only pleasant to watch on National Geographic films: actually being somewhere with no running water, toilet facilities, dentists, doctors, transport, easily purchased food and goods, is very grim. The hippies of the 1960’s tried it for a few months and soon gave it up. It is also dangerous. For there is no morality in the call to ‘get back to nature’, indeed it implies a throwing off of restraint, and living according to our urges. Societies without moral restraint end up imploding into cruel chaos. The overall thrust of this argument is deeply hostile to Christianity. Unlike the ‘get back to nature’ brigade the church welcomes the scientist’s desire to explore nature, and then use the earth and her resources for man’s good. For in the Christian scheme of things it is not the earth that is the pinnacle of God’s creation, but man. So, especially in Europe and the USA the church has worked with the industrial revolution, and has very much been involved in spreading its blessing around the world through missionary work. Regarding moral restraint, this is what shows we are made in the image of God. To push for a return to an animalistic state is to scorn what God has made people to be.
Conclusion
How then should Christians react to climate change? This article gives three clear responses we should all adopt. A rejection of cynical climate skepticism; general support for the campaign to reduce C02 emissions, but a passionate focus on our first calling, proclaiming the Kingdom; and a determination to inject a theological perspective into the debate. This will also warn people of the danger of politicians misusing the cause, and oppose the sentimental and dangerous idea that the world’s problems can be solved by ‘getting back to nature’.
Climate change is in our faces. Cars must have ‘low emissions’; airlines ask you to pay for the pollution your flight will cause; businesses advertise by claiming they will help us lessen our ‘carbon footprint’, and last December there was the Copenhagen conference: 55 nations, thousands of delegates, all talking climate.
Unless you’ve been living in the middle of a jungle, you will know that most scientists are saying the world is warming up due to all the C02 being pushed into the atmosphere. The C02 produces a ‘green house’ which seals in the heat. So the bottom line is that humans have to bring down C02 emissions, or we are in for climate chaos: ice caps melting, sea levels rising, severe summers, drought…and lots of death.
The evidence
The evidence for all of this is that records from at least four major independent scientific climate research institutions show that the average temperature of the world climbed by just over one degree Celsius during the 20th C. And ordinary people have noticed life has been getting warmer – generally less snow in winter, spring coming earlier, summers being hotter. In fact every decade since the 1970’s has been hotter than the one before. Nobody denies this.
Back in the 1930’s when climatologists started noting the increase in the temperature, some posited emissions of C02 as the culprit, but most thought it was just a temporary fluctuation, probably due to solar activity. Others said it could be to do with the patterns of the way the earth revolves round the sun. Others said it could be to do with the increase in urban areas, always warmer than the country-side. But as temporary has come to look more permanent, and as the predictions of those who said the impact of green house gasses would be clearly seen by at the start of the 21st C, most scientists are now saying that C02 is guilty as charged. Benjamin Santer from the Lawrence Livermore Lab concluded in 2006 that the evidence pointed to a 95% likelihood that C02 emissions are the cause.
Christian views
As with many things there is a wide spectrum of opinion in the church. At one end there are those who do not believe there is an issue to address. They tend to think climate change is a half-baked theory supported by governments so they have an excuse to interfere more with our lives, e.g. by telling us what car to drive, and to get more money out of our pockets under the bogus pretext they are going to save the planet. Some add a further twist which is that Western governments have been pouring money into climate change research to prove that nuclear power is the safest form of energy. The public will support the building of more nuclear power stations so freeing the West from dependency on the turbulent oil sources of the Middle East. They argue that the present conclusion of the research – oil bad, nuclear good – has served this purpose admirably. They mistrust the science because they mistrust the motive.
At the other end of the spectrum are Christians who, as a matter of biblical conviction regarding our stewardship of the planet, passionately campaign for C02 emissions to be stopped. They hold church seminars and workshops on the climate change and send delegations to international conferences. They are passionately committed to reversing climate change.
The duty of Christians: 1. Reject cynical climate scepticism
If it fine for Christians to research and robustly question the conclusions of scientists regarding C02 emissions and the timescale of the impact of global warming. For while nobody denies the warming, these areas are still being debated by scientists. However what is not acceptable is for a Christian to engage in a cavalier and cynical rejection of the whole subject.
Such a position is out of touch with most science; judgemental; and against traditional Bible teaching. Unless we are experts we should be wary of concluding that 95% of the world’s scientific community have got it completely wrong with their assessment that C02 admissions are behind global warming. This would be to repeat the mistake of earlier church leaders who refused to believe Galileo’s telescope which had the earth rotating round the sun and stuck to a very literalist view of Scripture which has the sun going round a fixed earth . The church looked stupid then – and Christians who blankly refuse to believe what science is saying about global warming today, look out of touch.
This view is also very judgemental: that the scientists are unprofessional; worse, they are in it to make a name for themselves; or, even worse, they are intellectual prostitutes, ready to sell their academic integrity to a political master. Nobody has the right to cast such aspersions on these scientists – least of all Christians.
And finally there is clear bible teaching regarding man and creation. Adam was called to till and preserve the earth, i.e. to be stewards of the planet. Christians are in the new Adam, so this responsibility is renewed, not abrogated. This creation covenant is underlined by the whole Christian concept of a Sabbath, a time of rest and renewal, for man, animal, and the land, and the exuberance throughout the Scriptures for the earth and its bounty. The idea that Christians have no responsibility or concern for the earth is thoroughly out of step with the Bible. So Christians should never pander to the position that pours cynical scepticism on climate change.
The duty of Christians: 2. General support, but focus on church’s first calling
Given that unless we have very good reasons for not doing so, Christians should accept the science, does this then mean we should fully sign up to the campaign to stop global warming? Some might be called to do just that, as others are called to campaign for other environmental issues. But most Christians should limit their involvement to giving general support. This is because stopping climate change is not the church’s major agenda. Jesus said to a follower who wanted to go and bury his own father, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” This then is the agenda– proclaiming the Kingdom of God, preaching the Gospel. The number one concern of the Christian is to bring people into the church, and then to see the church built up. What though about the climate crisis? How can we ignore it? In this verse Jesus deals with the need for action. He says, ‘let the dead bury the dead’. Yes, something should be done about climate change, but let non Christians get on with this. There are hundreds of thousands of extremely competent non Christians who are campaigning against carbon emissions. Let them give this cause their passion and energy. But these people cannot explain to a sinner the love of God in the face of Christ, they cannot pray for people to be filled with the Holy Spirit; they cannot break the bread of take the cup and celebrate the holy sacrament; and they cannot exorcise demons.
So Christians should give general support for those who want to see global warming end. For some there will be a a specific calling to get more involved. They will need to be very strong, for being with people who are saving the planet can become very absorbing. When Christians become activists, which should be happening so they can be a witness, then they must remember the church is still more important than the earth.
Duty of Christians: 2. Give the theological perspective
As a part of our general support, we should seek to give the climate change debate a theological perspective. For as with all major issues, this is an important opportunity to share the Christian view. Top of the list should be the sovereignty of God. In the secular press the whole crisis is presented with no reference to the Almighty. That is not surprising. What is surprising is when Christians join the debate, and make no mention of God. The debate needs to know that God the creator exists, that He cares not just for His creatures, but also for His creation, and He has sovereign power: with one word He can freeze or burn the entire universe, not just our little planet. There is a deceit and pride at the heart of much of the climate change campaign that needs to be challenged: it is that sinful, death bound creatures can save God’s planet. Christians also need to speak out about the judgment of God. The whole of the climate change crisis proves two Scriptural principles: that we reap what we sow, and that all of creation is ‘under the bondage to decay’. The crisis shows that the consequences of sin are at work, and there is a price to pay. Finally Christians need to insist that while we have a duty to look after what God has given us, campaigning against Co2 emissions is not the way to salvation for the planet, – and certainly not for fallen humanity. Christians need to speak out in the midst of the climate crisis about the much more serious crisis of man’s broken relationship with God the Father, and how this can only be restored through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ’s work of atonement through the cross and resurrection.
Theological input raises two warning flags: dictatorship and hippies
This theological emphasis will also raise two important warnings. One is it will remind governments of their place in the scheme of things. A cursory glance at 20th C history gives the stark warning that when ambitious politicians get hold of ‘big causes’ there is a real danger of cruel dictatorship. The interests of ordinary people are crushed to make sure the ‘cause’ flourishes. In Russia the big cause was the proletariat; in Germany it was the purity of the Aryan race; in North Korea it is ‘the leader’; in other countries it’s been a religion. A few years ago a Western left-wing politician said, ‘Green is the new red’. This epitomizes the danger. Red for communists was the colour of social salvation, a system that demanded the whole soul. If Green is the new Red, this means there are politicians who want to elevate a legitimate concern over climate to a quasi religion which demands people’s souls. The best rebuttal to this over-reaching of the state is to emphasize that the only ‘big cause’ that has a right to demand the soul of a human being is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The theological emphasis will also weaken the accusation there has been some great ‘wrong turn’ in modern industrial society taking us away from nature. This accusation arises very naturally out of the climate change debate and is further reinforced by popular Hollywood films like ‘Avatar’ where dancing naked natives are the goodies and uniformed machine users are the baddies. The argument is that the industrial revolution was a terrible mistake, it has taken man away from nature, taught him to exploit the earth like a commodity, and now we are paying a terrible price: mother earth is dying. The answer is to reject industrialization and the values that brought it about and ‘get back to nature’.
Christians should speak out against this sentimental and dangerous thesis. Sentimental because living like a native is only pleasant to watch on National Geographic films: actually being somewhere with no running water, toilet facilities, dentists, doctors, transport, easily purchased food and goods, is very grim. The hippies of the 1960’s tried it for a few months and soon gave it up. It is also dangerous. For there is no morality in the call to ‘get back to nature’, indeed it implies a throwing off of restraint, and living according to our urges. Societies without moral restraint end up imploding into cruel chaos. The overall thrust of this argument is deeply hostile to Christianity. Unlike the ‘get back to nature’ brigade the church welcomes the scientist’s desire to explore nature, and then use the earth and her resources for man’s good. For in the Christian scheme of things it is not the earth that is the pinnacle of God’s creation, but man. So, especially in Europe and the USA the church has worked with the industrial revolution, and has very much been involved in spreading its blessing around the world through missionary work. Regarding moral restraint, this is what shows we are made in the image of God. To push for a return to an animalistic state is to scorn what God has made people to be.
Conclusion
How then should Christians react to climate change? This article gives three clear responses we should all adopt. A rejection of cynical climate skepticism; general support for the campaign to reduce C02 emissions, but a passionate focus on our first calling, proclaiming the Kingdom; and a determination to inject a theological perspective into the debate. This will also warn people of the danger of politicians misusing the cause, and oppose the sentimental and dangerous idea that the world’s problems can be solved by ‘getting back to nature’.
No comments:
Post a Comment