How To React To Global Warming.

This is a good article by Greg Boyd on how to respond to the global warming controversy that is being discussed in Copenhagen presently.  Greg Boyd is a noted theologian and author of numerous books.  I respect his opinions and research on the subject and his article is a balance to my previous postings.   Bob

The Scandal Over Global Warming

December 12th, 2009

Well, you’ve probably heard about the brewing scandal: somebody hacked into the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (which I’m told is one of the principle driving forces behind the politics of global warming) and published a ton of their personal e-mails on line. While there’s debate about how significant these e-mails are, they at least reveal that the science (and politics) supporting the claim that humans are to blame for global warming (called “the anthropogenic theory”) isn’t as purely objective as some would have us believe. Among other things, we find in these e-mails several scientists discussing how to minimize, if not completely cover up, data that counters the anthropogenic theory.

I’ve remained largely silent on this issue (one has to choose battles carefully), but I may as well tip my hand now. While I don’t at all agree with those who claim there’s anything like a “conspiracy” among anthropogenic advocates, and while I don’t for a moment question the sincerity of anthropogenic advocates, I’ve personally been convinced for the last two years that the science behind the anthropogenic theory is one-sided, at best. I devoted a month to reading books, articles and websites on both sides of this topic while preparing for a chapter on earth stewardship for The Myth of a Christian Religion. Having heard for several years that “the scientific debate is over,” I was rather shocked to discover how strong the case against the anthropogenic theory is. (For some references, see my note [*] at the end of this blog). So far as I can see, the debate is far from over! Rather, it seems to me that those scientists who refused to get on board the anthropogenic train have simply been silenced – and the newly released e-mails seem to support this suspicion.

Yet, as I argued in The Myth of a Christian Religion, from a Kingdom perspective none of this should matter in the least.   Our commitment to live as good stewards of creation and as good caretakers of the animal kingdom shouldn’t be affected in the least by the state of the ever-changing and usually ambiguous scientific or political debate. Rather, our motivation for living as good stewards and caretakers should be rooted in the simple fact that God commands us to take care of his earth and his animals. It’s our magna carta. In fact, the way we live shouldn’t even be influenced by pragmatic considerations such as how much measurable difference we actually make by (say) conserving energy or refusing to eat meat from Industrial Farms. We are to seek first the Kingdom simply because we are people submitted to the King. We should need no other motivation or argument.

So I encourage you live in a way that reflects God’s tender love for the earth and all animals. But I also encourage you to do it for the right reason — and its got nothing to do with what these recently released e-mails may or may not tell us about the anthropogenic theory.

Greg

* For those who are interested, the best critiques of the anthropogenic theory I read several years ago were B. Lomborg, Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming;  P. Michaels, ed. Shattered Consensus: The True State of Global Warming; and S. Singer and D. Avery, Unstoppable Global Warming – Every 1,500 Years.  Several of the more interesting websites on the topic I found are here, here and here.

The Jesus stuff

Have you ever bee misrepresented by someone?  I have and it hurts.  This happens all the time when I hear someone refer to my saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. He and what we represents, said and did are most often completely misunderstood.  He gets teased and ridiculed by media, and I must say the Christian world is guilty of helping this by our un-Christ like actions.  The most powerful name given above and under the sun is the name of Jesus. I'm saddened and irritated by the connotations inferred when His name is spoken.

I have been going through 1 John as I read through the book one thing seemed to emerge right out of the pages and dance before my very eyes…Jesus is Grace.  When John speaks of Loving one Another – he is not talking about a love that can be separated from the Love of Christ.  When John speaks of holiness he is not talking about a holiness that exists apart from the Holiness of Christ.  When John says “Do not Sin”  he is not talking about behavior modification, he is talking about the idolatry that leads us away from Christ.  Christ is our Grace.  There is no Grace apart from Him.  John culminates this idea in 1 John 3:23 – “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

The First Command?  “Believe in Jesus!”  There is no other way to please God.  Believe in the name of Christ!  This is our righteousness.  This is our Grace!  And this gives us Grace upon Grace to obey the Second Command…to Love one another as He has commanded us. 

Isn’t it strange that the Apostle should feel the need to command us to Believe?  I think most of us assume that we believe.  We think that that should be the easy part.  But it isn’t.  In fact, there could not be anything more difficult for us.  ”Believing in Jesus” really is the command that is impossible without Grace.  We need Jesus, so that we might believe in Jesus.  Everything else in the Christian life dances forever around this central truth.  Whenever we move away from believing in Jesus, we move toward idolatry.  And when we move away from Jesus, we move away from love, away from forgiving, away from grace.  This is why John ends his letter with this abrupt warning…”Little Children, keep yourselves free from idols.”   

So, do I believe in Jesus?  Do you?  Does believing in Jesus define our Christian life?  Or does our affiliation to a particular political party define it?  Does Jesus define our righteousness or does our moral behavior define it.  Is Jesus our Messiah?  Our Hope?  Do we believe that Jesus is Sovereign?  That He is King?  That Jesus is our power?  That He is our future?  That He is our forgiveness?  That He is our Grace?  Or do we simply treat Jesus as the “Audience of One?”  The God who is watching us.  Making a list.  Checking it twice.  NO!  Jesus is NOT our Audience!  We do not perform for Him.  This is not the Gospel.