Want to start an argument?
Bring up the topic of the climate and God, and things get 'hot' (no pun intended).
Basically, there are two schools of thought. The first surmises, that the climate, like the human body, can take a lot; thus the ingestion of the 'wrong stuff,' even in large, repeated quantities, will really not hurt: be it carbon emissions -- or -- chocolate-peanut butter cheesecake. For whether it's the climate or the human body -- the climate/body is made for us, not us for the climate/body.
In part, this stems from God's 'apparent,' 'clear' command in Genesis 1, that we, as humans, are to have dominion over every other part of the created order:
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”" (Genesis 1:27-28, ESV, emphasis added).
One problem: we think by having dominion, our (human) needs have priority over every other need -- and are supreme. Wrong. Only God has priority and is supreme. For Genesis 3 comes after Genesis 1 and the Fall of Humankind. Thus, our dominion is not supreme, but twisted and self-serving.
And so, in Revelation 5, no one is able to break open the seals on the scroll, emblematic of humankind's ineptitude to 'rule' anything. Thus, as N.T. elaborates:
"...the whole project of creation, appears to be blocked, since God made a world in such a way that it must be looked after by human stewards, and no human being is capable of taking God’s plan forward. This is Revelation’s statement of the problem of evil: God has a plan for the world; but unless He is to unmake creation itself, which is designed to function through the stewardship of God’s image-bearing creatures -- the human race -- it looks as though the plan cannot come to fruition...[The answer]...the lamb has [now] conquered, has [now] defeated the powers of evil. And now (Revelation 5:9-10) the Lamb has ransomed people from every nation in order to make them a royal priesthood, serving God and reigning on the earth...[For the] cross has won the victory...[thus] there are now redeemed human beings getting ready to act as God’s wise agents, His stewards, constantly worshiping their Creator and constantly being equipped to reflect His image into the his creation, to bring his wise and healing order to the world, putting the world to rights under His just and gentle rule..." (N.T. Wright. Evil and the Justice of God. Downers Grove: IVP, 2013, pp. 138-139, emphasis added)
Thus, a second school of thought, related to the climate, assumes we do not have dominion over creation. Only God has dominion and rule over creation. Thus, our calling is to represent God's bias.
And what is God's bias: a slant toward stewardship, and conservation of His created order. Two verses speak poignantly of God's slant:
And what is God's bias: a slant toward stewardship, and conservation of His created order. Two verses speak poignantly of God's slant:
"You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. (Nehemiah 9:6, ESV, emphasis added).
"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?...Do you not know? Do you not hear?...Has it not been told you from the beginning?...It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in…Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing." (Isaiah 40:12; 21-22; 26, ESV, emphasis added).Sure sounds like God's bias is toward cherishing creation, not squandering it. God measures His Creation. God weighs His Creation. God calls His Creation by Name. Thus, we are called to value Creation, with similar care and sensitivity.
And for good reason. As a 2013 letter to Congress from 200 evangelical, Christian scientists itemized, we are living an era marked by:
"...uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, bringing on a warming planet, melting ice, and rising seas...Average global temperatures are at their highest level within the measurement record, and we are beginning to see indications of increasingly disturbed weather...For the world's poorest people, climate change means dried-up wells in Africa, floods in Asia that wash away crops and homes, wildfires in the U.S. and Russia, loss of villages and food species in the Arctic, environmental refugees, and disease. Our changing climate threatens the health, security, and well-being of millions of people who are made in God's image. The threat to future generations and global prosperity means we can no longer afford complacency and endless debate..." https://sampimentel.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/letter.pdf
And that was four years ago; things have, in all probability, escalated.
Now, please hear me: I'm not naive. I know these statistics and outcomes have been vigorously debated and even debunked. https://www.conservativedailynews.com/2011/11/the-latest-on-the-climate-change-hoax/ http://www.albertmohler.com/2017/06/02/briefing-06-02-17/ But, nevertheless, the overwhelming opinion, of the overwhelming number of scientists, is that negative climate change is not a hoax; rather, it is a genuine threat to the planet. https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/
Thus, evangelical, Christian groups from around the world, including the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Lausanne Creation Care Action Network, Tearfund, and A Rocha International—support the Paris Climate Accord and other global efforts to address the current climate crisis. http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2015/december/evangelicals-paris-climate-talks.html For an overview of A Rocha's efforts see: https://vimeo.com/148497442
And so must we. If not the Paris Climate Accord, specifically -- then some comparable effort to address the current climate crisis, comprehensively, globally. But not for political or activistic/'movement' reasons, but because of the bias of God.
For God does not look favorably on those who do not care for His creation; on those, who in the words of the book of Revelation "...destroy the earth..." (Revelation 11:18).
So, don't destroy the earth -- or -- excuse/defend those who slant in that direction. Care for God's creation. Believe with the vast majority of scientists -- and -- evangelical, Christian environmentalists -- that God's creation is threatened.
For if God measures, weighs, and calls His Creation by name -- so must we.
Thank you, Paul, for this insightful sermon.
ReplyDeleteYes, our climate has been undergoing dramatic change in the last few decades. The time has now come for Christians to stand up and uphold the grandeur of nature's beauty, rather than to watch smoking clouds and rotted trees falling to the ground. To ignore this could well result in natural disaster. Two summers ago, my husband and I drove through the national parks of the South West, and we saw thousands of trees dried up and rotting across the landscape. The desert climate they apparently could tolerate, given their DNA, but the foliage couldn't handle the boiling heat in the atmosphere.
Thanks Jeanne! We need to keep this dialogue going!! Vital to our future and vital to our honoring of the good Lord.
DeleteRight on!!! Although scientists are not in 100% agreement, the agreement is very high the consequences of not acting if they are right so severe that the only rational policy is to take out insurance in the form restricting carbon emissions to increase the likelihood of averting the risk. Isn't this just common sense - don't we all buy health, fire, car insurance not because we know we will get sick, have a fire or an accident but because there is some likelihood we will. The Paris accord is a step in the right direction by getting all countries to commit to some carbon reductions to ameliorate a risk that has a very high probability of occurring if nothing is done. There is a third viewpoint which you did not discuss, which I completely reject, that I guess might be subsumed in your first viewpoint that the apocalypse and second coming are coming soon and that we should not delay this process -- leads logically to accept all behavior in that direction including atomic warfare -- crazy!!
ReplyDeleteA good word, Rick. Thanks for commenting!
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