The climate catastrophe crusade has been joined by a new regiment of converts: the religious left wing. The troop strength has been building over recent decades; the last few years, however, have seen a surge in the power of this cohort.

The religious contingent is imbued with a spiritual fervor. Unfortunately for the Christian faithful, the spirit consists of the spirit of this age, or, as the apostle Paul might put it, “this present evil age.” And unlike Paul, who announced that his job was to preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” the climate crusader’s job is to preach the word of Jesus and his calling for climate action.

Background on some of the most recent efforts of what appears to be an alignment with the religious left can be found in a book by Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, vice president of the Evangelical Environmental Network. The book is “Following Jesus in a Warming World: A Christian Call to Climate Action” (IVP, Downers Grove, Illinois, February 2023).

The urgency expressed in the book is based on the standard left-wing mantra of weather disasters that supposedly represent proof of a present and future climate danger brought about by culpable humans living comfortably via fossil fuels.

Yet the author would do well to expand his scientific perspective by learning about climate change from qualified experts in the field with a different and quite reasonable viewpoint — renowned scientists such as Steven Koonin, former undersecretary of science in the Department of Energy under former President Barack Obama; Judith Curry, former chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology; and Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

From a spiritual perspective, to gain a better understanding of one major reason why the U.S. is going through dissolution as it turns from “in God we trust,” you need to read only the first six pages of “Following Jesus in a Warming World.”

The Christian theological foundations of a book are shaky when the author feels compelled to apologize for employing masculine pronouns when referring to God. As Mr. Meyaard-Schaap asserts on page 6: “All human language used to describe God is analogical, which means we should always hold all God-talk loosely. This is especially true of socially constructed categories like gender. There is nothing essential in God’s nature that requires God to be male — the Godhead transcends gender.”

And so the author identifies the Holy Spirit as a “her” in a later chapter.

The author’s misunderstanding of Christian theology regarding gender confusion also suggests his bewilderment over the hard (not “social”) sciences, such as biology.

Simply put, if your understanding of basic science is perplexed by the number of genders — two sexes equal two genders, as in God’s biologically constructed categories: “He created them male and female” — then the more complex sciences, like climatology, would have to be a downright impenetrable mystery to you. It follows that this mystery could be breached only by science and political wizards that can mislead you into a “proper” revelation.

For instance, although apparently more of a political wizard than a person with any considerable depth in atmospheric science, former Vice President Al Gore may be responsible for much of the original proselytizing of charismatic Christians into the cult of climate catastrophe. Viewing or attending an in-person presentation of Mr. Gore’s diatribe, “An Inconvenient Truth,” could have planted seeds of doubt in some of the faithful relative to God’s love and care and determined ability to maintain His creation.

This is the kind of willful maintenance expressed in “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night, Shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22, NASB). And what God wills, He does (Isaiah 46:10).

God’s focus is on people — “you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31) — while knowing and caring for all that He created with a plan to restore all to glory (Acts 3:21). From Genesis to Revelation, God is a people person. He wants the best for people and a creation in tune with their needs.

Of course, Christians and all concerned people must care for the environment, use natural resources wisely, and avoid trashing the planet’s life support system of clean air, water, and land — common sense.

More importantly, the natural world is sacred and designed to benefit even the downtrodden — those looked down upon by the materially comfortable elite.

Those in abject poverty must be afforded meaningful assistance to access their own reliable, inexpensive natural resources that could greatly alleviate their misery and raise them to much-needed comfort. Instead of cooking over fires fueled by wood and dung, millions of destitute souls would benefit from relatively clean, accessible, and inexpensive fossil fuels.

A true Christian concern for the whole person bolsters sensible, compassionate solutions. But it seems that the religious left has left authentic practical Christianity behind. Spirit-led Christians must lovingly and thoughtfully challenge the self-serving thrust of the religious left for the sake of all Earth’s inhabitants in God’s bountiful creation.

This piece originally appeared at WashingtonTimes.com and has been republished here with permission.