My name is Ralph Weitz, Stewardship Pastor for Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, VA. I have a degree in Forest Technology and a degree in Forest Management. As an evangelical pastor I take seriously the issue of God’s command to subdue and rule over the earth. It is a divine responsibility – a stewardship. That word reflects a responsibility of management. The religious community needs environmentally aware study materials that are sound scientifically and biblically insightful. We need to … [Read more...]
ISA announces launch of Cornwall Network at Senate luncheon – Tonkowich
It’s hard to believe that it’s thirty years ago, but thirty years ago—almost to the date—I was with a group of college friends hiking Mount Washington from the west. We went up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Lake of the Clouds. It was a bright sunny day and relatively warm for April in New Hampshire. The spring melt was pouring down the ravine in wonderful eddies and waterfalls, and there was still plenty of snow above timberline for some snow climbing to the summit. What a day. In fact we … [Read more...]
ISA announces launch of Cornwall Network at Senate luncheon – Beisner
Good afternoon. I’m Calvin Beisner, associate professor of social ethics at Knox Theological Seminary and a founder and spokesman of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance. I want to thank the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Democracy and the Institute on Religion and Democracy, whose new president, Jim Tonkowich, will be one of our speakers today, for co-sponsoring this briefing. To all of you, welcome, and thank you for coming. We are excited today to launch what we are calling the … [Read more...]
Climate of Fear: global-warming alarmists intimidate dissenting scientists into silence
There have been repeated claims that this past year’s hurricane activity was another sign of human-induced climate change. Everything from the heat wave in Paris to heavy snows in Buffalo has been blamed on people burning gasoline to fuel their cars, and coal and natural gas to heat, cool and electrify their homes. Yet how can a barely discernible, one-degree increase in the recorded global mean temperature since the late 19th century possibly gain public acceptance as the source of recent … [Read more...]
Climate Change in a Nutshell: scientific, moral and theological implications of climate policy
Few issues in recent years have fueled public debate as has global warming. Since first registering a blip on the public radar screen in 1988, when NASA scientist James Hanson argued that its existence was undeniable, the controversial subject has generated countless professional papers, articles, television broadcasts and international conferences. Indeed, the Kyoto Protocol – designed to address global warming by reducing fossil fuel use and thus greenhouse gas emissions – has become a … [Read more...]
Appeal Letter to the National Association of Evangelicals on the Issue of Global Warming
Leading evangelicals ask NAE to refrain from taking a position on climate change issue We have appreciated the bold stance that the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has taken on controversial issues like embracing a culture of life, protecting traditional marriage and family, promoting abstinence as AIDS prevention, and many others. We respectfully request, however, that the NAE not adopt any official position on the issue of global climate change. Global warming is not a consensus … [Read more...]
An Examination of the Scientific, Ethical, and Theological Implications of Climate Change
An Examination of the Scientific, Ethical, and Theological Implications of Climate Change Policy (PDF) Executive Summary Few issues have permeated or fueled public debate like the topic of global warming. Since first registering on the public radar screen in 1988 with NASA’s James Hansen’s famous pronouncement of its alleged existence, the controversial subject has generated countless articles, television broadcasts and international conferences. Indeed, the Kyoto Protocol – designed to … [Read more...]
New Religious Coalition Brings Balanced Biblical Perspective to Environmental Issues
Washington, DC – In a marriage of environmental concern and religious faith, the launch of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation* was announced by Ugandan Ambassador Edith Ssempala, along with a distinguished group of Alliance organizers, at a press conference at the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda. The Cornwall Alliance adds a powerful voice to some of the most prominent environmental and developmental issues worldwide. The coalition promotes the principles of the Cornwall … [Read more...]
No Sure Bet: Two Replies to Andy Crouch’s “Environmental Wager”
The August 2005 issue of Christianity Today (vol. 49, no. 8, p. 66) carried an alarmist piece about global warming by Andy Crouch titled “Environmental Wager” that condemned critics of global warming alarmism and prescribed endorsement of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate global warming as a new variation on Pascal’s Wager that is so obviously the right thing to do that anybody who objects must be a cretin. The article generated critical responses from two founders of the … [Read more...]
Pascal’s Blunder: Miscalculating the Threat of Global Warming
Prominent religious voices in America, especially among evangelical Christians, are increasingly being heard in the debate over global warming. More often than not, evangelicals - many of whom could easily be described as political and cultural conservatives - see climate change as a man-made problem. The National Association of Evangelicals, a coalition representing 52 member denominations, called on policymakers in October to pay more attention to the problem of “environmental … [Read more...]
