We ended Part 3 of this history with reference to An Examination of the Scientific, Ethical, and Theological Implications of Climate Change, produced by the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance—the original name of what became the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. I don’t think any of us involved in creating it could imagine all that would come of it. But it shook some things up. Over a decade before, Marxist atheist astronomer Carl Sagan (famous for his Cosmos PBS program, each … [Read more...]
Are Christians Automatically Biased Where Science is Concerned?
Here at the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation we try to answer email questions in detail as often as we can. That's not to say we have the time to answer every single question that way, but we do try. This week Dr. Beisner received the following question from a staff member of a college apologetics ministry. (We do not include the names of those who ask questions when we share the information with our readers.) What are your thoughts on the critical claim that organizations … [Read more...]
Blog: Caring for Creation: A Book of Good Intentions but Poor Science
As an evangelical Christian, I believe we should be good stewards of God’s planet. We should strive to reduce pollution to protect human health and the natural environment. We should explore new alternative energy sources, always seeking to maximize benefits and minimize harms. We should prioritize providing electricity for the 1.2 billion people who don’t have it—and consequently suffer high rates of disease and premature death. For these and many other reasons I applaud Mitch Hescox and … [Read more...]
The Theologization of Global Warming Among American Evangelicals: Who Says Religion and Science Can’t Mix?
[Note: This essay was written in the summer of 2010 at the request of Dr. Patrick Michaels, intended for a book he was editing. His publisher declined to include it in the book because of its religious content. It was never published elsewhere until now. We hope it remains a helpful survey of the history of the debate over global warming among evangelicals up to that time.—ECB, March 11, 2016] Introduction In the last half decade there has been a blossoming of public concern about global … [Read more...]
Why I Will Not Sign the SBECI Declaration
Recently a number of conservative Southern Baptist leaders endorsed the document, "A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change," which asserts: "We believe our current denominational engagement with [climate change] issues has often been too timid, failing to produce a unified moral voice. Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed. We can do better." Although many of the signers … [Read more...]
Global Warming Mainly Natural and Not Catastrophic, Says New Study from Interfaith Stewardship Alliance
August 2, 2006 (Washington, D.C.) -- While global warming is real, catastrophic, human-induced global warming isn’t, and mandatory reductions in fossil fuel use to fight it are unwise, say the authors of “A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming,” released publicly in Washington, D.C., by the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance (ISA) July 25. The paper is a point-by-point refutation of “Climate Change: A Call to Action,” issued in February by … [Read more...]