Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash In an article on the Reformation21 website titled, “When ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie’ Is All the Logic Left,” Justin Poythress, Pastor of All Saints Presbyterian Church in Boise, ID, offers some wise caution about the typical way in which people try to persuade each other. His words are particularly relevant to much of what goes by the name of persuasion about environmental issues, including among Christians. Here I will quote him at length and then … [Read more...]
A Brief History of the Cornwall Alliance—Part 4: We Come of Age
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...]
Good Stewards, Good Samaritans
The environment is again an important election issue. Some candidates have claimed religious support for their views, but there is no single “Christian” perspective on the environment. It is a question of fact and prudence, not theology. We all have a stake in a healthy environment. God gave humanity dominion over the earth and called us to be good stewards of his creation. But he gave us no particular policy agenda. Rather, we must work together to balance environmental protection, economic … [Read more...]
Global Warming: Why Evangelicals Should Not Be Alarmed
An annotated, PDF version of this article is available for Download. In a documentary aired August 23, 2007, by CNN and titled “God’s Warriors,” Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, said about evangelicals who disagree with his urgent appeals for action to fight global warming: Historically, evangelicals have reasoned like this: Scientists believe in evolution. Scientists are telling us climate change is real. Therefore, I won’t … [Read more...]
NAE, or Cizik, off course
Originally Published in Focus on the Family Citizen, July, 2007 Richard Cizik is no stranger to controversy. As vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), Cizik has generated plenty of headlines — and cries of protest from fellow believers — for his increasingly caustic comments on what he sees as human-caused global warming. But Cizik staked out new territory on the topic in early April, when he spoke at a daylong global-warming conference … [Read more...]
Contrary to Media Reports, National Association of Evangelicals Has Not Endorsed Latest Statement on Global Warming
Despite widespread perceptions, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has not endorsed a new “collaboration” of scientists and evangelicals announced at a press conference in Washington today. A media advisory from the collaborative group dated January 12 claimed that at the press conference, “Leaders of the evangelical and scientific communities will announce an unprecedented joint effort to protect the global environment and advance policies that address some of the most pressing … [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...]
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...]
