Proverbs 18:17: The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

John 8:32: … you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Heavenly Father, some American officials are calling for civil and possible criminal investigations of those who, like us at the Cornwall Alliance, contest the idea that the use of fossil fuels is causing potentially catastrophic global warming. We pray in the midst of this situation that truth will prevail. Fraud is wrong, no matter who does it, so we pray that if there is fraudulent conduct by anyone on any side of this issue, it will be revealed. At the same time, open and vigorous debate is a hallmark both of a free society and of healthy scientific inquiry, and the threat of civil or criminal investigation spurred by disagreement over scientific questions and policy preferences must surely have a chilling effect on that debate. So we ask You, Father, to give our officials prudence and self-restraint lest their commitment to their own understandings of those questions lead them to hinder the fearless debate needed by both society and science. In Jesus’ name, amen.