GLOBAL WARMING
Recently a group of evangelical Christian leaders joined together to make a statement that had to do with global warming. These are very important people in evangelical circles. Together they influence hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of good people. These leaders wanted to raise the level of concern about global warming. In short, they said they were concerned about global warming because it is a sanctity of human life issue. They put global warming into the same bailiwick as abortion. They all oppose abortion based on the principle of the sanctity of human life. Their statement boils down to this: If something isn't done about global warming then there will be no earth left for future generations to inherit and human life will come to an end. If human life is sacrosanct then, they reasoned, it is incumbent upon us to preserve it by doing something about global warming.
I am not a scientist. In college I took the easiest science classes available (including the famous Lunch with Leedy). Setting my lack of scientific knowledge aside for the moment, I wonder when the theory of global warming became a scientific fact. Last I heard, it was still a theory about which real scientific geniuses continue to argue. Nevertheless, the evangelical leaders consider it enough of a threat that they need to band together like Farm Aid to make a statement. I'm really struggling here...
Why are statements being made about the sanctity of human life as it relates to a possible ecological phenomenon about which we may or may not be able to do anything? I believe in the sanctity of human life. I passionately believe in the sanctity of human life. So when will these evangelical leaders join together to make a statement concerning issues we can actually do something about right now? When will they address the genocide that is taking place in more than one African nation? When will they address the issue of slavery in Sudan? When will they address the sale of little girls in India as sex slaves? What about the sanctity of human life and the intentional wholesale slaughter of preborn females in China? Apparently female lives are not as sacrosanct as male lives. As long as we are talking about the sanctity of human life, what about the lives of soldiers in Iraq? What about the sanctity of the lives of people sitting on death rows across our country? We know all these things are happening but no group of evangelical leaders stands up to say anything!
Do I think we should simply disregard global warming? Not at all! I'm just begging for consistency. Who gets to decide who benefits from the efforts of those who claim to be pro-life? If we're going to be pro-life, then let's be pro-life and begin thinking about dealing with issues that are affecting lives in the world around us now!
I am not a scientist. In college I took the easiest science classes available (including the famous Lunch with Leedy). Setting my lack of scientific knowledge aside for the moment, I wonder when the theory of global warming became a scientific fact. Last I heard, it was still a theory about which real scientific geniuses continue to argue. Nevertheless, the evangelical leaders consider it enough of a threat that they need to band together like Farm Aid to make a statement. I'm really struggling here...
Why are statements being made about the sanctity of human life as it relates to a possible ecological phenomenon about which we may or may not be able to do anything? I believe in the sanctity of human life. I passionately believe in the sanctity of human life. So when will these evangelical leaders join together to make a statement concerning issues we can actually do something about right now? When will they address the genocide that is taking place in more than one African nation? When will they address the issue of slavery in Sudan? When will they address the sale of little girls in India as sex slaves? What about the sanctity of human life and the intentional wholesale slaughter of preborn females in China? Apparently female lives are not as sacrosanct as male lives. As long as we are talking about the sanctity of human life, what about the lives of soldiers in Iraq? What about the sanctity of the lives of people sitting on death rows across our country? We know all these things are happening but no group of evangelical leaders stands up to say anything!
Do I think we should simply disregard global warming? Not at all! I'm just begging for consistency. Who gets to decide who benefits from the efforts of those who claim to be pro-life? If we're going to be pro-life, then let's be pro-life and begin thinking about dealing with issues that are affecting lives in the world around us now!
2 Comments:
The subject of Global Warming has been mined extensively on the Smoking Christian. You won’t find it there because Peter deleted all references to GW and to a certain former friend at a fine eastern university that does research in this area. It seems that comments by the SC, innocently intended, were reported widely in the media and caused the Bush Administration to threaten funding cuts at said eastern university if anyone there agreed with the position taken by the SC. Unfortunately it devolved into an ugly fracas which politicians and academics on both sides of the political spectrum have yet to resolve. I'm sure you can appreciate the sensitivity surrounding this controversy.
Your passion is understandable. Many feel passionate about this subject and have written numerous comments in response to posts by the SC. These too were deleted when The Man came down hard on all such sentiments. In my capacity as Co-director of the Peter S. Mooney Museum of Rescued Literature, I archive copies of everything published on the SC. On advice of counsel, I am not at liberty to release for publication any of the rescued posts on this subject but I am able to freely distribute any comments. I do so below.
Of all the many fine comments on Global Warming this one by a frequent visitor to the SC is the most insightful. It expresses the angst we all feel about what we should do personally about this imminent global catastrophe.
“I read somewhere once that 90 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases comes from the ocean, or was it cow flatulence, I’m not sure. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a serious question; it’s just that I don’t know what to believe anymore. I also read that scientists have discovered unparalleled growth rates of swamp grass in Maryland and conifers in the Black Forest which they theorize is pumping many gazillions of tons of oxygen into the atmosphere.”
“For me it comes down to what is best for my colon. Do I eat less cheese from those flatulent Wisconsin cows or do I drink more green tea grown in the vast clear-cuts of the jungles of Ceylon? One thing I pride myself in, is making Marbled Murrelets a smaller percentage of my diet. Not only is less marbled meat better for my colon but the smaller impact I have on the population of this beautiful Northwest bird will make it possible for ski resort developers to expand their facilities into old-growth watersheds. And that’s not nothing!”
Posted by Nick O'Teen to The Smoking Christian at 2/09/2006 01:56:40 PM
At least one segment of the population is fearlessly marching against the insidious threat of global warming. See http://www.theonion.com/content/node/44676
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