Evangelical Christians call on Florida politicians to take climate action

[xchrom]

http://grist.org/news/evangelical-christians-call-on-florida-politicians-to-take-climate-action/

?w=470&h=265&crop=1

When it comes to using energy, what would Jesus do?

We’re guessing he wouldn’t use more than he needed, and he wouldn’t condemn generations to climate hell by burning fossil fuels when cleaner options were available.

Some Evangelical Christian leaders in Florida are making just that point, calling on Republican politicians in the state to take climate change seriously. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) recently went full-on climate denier, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is a denier too.

Rev. Mich Hescox, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, has started a petition drive calling on Scott to make climate change and “creation care” priorities. Here’s an excerpt:


We are failing to keep our air and water clean for our children, contributing to a changing climate that most hurts the world’s poor, and putting Floridians at risk as temperatures and sea levels continue to rise. To meet these challenges, we need leaders who understand our duty to God’s creation and future generations. That’s why we are calling on Gov. Rick Scott to create a plan to reduce carbon pollution and confront the impacts of a changing climate.

[hobbit709]

1. I guess all those thumpers around Pensacola figured out they were going to get wet.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. Bigotry is bad, m'kay.

[hobbit709]

3. You ever been around Pensacola?

It's full of hard-core Fundy bible colleges.

some of them consider Bob Jones U too "liberal" for them.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. And how does that make bigotry acceptable?

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Interesting Definition

Pretty convenient to define bigotry in whatever way helps make your point.

[hobbit709]

10. I don't have much use for those that shove their religion in MY face.

If people kept their religion to themselves the world would be much better off.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

11. Posted without a hint of irony.

[Raksha]

13. It sure looks that way - took 'em long enough.

[bmbmd]

6. Creation Care.

That's a lovely phrase, and a great way to couch this concept. I believe I'll use that.

[dembotoz]

7. goes along well with the concept of christian stewardship. NEVER could understand

how a christian could abide the destruction of the environment.

Sort of god gave us this wonderful place to live and we crap the floors......

The evangelicals should be the greenest folks around

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Dominionists versus conservationists (same root as conservative)

Modern Americans who style themselves as "conservative" are anything but. They are more like Dominionists who want to dominate and pave the earth.

They do not see themselves as co-existing with ecosystems but rather as manipulating and controlling them. If many species go extinct due to loss of habitat, to hell with them is the attitude.

Conservation and conservatism (true conservatism) go hand in hand. But the conservative movement has allowed itself to be taken over by corporatists and fascists who are not into keeping long standing (ecological) balances but are into supplanting them with new ones that are tilted obscenely in their favor. Modern conservatives are much more radical than most people admit.

[ladjf]

9. Now that some good preaching. Keep it up rev. nt

[iandhr]

12. I saw Howard Dean speak about a month ago.

He said progressives should have a conversation with evangelicals.


He talked about a poll taken of evangelicals that showed a huge age gap in the issues.


Over 55 the two biggest issues people cared about were gay marriage and abortion. Under 30 it was climate change and poverty.

We won't agree on every issue but Dean was saying we should work together on the issue we agree on.