Evangelical association decides not to fight global warming after all.

[drm604]

http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2006/02/02/6/index.html

Bullied Pulpit
Evangelical association decides not to fight global warming after all

You know all the fuss this past year over the evangelical Christian community becoming a powerful partner in the fight against climate change? Well, never mind. The 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals had been expected to issue a public statement on the dangers of global warming, marking a potentially fatal rift in the right-leaning coalition of climate-change humbugs, but yesterday the organization said it's been unable to reach consensus on the issue and thus won't take a stand. The change of course came after NAE President Ted Haggard received a sternly worded letter last month from 22 Bush-friendly evangelical leaders, including James Dobson, pointing out that "Bible-believing evangelicals ... disagree about the cause, severity, and solutions to the global-warming issue." The subtext: Let's not forget on which side our bread is buttered. Amen.

Heres a link to a PDF of the letter Haggard received: http://www.interfaithstewardship.org/pdf/NAE-appeal%20letter.pdf

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Methinks they couldn't get past the "Globe" part.

[varkam]

2. Best laugh I've had all day.

Thank you :)

[Vidar]

5. Great graphic

[Mnemosyne]

3. I am shocked I tell you,

shocked. Not.

Thanks for the warning though. :hi:

In peace and hope, (even with these moonbats loose)
V

[drm604]

4. Institute on Religion and Democracy

Out of curiosity, I've been researching this a little further. The last signatory of the letter is listed as Alan Wisdom, Interim President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Checking out their site at http://www.ird-renew.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKVLfMVIsG&b=278604 I noticed that they have a weekly poll. The current poll question is

Should churches accept the claim that human-created global warming is a fact and endorse specific political plans to reduce economic activity in an attempt to forestall global warming?

(The bolding is mine.)

I think that the disingenuity of this question says a lot about the agenda of this outfit. I'm not aware of any plans intended "to reduce economic activity". There are plans to reduce carbon emissions, and it's possible, although IMHO unlikely, that these plans might significantly reduce economic activity; but as far as I know reducing economic activity is not the specific intent of the plans.

Asking people if they support reducing economic activity is bound to elicit more NOs than if you simply asked them if they support reducing carbon emissions. This strikes me as being a poll question that is designed to produce a specific result.

This kind of dishonest polling does not strike me as very Christian. We should DU this poll!

Right now it shows 33% YES and 63% NO.

On Edit: Mixed up my YES's and NO's! It's correct now.

[greenman3610]

6. But all is not lost, there's more....

There is a struggle for an environmental
soul among evangelicals.
I think a dialogue with evangelicals in our community
might not be wasted, if we can avoid calling them
ignoramuses. Not all of them are, they just have beliefs,
like Muslims or Buddhists, that we may not share--
but many do realize that we do share this planet.


Evangelical Leaders Join Global Warming Initiative
By Laurie Goodstein
The New York Times

Wednesday 08 February 2006

Despite opposition from some of their colleagues, 86 evangelical Christian leaders have decided to back a major initiative to fight global warming, saying "millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors."

Among signers of the statement, which will be released in Washington on Wednesday, are the presidents of 39 evangelical colleges, leaders of aid groups and churches, like the Salvation Army, and pastors of megachurches, including Rick Warren, author of the best seller "The Purpose-Driven Life."

"For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority," the statement said. "Indeed, many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians. But now we have seen and heard enough."
<snip>
Some of the nation's most high-profile evangelical leaders, however, have tried to derail such action. Twenty-two of them signed a letter in January declaring, "Global warming is not a consensus issue." Among the signers were Charles W. Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries; James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; and Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
<snip>
Their letter was addressed to the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group of churches and ministries, which last year had started to move in the direction of taking a stand on global warming.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020806EB.shtml

[drm604]

7. Thank you.

This is good to know!

[IndianaGreen]

8. What can you expect from people that reject science?

The only consolation is that their Jesus is not going to save them from the effects of global warming. Many of their communities will be below sea level and there won't be a Rapture to save them.