image credit: climate.nasa.gov
On Sunday, in my message, I made a reference to global climate change, and since it is a hot button issue and since I got a Facebook question after the fact about it, I thought I would address it briefly here.
What I said…
On Sunday, I made the following points:
- I was raised in various Christian environments to believe that environmentalism was akin to paganism and that the only people who cared about things like renewable energy, saving the whales, and sustainable agriculture were atheists, pagans, and other people opposed to the biblical God.
- However, according to Genesis, our first responsibility as humans is to “rule” over the Earth, and the first example of that is when God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to “care” for it. Therefore, intrinsic to our identity as human beings is the responsibility for what happens on the Earth and the call to nurture God’s creation.
- Then, I declared that there is overwhelming scientific proof that global warming is real and that humans are to blame.
- And finally, I said that despite the science, the only proof I needed that humans were to blame was that God has given us that level of authority and responsibility. (Just to be clear, I also fully believe the scientific studies showing that human carbon emissions are the primary reason for the current climate crisis.)
The point…
For some reason, conservative Christians seem to have a love/hate relationship with scientific experts. We love the scientific process that shows Ai and Bethel were real ancient cities, that Quirinius was really the governor when Jesus was born, that the Hittites were a real ancient people, that the transmission of the biblical texts is incredibly accurate, or that the first reports of Jesus’ resurrection came within days of his crucifixion and were broadly corroborated. We love it when science supports our faith.
However, Christians seem to hate it when science challenges our Christian myths. Although there is ample evidence that “day” is a metaphorical word for the biblical writers, some Christians think that a 24*6 hour period of Creation is required by Genesis 1 and therefore scoff at the science for an extremely old Earth. Many Christians also can’t accept that species change over time in dramatic ways as is proven by the vast numbers of transitional forms of life found in the fossil record. And many Christians still can’t accept that mental illnesses are biological in nature and can be remedied by chemical treatments. I could go on.
Nonetheless, I’ll just go on record to say that if a crowd of people devote their entire lives to studying the tiny details of the boring minutiae of the natural world and if those people collectively amass a mountain of evidence that all points in one direction, I’m likely to go with what they say about it even if one person I know read an article somewhere that disagrees with some part of the theory.
I’m being a bit sarcastic here, but the point remains: I trust experts… almost all the time.
And why do I trust the scientific method?
Genesis.
God made us in his image and gave us the authority, the right, the responsibility, and the mental tools to “rule” and “subdue” and “care for” this Earth. Do I believe that sin has damaged our ability to see God in the midst of this world? Yes. Do I believe sin has weakened our ability to represent God in this world? Yes. Do I believe that sin has destroyed our intrinsic nature as being made in the image of God. NO! Genesis 9 reaffirms that we exist as God’s image-bearers in this world, and Genesis 9 is AFTER sin entered the world.
So, to put it together, I believe the scientists who say global warming is real, that fossil fuels are largely at fault, that humans are the primary cause, and that it is a crisis we must address now.
Furthermore, I believe that Christians above all people have the responsibility to be God’s hands and feet in this area. We need to be pushing for a more nurturing attitude toward the world around us, we need to downshift our own materialism, our own comforts, our own luxuries and submit them all to a pursuit of a greater good, and if our efforts at caring for the planet raise the costs of products or otherwise make life more difficult for people, then we must step forward also to alleviate those hardships!
Because we are earth-worshippers?
Of course not.
Because we are liberal, progressive, or whatever?
No, politics shouldn’t matter.
Why then?
Because we are image-bearers of the one who made this world and called it good.
And because He gave stewardship of it to us.