A New Religion
A new religious system centered on the earth is emerging worldwide. Its distinctive message is the impending doom of global warming. This new religion has many familiar elements: high priests (scientist that speak infallibly), doomsday prophets (Al Gore and many from Hollywood), a laity (people who merely believe what the priests and the prophets say without critical evaluation), and heretics (scientists that are skeptical of an impending doomsday). This new religion has defined sin as CO2 emissions, rather than a moral offense against a Holy God. Fortunately for the “sinner,” an indulgence can be bought in the form of a carbon offset, which allows one to continue to drive an SUV, fly in private jets, and live in large mansions without condemnation.
This new religion lacks the skills of logic and critical thinking, and a science based on evaluating all the evidence, not just what supports one’s theory. For instance, since the 1850’s the earth has experience a warming trend, followed by a cooling trend, followed by the current warming trend. The cooling trend was so pronounced that scientists in the 1970’s were predicting a new ice age. In 1975, Newsweek ran an article using indisputable “scientific evidence” that a new ice age had begun.
Many global warming gurus cite NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies director James Hansen, when he stated that nine of the ten warmest years have occurred since 1995. When NASA ran an internal audit of it statistical information it discovered that four of the top ten hottest years were actually from in 1930’s. Previously cited “warm” years—2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004 were actually cooler than some of the years directly preceding the 1900’s.
Evidence of climate fluctuation throughout earth’s history is not hard to find. The Hudson and Thames rivers froze in what has come to be known as the “little ice age” of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the medieval period, Vikings established settlements in Greenland and Newfoundland until the little ice age froze them out. A few years ago, a body of a 4,700-year-old traveler was found frozen in a mountain glacier in Switzerland, indicating the mountain pass had been open at one time for human travel.
In recent years, NASA’s instruments have calculated that Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, and Titan (a moon of Neptune) are all warming, which have nothing to do with burning fossil fuels. Many scientists are now pointing to the sun’s cycle as the culprit in warming and cooling of the planets.
Last year the “Evangelical Climate Initiative” was published with the names of 86 evangelical Christian leaders, including Rick Warren, who has decided to back major initiatives to stop global warming. While I’m an evangelical, and I do believe there are theological reasons for being environmentally conscious, I’m not quite ready to drink the Kool Aid with my other evangelical friends. Next week we’ll look at what I believe to be a more balanced response to environmentalism.
a pdf version of this entry is available here
This new religion lacks the skills of logic and critical thinking, and a science based on evaluating all the evidence, not just what supports one’s theory. For instance, since the 1850’s the earth has experience a warming trend, followed by a cooling trend, followed by the current warming trend. The cooling trend was so pronounced that scientists in the 1970’s were predicting a new ice age. In 1975, Newsweek ran an article using indisputable “scientific evidence” that a new ice age had begun.
Many global warming gurus cite NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies director James Hansen, when he stated that nine of the ten warmest years have occurred since 1995. When NASA ran an internal audit of it statistical information it discovered that four of the top ten hottest years were actually from in 1930’s. Previously cited “warm” years—2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004 were actually cooler than some of the years directly preceding the 1900’s.
Evidence of climate fluctuation throughout earth’s history is not hard to find. The Hudson and Thames rivers froze in what has come to be known as the “little ice age” of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the medieval period, Vikings established settlements in Greenland and Newfoundland until the little ice age froze them out. A few years ago, a body of a 4,700-year-old traveler was found frozen in a mountain glacier in Switzerland, indicating the mountain pass had been open at one time for human travel.
In recent years, NASA’s instruments have calculated that Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, and Titan (a moon of Neptune) are all warming, which have nothing to do with burning fossil fuels. Many scientists are now pointing to the sun’s cycle as the culprit in warming and cooling of the planets.
Last year the “Evangelical Climate Initiative” was published with the names of 86 evangelical Christian leaders, including Rick Warren, who has decided to back major initiatives to stop global warming. While I’m an evangelical, and I do believe there are theological reasons for being environmentally conscious, I’m not quite ready to drink the Kool Aid with my other evangelical friends. Next week we’ll look at what I believe to be a more balanced response to environmentalism.
a pdf version of this entry is available here
Labels: environmentalism
posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 |
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