Climate Change Bible
AIM Column | By Bethany Stotts | April 24, 2008
We must attack the materialism of our culture and the maldistribution of the nation’s wealth and services…
While some global warming skeptics may have accused climate change believers
of placing undue “faith” in murky science, some professors have already elevated
the cause to a Christian edict. In his recent column “The Ultimate Ethical
Issue?,” Professor David P. Gushee casts combatting climate change as
Christianity’s ultimate moral test—and dismisses family values and
constitutionality in the process.
“The data is in: Human beings are indeed culpable [for climate change],”
comments the Mercer University Theology Professor. His article appears in
PRISM, a publication of the progressive Evangelicals for Social
Action (ESA). He points to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) report as proof that we face violent hurricanes, drought and
famine, coastal sea rise, and other existential threats that will soon wipe
humans off the earth.
And what should America do about this impending disaster? Implement
cap-and-trade, of course. Gushee writes, “Specifically, the U.S.—along with the
rest of the world—must implement a cap on carbon emissions within the next two
years.” After that, the world “must” eliminate “carbon-emitting technologies” by
mid-century.
Professor Gushee does not mention any technology by which to implement this
policy, nor does he address the economic implications of the policies he
advocates.
“For consumers, cap-and-trade means more expensive gasoline and electricity
as well as net job losses in energy-dependent sectors,” writes Heritage Foundation Fellow Ben Lieberman. Analyzing the costs of
America’s Climate Security Act of 2007 (S.2191), Lieberman places the tab
at
- an additional $800 to $1,300 in household annual cost by 2013
- electricity cost increases between 35% and 65%
- between 1.2 million and 2.3 million lost jobs.
Conversely, the bill could increase Congressional revenues by $1.19 trillion between 2009 and 2018, $308 billion of which would be collected by 2013. These funds, collected from American businesses (read, manufacturing), will most likely be passed on as higher costs to American consumers.
The cost of such legislation doesn’t seem to concern Professor Gushee, who
argues, “Because human well-being is at stake, even human survival, those
looking to affect politics must now say that this is the ultimate moral values
issue.” In other words, climate change trumps EVERYTHING.
The ESA would likely take a similar perspective on climate change costs.
Their 1973 founding document, the Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social
Concern, states
“We must attack the materialism of our culture and the maldistribution
of the nation’s wealth and services…Before God and a billion hungry neighbors,
we must rethink our values regarding our present standard of living and promote
a more just acquisition and distribution of the world’s resources” (emphasis
added).
Those who don’t believe as he does should change their views, or at least
stop hindering progress, Professor Gushee argues in his article. He writes,
“I suggest that any Christian theology/ethic that believes human beings are
too puny to affect the planet’s ecosystem, that God will not let anything bad
happen to us, that anything that happens (good or evil) is the result of God’s
direct will and purpose, that social ethics and morality are unimportant , that
gay marriage and judicial activism are the key values issues in 2008, or that
nothing must be done to hinder or regulate the free market is part of the
problem, not part of the solution, and needs to change before it is too
late" (emphasis added).
In other words, the Theology Professor believes Christians are “problematic”
and recalcitrant if they
- believe in predestination;
- don’t believe in global warming;
- aren’t radical environmentalists;
- adopt free market values;
- oppose government regulation;
- value heterosexual marriage or constitutionality over global warming;
- pick political candidates that he doesn’t agree with.
Bethany Stotts is a Staff Writer for Accuracy in Academia, and can be contacted at
7 Comments | Post a Comment
Not a part of the solution? Then you’re…
Two of the most costly and totally unnecessary problems today are the ethanol hoax (if farmers plant more corn to cash in on this, they plant less of actually nutritious veggies, eg, wheat, and ALL go up in price; corn has tripled, wheat has skyrocketed, and deadly rice riots are breaking out across the world as major rice exporters eliminate these exports) and “Global Warming” (increasingly referred to as “Climate Change,” since the world has actually cooled over the last 10 years and corn is not being planted because it’s too cold! oh, the cruel irony).
The punchline: the information refuting both of these hoaxes was readily available online well before they became major problems.
The next time you go shopping or fill up your car with gas (if you can afford to actually “top her off"), thank the idiots responsible for our current woes.
Oh, the sub-prime problem? You can blame Bush, but this program originated during the Carter administration. Jimmuh Cottuh is obviously senile and should be institutionalized...or sent to prison for violating the Logan Act (as did a younger John Kerry, who met with the North Vietnamese delegation during the Paris peace talks), as it is illegal for a private citizen to negotiate with a foreign power under this act.
They never give us the whole list at one time: exactly which laws can we break with impunity and which ones must we follow to the letter?
Read Article 4, Section 4 of the Constitution (you can google it up) and brace yourself for a surprise of the unpleasant kind. It’s brief and easy to understand...except by politicians, leftist liberals, and liberal Supreme Court Justices.
Mrs. Howell.... that is Gustee’s point exactly! Seems a pattern is emerging: Pelosi telling us we are required to worship the Earth instead of The God who created it! Now, here’s this Yoyo telling us that this same God will not protect His creation. The ONE who ‘counts each and every grain of HIS sand’!!! It is Satan’s way to belittle those who Believe so we should expect even more of this from those who think they are more powerful than God.. ‘global warming’ fraud proves their chain of thought!!
This David Gushee has too much time on his hands. He ought to be given a position at Mercer that will take some of his free time away. He’s dangerous with his delusional ideas. Somebody needs to rein this guy in...or hog-tie him! He’s a classic example of a non-reasoning liberal.
Gustee or anyone who tries to manipulate God to fit their personal agenda is the consumate fool. America has already failed the ultimate ethical test by legislating the mass murder of innocents in Roe v Wade, the perpetrators being the Liberal, immoral left like Gustee. I love and respect God’s earth and for Gustee to paint me as a Christian earth hater really disgusts me. I think Nancy Pelosi should stop making up scriptures to fit her political agenda, and look at real scriptures like in Revelation 16. Not a pretty picture of what God is going to do to His earth. Talk about climate change! How about the Apostle Peter telling us that the earth will be burned up by a fervent heat? (now don’t any atheist environmental empty heads twist this to try to prove global warming. This burning will be God’s doing) Sodom and Gamora were destroyed because of sexual perversity, not because they were passing too much gas. While I’m at it: Nancy Pelosi is the epitome of hypocrisy. She kisses the Pope’s ring (photo op)and thinks that we don’t see right through her? She supports, vehemently, eveything the Catholic Church apposes--like abortion and homosexuality. Last year she was marching in a gay pride parade with the leader of that most evil of all organizations, NAMBLA. This year she kisses the Pope’s ring. I know this is off topic but I had to vent a little after being disgusted and sickened by the the sight of her kissing the Pope’s ring
My geology professor in college in the 60s convinced me that global warming has been happening for the last ten to fifteen thousand years. The upper midwest was under glaciers that have been receding ever since. Climate is cyclical and will continue to be so regardless of how many SUVs we drive. Incidentally, I considered myself and environmentalist long before Al Gore invented the internet.
Gushee appears to be a believer in Liberation Theology. It is a problem in the Catholic Church and has an offshoot in Wright’s Black Liberation Theology. What it is behind the appeals to “true” Christian morality is Christian Sharia, or the merging of the secular with the theocratic.
This involves a deep contempt for the intelligence of the people. Continuing to tell the Big Lie about the climate change scam is the methodology to gain control over all society.
It has been known for decades that CO2 rises AFTER temperature rises. In addition, the rise takes at least 200 years to happen. The last IPCC report was contradicted by the very scientists listed as supporters, even to the point that one threatened a lawsuit if his name wasn’t removed.
How many realize that the “hockeystick graph” has been so completely debunked that the IPCC no longer uses it? This was their so-called “smoking gun”. The history of science has shown that “consensus science” is actually the antithesis of the science of Newton, Einstein and Hawking.
Lenin said “Give me a child for six years and I’ll give you a Communist for Life.” This is the MO of being used in the climate change arena.
April 25 at 10:37 am | #1 | Link
Free Speech… But this guy makes Christians look like Dumb idiots that will follow anyone with a loud voice INSTEAD of God’s Word.