HiddenMysteries: Pro-Global Warming Khristians

Cannot Be Pro "Family Values"

By Dean Powers

Earth Day passed yesterday, but sadly millions of Americans who pride themselves as "family values" Christians paid it little heed.

The corporately connected Christian churches that oppose efforts to preserve forests, curb carbon emissions and protect water supplies manifest their opposition in two ways: silent complicity, and willful deceit.

Take the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, for example. The ISA is roundly endorsed by Focus on the Family leader James Dobson, a good friend of the former drug abusing, male prostitute-using Evangelical leader Ted Haggard.

The ISA "fully supports" and adheres to the ideological premises laid out in the pro-business Cornwall Declaration, which advises, "The tendency among some to oppose economic progress in the name of environmental stewardship is often sadly self-defeating."

The loftily titled declaration is endorsed by over 1,500 Jewish, Protestant and Catholic leaders, according to the website--whose heading reads, "Dominion. Stewardship. Conservation."

The idea of domination or "dominion" has long fueled the mindless destruction of our natural resources and environment. It has its roots in a chapter in Genesis. "And God said, '[Let humans] have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'" (Genesis 1:26)

The Cornwall Declaration cites global warming among a list of environmental phenomena not worthy of concern; the two others include overpopulation and "rampant species loss."

Meanwhile "primitive agricultural, industrial and commercial practices" are a major area of concern for the drafters of the Cornwall Declaration. God forbid we let these savages continue farming their own land using ancient traditions of husbandry. We should push them off and let Big Agribusiness take over the land.

Global warming, the Cornwall Declaration declares, is a "concern mainly for environmentalists in wealthy nations." In fact, a recent poll showed that China, India and the United States--whose economies are among the healthiest in the world--ranked among the least willing nations to take action on global warming if it included "significant costs."

The poll, conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, found that in the South American country of Argentina 63 percent of the population was ready to "begin taking steps [to curb emissions] now even if it involves significant costs." Only 43 percent of the US population agreed with that statement.

In Mexico, 70 percent of the population found global warming to be a "critical threat" while 46 percent in the US agreed. Lord knows how many wealthy environmentalists populate Mexico.

But I don't have to prove that the Cornwall Declaration is filled with lies. Just like everything that James Dobson endorses and supports, the declaration is fraud and pure propaganda.

"These six things the Lord hates,/ Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:/ A proud look,/ A lying tongue,/ Hands that shed innocent blood,/ A heart that devises wicked plans,/ A false witness who speaks lies,/ And one who sows discord among brethren." (Proverbs 6:16)

A look of utter humility...not.

This chapter seems it was written directly to James Dobson. We already established the "lying tongue." Dobson has been a fierce supporter of the Iraq War (innocent blood), arguing that it is morally justifiable under the Augustinian theory of "just war."

Dobson qualified for abominations five and seven through his efforts to make gay marriage a political wedge issue. His work helped Republicans take over the Senate and House in 2002 and 2004 (wicked plans), all while splitting this country apart in the process (discord among brethren).

His pro-corporate handiwork on the issue of global warming may be the most destructive. I intend to argue that his followers--those who are essentially pro-global warming, who aid and abet unchecked fossil fuel consumption in this country--are committing a sin as heinous as Seung-Hui Cho, the gunman who killed 33 people at Virginia Tech last week.

Impossible. No way. The comparison is outlandish.

They are committing foremost the sin of greed and the sin of gluttony.

Those who are unwilling to confront and correct global warming because it will include "significant costs" can only justify themselves with the sin of greed. They want a nicer car, a bigger house, more channels on their television, more vacations, more everything. They are told that they are oppressed by the concerns of effete liberals. They are beguiled by arguments that appeal to self-righteousness and self-entitlement.

Soon murder will be added to their transgressions. (Let me be clear about who is guilty. The guilty remain indifferent on the issue of global warming, or they consume more than their fair share of fossil fuels, cloaked in self-righteousness.)

Murder is considered a major transgression in the Bible. Unlike the dubious assertion that God opposes gay marriage, God put the commandment not to murder on stone for Moses.

Two months ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations, issued a report that concluded global warming was "unequivocal" and, with more than 90 percent certainty, caused by humans.

We all know the consequences detailed in the report. The rise in temperature could send Europe into an ice age; it will cause severe droughts in some areas and dire flooding in other areas; sea levels could rise by anywhere up to two feet, according to conservative estimates.

Nearly 100 million people in Asia are expected to face floods that will invariable snuff out lives as a result of global warming, according to the IPCC.

Back to my burden of analogy: people who subscribe to indifference to and even gleeful participation in the unchecked consumption of fossil fuels as supported by James Dobson commit no less of a sin than Sueng-Hui Cho.

Cho perhaps knew, despite his mental illness, that the guns he carried into Norris Hall on April 16 had the potential to kill people, yet he fired them at his victims anyway.

We now know that our unchecked consumption of gasoline has the potential to lead to catastrophic starvation, flooding and death on a scale that would eclipse the horror at Virginia Tech.

Should we choose to continue to burn fossil fuel indifferently, we are no different from a gunman who pulls his trigger with a victim in his sights. Cho killed 33 people last Monday. Thirty three fits many times into one million, and the loss of life due to global warming could be far greater.

James Dobson will find no justification in the writings or ideas of Saint Augustine of Hippo for introducing death and famine to the world's poorest citizens.

There are, however, plenty of Christians ready and willing to confront the challenge of global warming, and they ought to be recognized. The Evangelical Climate Initiative was created last February to combat global warming. Target Earth, a Christian coalition, is also committed to environmentally sound practices.

We need to challenge our Christian brothers and sisters to re-examine their views on global warming with respect to the commandments and lessons from the Bible. Mere badmouthing about the lifestyles of our brethren will not cover up the consequences of the actions we take.

While Dobson tries to win elections for his pro-corporate buddies with attacks on gays, Americans are losing their souls to the influence of a "false witness who speaks lies."

http://www.opednews.com/

Authors Bio: Dean Powers is a former intern at The Nation, whose views are not reflected in this piece. Click on his name above to view his bio. And please visit his poorly attended blog at thedeansoffice.blogspot.com.

Pro-Global Warming Khristians

Monday, April 23 2007 @ 10:43 AM CDT