Just last week the National Association of Evangelicals
stated that it would not take an official position against climate change. This was quite a disappointment for many of us who care about the future of our planet, because of the weight such a statement would carry. However, it seems that the internal debate was not settled after all - today over 80 evangelical leaders will break with the Association to
take their own stand:
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."
This is important news. The evangelical Christians are a core part of Bush's base - he relies on them to side with him on sciency issues like climate change and keep serious deliberation of them out of the public discourse. Well, too bad for Bush - not only are these leaders getting uppity, but they even have an action plan:
The statement calls for federal legislation that would require reductions in carbon dioxide emissions through "cost-effective, market-based mechanisms" -- a phrase lifted from a Senate resolution last year and one that could appeal to evangelicals, who tend to be pro-business. The statement, to be announced in Washington, is only the first stage of an "Evangelical Climate Initiative" including television and radio spots in states with influential legislators, informational campaigns in churches, and educational events at Christian colleges.
And unlike Bush, these brave souls are willing to acknowledge past mistakes so they can move past them:
"We have not paid as much attention to climate change as we should, and that's why I'm willing to step up," said Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton College, an influential evangelical institution in Illinois. "The evangelical community is quite capable of having some blind spots, and my take is this has fallen into that category."
If these leaders can help lift this blindness from the eyes of their followers as well, this will be a huge step forward on educating the American public. Accepting the problem is the first step in dealing with it. Any rational evangelical who believes they are meant to be a steward of the Earth should be able to recognize that the ravaging of God's creation, and his children who live on it, is a moral issue.
There are still holdouts, of course, who are happy to keep bleating out Bush's inane talking points:
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.
However, the important thing is not that Dobson and crew remain obstructionists, but that such a large group is stepping forward to voice its concern. It is high time that the issue of climate change be moved into the American mainstream so we can start seriously considering how to combat it. These 86 leaders are doing their part by stepping forward.