Cal Thomas on evnagelicals and warming the earth

"The agenda-driven life"

By Cal Thomas

Feb 13, 2006

What is it with evangelical Christians that so many of them need a
cause beyond the commission they've been given?

Having witnessed the damage to the church's fundamental message of
redemption from a too-close association with the "kingdom of this
world" - first in the liberal National Council of Churches and World
Council of Churches, and more recently with various conservative
religious-political movements - some evangelicals have decided to give
it another go. This time, the issue isn't abortion, gay rights, or
cleaning up offensive TV programs. They want to clean up the planet.

Last October, it appeared the National Association of Evangelicals
(NAE), which claims 30 million members, was headed toward an alliance
with the more liberal wing of Christendom over the environment. Rather
than call it "environmentalism," which to some reeks of sensible shoes
and reusing hotel towels, these evangelicals embraced a euphemism more
to their liking. "Creation Care" they decided to call it, and solving
"global warming" would be their objective.

It now appears that at least some cooler heads have prevailed over
global warming. While some superstars of evangelicalism - including
best-selling author Rick Warren ("The Purpose Driven Life") - have
signed on to the global warming doctrine, many others have not. This
division in evangelical ranks prompted the NAE to pull back from an
expected endorsement of the issue following last October's statement
that mankind has "a sacred responsibility to steward the Earth and not
a license to abuse the creation of which we are a part." A statement
issued Feb. 1 by NAE President Ted Haggard recognized "the ongoing
debate" on global warming and "the lack of consensus among the
evangelical community on this issue."

Calvin DeWitt, professor of environmental studies at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and a leading evangelical supporter of various
environmental causes, called the NAE statement "a retreat and a
defeat." He predicted "negative consequences for the ability of
evangelicals to influence the White House, unfortunately and sadly."
Should influencing the White House be the primary or even a major
objective for evangelicals, or should their goal be to please God?

A better objective would be to follow another statement made not by a
committee but by a single individual who claims ownership of His
church and requires obedience to all who would follow Him: "Go and
make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19) Jesus also called on
His disciples - then and now - "to obey everything I have commanded
you." A quick look does not reveal those teachings as having anything
to do with global warming or the environment. Rather, He calls
individuals to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in
prison and pray for those who persecute them. Evangelicals should
pursue these higher virtues instead of settling for the lower life of
politics.

John the Apostle warns, "Do not love the world or anything in the
world. ... The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does
the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:15,17)

Some evangelicals lift a verse from Genesis that speaks of being good
stewards and "taking care" of the earth. But that was before the fall
of man, when sin and corruption entered the world.

I'm all for trying to keep the air and water as clean as possible, and
I do not toss litter on the ground, but I worry that, having been
mugged several times before at the end of the political alley,
evangelicals may be setting themselves up for more damage to their
credibility.

The environmental models pertaining to planet temperatures have not
been studied long enough to reach such a profound conclusion that
unless Americans drive different cars, the planet will burn up due to
carbon monoxide gas. It is more likely to burn up due to nuclear
weapons in the hands of nuts like the president of Iran.

If evangelicals make the environment another "cause," they are likely
to be as frustrated and disappointed as when they exercised misplaced
faith in politics to cure other social evils. Should they desire a
real effect on the planet, let them return to the eternal message that
has been given them to share with a world that needs it now more than
ever. That is a message which "cleans up" the inside of the hearts of
men and women and places them in a position to more powerfully
influence this world and prepare themselves and others for the world
to come.