Industry-aligned think tank researcher Roy Spencer seems to have been mixing religion and science in his work for the Interfaith Stewardship Center, which advocates a “proper and balanced Biblical view of stewardship to the critical issues of environment and development.” Roy Spencer’s specific work in this area relates to climate change, an issue that Spencer has commented on while working for organizations that take money from Exxon-Mobil.
I’m confused about this idea that there a Biblical view of climate change, given that the Bible was written two thousand years ago, and climate change has only been happening within the last century.
What part of the Bible provides the Interfaith Stewardship Center’s “Biblical view” on climate change?
- Bud
Bud,
It’s very clear. Genesis, Chapter 8 explains it all: “God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.”
This passage very clearly states that it’s me, God, who makes the weather, not human beings. Furthermore, the passage states that increased winds lead to lower sea levels. Sea levels are rising now, and so that must mean that winds are calming down, and that is an observation that’s completely at odds with climate models of what would take place under global warming.
There you have it. Everything you need to prove that global warming isn’t taking place is right there in the Bible.
- God
]]>I am deeply concerned about global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels. I fear that if we don’t change course quickly, the damage to your creation will be grave and irreparable. It seems to me that this is among the paramount ethical issues of our time. I also know that the Bible is the single source of moral authority available to us on earth. So why doesn’t the Bible say anything about the burning of fossil fuels?
Sincerely,
- Sidney
Sidney,
Good question. As a matter of fact, the Bible used to contain a very specific injunction against the burning of fossil fuels. It was number twelve of the Twenty Commandments Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. I realize it’s not in the edition of the Bible you have, so I thought I’d pass it along. While I’m at it, I’ll throw in numbers eleven and thirteen too, since they’re pretty much directed at the people of your age:
Commandment Eleven: “When thou hast harnessed the power of lightning, craftest thou not thereby images of the trite and banal for the distraction of thy children.”
Commandment Twelve: “Defilest thou not the sacred tombs of primeval groves, nor burn thou the contents thereof.”
Commandment Thirteen: “If thou takest multiple lovers, gird thee thy loins in the vulcanized sap of a tropical tree.”
There are seven more, but I don’t think they’d interest you. They’re for people in the distant future-dos and don’ts of building massive gamma wave sinks to cloak radiation emanating from the solar system in order to fend of interstellar attack, stuff like that.
Sorry those three didn’t make it down to you. Now that I think about it, they could have helped you out with some of those problems you’ve been having down there lately. It’s not really my fault, though. It was those darn medieval exegetes who edited the last ten commandments out, because they didn’t see the relevance to them. I came to them in visions and tried to explain, “Look, guys, it’s not all about you. The Bible is my word to mankind for all time, including the distant future. You don’t have to understand the whole thing, just translate it the best you can and pass it along.” Unfortunately, every time I appeared to them they just took to flagellating themselves all the harder, so I eventually gave up.
I explained the whole thing to the medieval exegetes when they got to heaven, and we all had a good laugh. It’s funny, in the grand scale of things. You may not be able to see the humor in it now, but you will after you die-trust me.
See you then,
- God
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