Category: Climate Change (Page 4 of 4)

It really is very disappointing that the ICR maintains the stance that it does in its article on evidence for global warming, as it goes against the overwhelming majority of evidence of the world’s best scientists. To be still questioning whether or not the globe is really warming, let alone question that it is happening as a result of human activity, shows that the ICR is out of touch with the majority views of the evangelical and scientific world. To also state that “it will require a much longer period of record to be confident in any conclusions” is simply not true. The latest IPCC report, despite the ICR stating that it “reduced the alarmist rhetoric”, actually states that the likelihood of global warming being caused by human activity is now ‘very high’, defined as a greater than 90% likelihood, hence the greater urgency to take action now.

This article by the ICR is also disappointing as it comes more than a year after the signing of a document by the National Association of Evangelicals called the Evangelical Climate Initiative, which agreed that climate change is a real problem and that Christians have a biblical obligation to be actively involved in dealing with the problem.

Finally, this article is based on poor theology and poor science. The poor theology is in the link between any benefits of global warming and what the climate was like in the Garden of Eden, as if this was the ideal for the whole world and that the rest of the world didn’t matter, and also in its statement that “Earth has a stable environmental system with many built-in feedback systems to maintain a uniform climate. It was designed by God and has only been dramatically upset by catastrophic events like the Genesis Flood. Catastrophic climate change will occur again in the future, but only by God’s intervention in a sudden, violent conflagration of planet Earth in the end times (2 Peter 3:1-12).” The earth does indeed have many built-in feedback systems to maintain a uniform climate, however, despite it being designed by God, it is still being ruined by humanity. To state that catastrophic climate change will occur again only by God’s intervention is also not true and is in direct denial of the current overwhelming evidence. It also shows an astonishing ignorance of humanity’s capacity for sinfulness. Additionally, the statement that catastrophic climate change will only occur as a result of God’s intervention implies that we need not take action now and thereby denies the dignity of the creation that God made and said was good.

I hope this is seen as a constructive critique of the ICR article and position. I believe it is important to respond to such articles as they threaten to undermine the good and godly work that many Christians are doing in response to the biblical call to be good stewards of the creation that God has so kindly allowed us to live in.