Does Global Warming Theory Conflict With The Bible?

[taquinas101]

I was trying to understand the hostility of the Bush and the religious right to the idea of global warming and rising sea levels. I was wondering whether its because they believe that the idea of global warming conflicts with the bible. Alternatively, is it heresy to accept global warming as a valid theory?

Genesis 9:12-17

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

[phantom power]

1. It probably conflicts with any literalist interpretation.

But the GOP has been opposed to any acknowledgement of global warming on purely business grounds. If they admitted it was real, and that we could do something about it, it would be bad business for their fossil fuel masters.

[seriousstan]

4. Literal interpretation would say this covenant only covers another flood.

[mzteris]

2. Ya see

it's like this - God will just poof the environment back to "good levels" when he feels like it. Especially when all true believers - uh - believe!

No need to conserve or change your habits or anything. You can do whatever you want and the Good Lord will make it all right again.

[Mass]

3. The religious right is not opposed to the Global Warming Theory

Those who oppose it are the big international companies who would have to make investments.

A good book to recommend on the subject of how the Bush administration is selling our environment to the highest bidder is Robert Kennedy Jr's book "Crimes against nature". It describes the myriad of lobbyists hidden behind nice environment-aware names that have open door at the WH and the EPA.

[taquinas101]

6. Well, Here's A Transcript From Larry King That Addresses The Issue

KING: Why, Reverend LaHaye, haven't evangelicals been more outspoken about the environment?

T. LAHAYE: Because we believe that the environment was made for us. And not us for the environment. There's a big cultural chasm in our country today. For example we have people who get out of shape if a whale is beached and they want to blame the U.S. Navy and sonar investigation and so on and yet they don't mind 45 billion babies being murdered in the name of abortion in the last few years. I can't understand why animals...

KING: But if we've got dirty air we might all not be here. Shouldn't that be a prime concern?

T. LAHAYE: But we don't have the dirty air that we did 20 years ago, right here in Los Angeles. You don't have near as much dirty...

KING: You think we're doing a good job with... T. LAHAYE: I think we're improving. We could probably do better. And we Christians are not against clean air and clean water and preserving proper life. But we ought to have our values in priority. And we believe that human beings are more important than animals.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0502/01/lkl.01.html

[smoogatz]

7. 45 billion babies being murdered? What the fuck is this idiot talking

about? That's, like, nine times the current population of the planet. What a pinhead.

[Mass]

8. Some may be just stupid, but the main issue are the big companies

preempting ANY improvement in environment and energy policies and this is what we absolutely need to focus on. For me, this issue is THE priority no 1. It is key to many major issues in this country, including if we can avoid other "Iraq War".

Look this guy does not answer the question, he just want his agenda to be primordial and his agenda is "anti choice".

[taquinas101]

12. Big Companies I Understand, But The Religious Right?

I can understand where the big companies stand, since its in their economic interests to limit environmental protections. However, why is the author of the Left Behind series and other evangelists relatively silent when it comes to protecting the environment? Why is there room in the same ten for both big companies and the Christian Coalition? If anything, they should be mutually exclusive.

Are these evangelists corrupt or is there an ideaological basis? In other words, as the author of the Left Behind series points out, earth was made for us, and people come first. Is the idea of a shrinking polar ice cap inconsistent with convenant regarding flooding the earth? The "its big companies" explanation does not explain the acquiencense of the religious right when it comes to protecting the environment.

[Johonny]

10. odd view

Because we believe that the environment was made for us. And not us for the environment.

Even the Bible doesn't supprt this view. Since in both the creation stories God clearly makes the Earth before he makes us. He then instructs us to be masters of it. I wish these people would read a bible once in a while. I mean it's YOUR religion so learn it!

[GeorgeBushytail]

5. Religion prepares people to have faith in the absurd

Bush isn't reality-based so science is an annoyance to him.

And you can find something in the big magic christian book to support any position on anything.

[LiberalArkie]

9. Wrong

The NeoConservatives believe in the rapture. They believe that they can make all the money they want, polute the Earth, destroy the Earth.
They believe that God will bless them 10 times over. They believe that as long as they help Israel they will be blessed. They believe that there is nothing they can do that will remove Gods blessing from them. They believe all this because they have asked God into their hearts and turned their lives over to Jesus. So nothing can ever go wrong. But they neglect to read the part of the Bible where it Jesus tells the rich young ruler (He had followed all the scripture) to give up everything he had and to follow Jesus. The rich youn ruler could not do that
They never read the part of the Bible where Jesus taught about people who would say that they followed the Christ, but did not feed the hungry, or clothe the naked, or visit those in prison. He said he never knew them. They just paid lip service, they did not want to be like Jesus.

It is these people who have no problem distroying the Earth, because they believe they will be raptured away from it, never having to suffer at all.

[Lenore]

11. Most Christians deny that Global Warming exists to ...

Excuse their inaction on the issue. If they admit that it is a real and true danger then they would be obligated to address it. For indeed, true Christians are supposed to care for the environment.

God created the word and took great pleasure in it. He gave man dominion over it to "take care of" the earth and "rule" over the animals. God gave us the world to "take care of", the Hebrew verb used was "Shamar" which is also translated to mean "preserve", "watch", "defend", "maintain", not "pillage and rape". We have no right to destroy this creation which delighted our Father God so much and *any true Christian* knows this to be true, which is why it is simply easier to put ones head in the sand and proclaim it all good, if you know what I mean. So sayeth Lenore :-)

[Lenore]

13. Forgot to add..

It matters naught what translation one uses, the meaning is still the same.... The Bible says that Jesus will return to judge the people of the earth, to "destroy those who destroy the earth"...

Unfortunately this is waaaay deeeeeep back in the New Testament, a section that most conservative Christians seem to read sparingly (so much more validation in that warmongering old testament, from my point of view)....

Revelation 11:18

The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth." (WEB)

And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth. (ASV)

And the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and the time of reward for your servants, the prophets, and for the saints, and for those in whom is the fear of your name, small and great, and the time of destruction for those who made the earth unclean. (BBE)

And the nations have been full of wrath, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give the recompense to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, small and great; and to destroy those that destroy the earth. (DBY)

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (KJV)

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them who destroy the earth. (WBS)

The nations grew angry, and Thine anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and the time for Thee to give their reward to Thy servants the Prophets and to Thy people, and to those who fear Thee, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." (WEY)

and the nations were angry, and Thine anger did come, and the time of the dead, to be judged, and to give the reward to Thy servants, to the prophets, and to the saints, and to those fearing Thy name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those who are destroying the land.' (YLT)

[taquinas101]

14. Christians Deny? That Suggests Hypocrisy . . .

Is it hypocrisy or is it an actual held belief that protecting the environment or accepting theories such as global warming is inconsistent with the bible?

The explanation you offer, "excuse their inaction," is like damning with faint praise. It seems to say that Christians are purposely deluding themselves, rather than fundamentally disagreeing with the perspective of the environmentalists.

Well, what if environmental protection is inconsistent with Christian doctrine at least as interpreted by the folks who comprise the Christian Coalition. Are they being dishonest or are they merely incorrect?

[taquinas101]

15. Speaking of Flood . . .Here's MSNBC Article On The Icecaps

So, is this inconsistent with the covenant set forth in Genesis quoted in this thread?

"Melting of land-based glaciers could take much longer but could raise the sea levels, potentially affecting coastal regions worldwide."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9053898/

[Lenore]

17. sounds like ...

The same spiritual conundrum (sp) that the Warmongering "christian" faces, does it not?

And yes, you nailed it... it's the height of hypocrisy. I daresay that purposeful ignorance won't be viewed as merely being innocently "incorrect" when their judgement day does come.

[stepnw1f]

16. It Conflicts with Stupid people Who Try to Take the Bible Literally

And yes... they are stupid.

[Gregorian]

18. This is a test. This is only a test.

No, I don't mean it's time to duck and cover.

99.9% of those who call themselves Christians do not understand the bible. That includes me. It takes a lifetime of dedicated study, to really understand. Or one instant of compassion and observation. Like the previous poster, we are here to take care.

My belief is that this planet is under Satan's rule. There is a lot of evidence to back it up. Not the least of which is, one can see glimpses of perfection everywhere one looks, but all of which is imperfect in some way. Entropy, if you will. The temptation of Christ is probably the best example. Satan told Christ to worship him and all of the kingdoms of the world would be his. Satan owns this planet. A fallen angel, he was cast from heaven. Knowone knows why. We don't know a lot. Humans are in the dark.

The way I see it is that this is where we are expected to prove ourselves. Do we love our neighbor? Do we take care of the earth? Do we hate and murder and love money? The easy way is to grab a gun and start taking things. The hard way is to be polite and loving, even in the face of something as despicable as George Bush.

And doom and gloom ARE going to increase until there is great pain and suffering, and eventually complete destruction of it all. But that does not preclude how we behave in the meantime.

We don't know. It IS a mystery. But unless one believes it's all just a story, the bible gives us evidence that something did happen that proves the existence of something very powerful. Very real. Not a philosophy, not a fairy tale, but an actual being of infinite intelligence and power. That is what Christians know, that enables them to see past the suffering. Christians only know a small sliver of what is happening. To predict and to claim to have god's cellphone number are signs of a complete fool. Like you know who.

It's not going to be alright. Not completely. Not while we are here. But that is no excuse to stop acting right.

I always feel like these posts fall short. I am not a biblical scholar. There are those who see, and those who don't. And there's the bible. And debating whether the bible is fact or fiction is like debating whether the holocaust happened. But one thing is for sure, people spin the bible like no other. It is simple. Very simple. Unless you've never felt love. And if one spends time using the Old Testament as a literal guide. When Jesus was resurrected, a lot changed. Some of the Old Testament was made obsolete. Maybe that's what is wrong with the other half of this country.

[Lenore]

19. Amen :) eom

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. It's more of a conflict with making $ burning fossil fuels.

[Gregorian]

21. There we go.

When will I ever learn brevity? I just rewrote the bible, and you completely make it look easy. :)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

22. Heh, I call 'em like I see 'em. LOL

:toast:

[goodhue]

23. It is not a Theory!

eom

[wli]

24. They don't care, they want an Apocalypse and/or Rapture.

And they're morons. They'll just die (along with killing the rest of the people in the world in the process).

[orpupilofnature57]

25. Just one the mali ties, spoke of during "end times"