Climate Scientist and Evangelical Christian Question?

Is the term “evangelical” a religious or political term?

Katharine Hayhoe is both a world recognized respected climate scientist as well as a devout evangelical Christian married to a preacher.

She enthusiastically embraces both worlds seeing no conflict between her scientific work and her religious beliefs. In fact, it is her scientific quest to understand the energy of life, life erupting out of the formless empty void which gives strength to her evangelical beliefs.

Also, she knows poor people and poor countries will suffer disproportionately due to the accelerating effects of human caused climate change. Knowing these facts fuels her Christian zeal to communicate the science of climate to anyone who will listen.

When she is asked by her evangelical brothers and sisters if she “believes” in climate change, she says, “NO!” and explains climate science “is not a belief system” it is  the culmination of over a hundred years of keen observation by man examining God’s Creation. The accumulation of vast amounts of data and the thorough analysis of this data by tens of thousands of scientists makes climate science a known quantity - not a matter of faith.

 

 

Perhaps it is her faith, her Christian heart, which motivates her to communicate climate science to us. Is it her Christian love of her fellow man moving her to act lessening the suffering of humankind?

Why is it this train of thought has not enriched the conversation of Christian responsibility within the evangelical church? It has been my opinion for years the good and honorable people of the evangelical Christian church have been the victim of a concerted effort by modern propagandists.

I do not think this to be the effort of conservatives but by people whose fossil fuel economic fortunes are threatened by climate smart citizens. True conservatives like Theodore Roosevelt were environmental heroes revered in their day and today. True conservatives think first about the world’s health.

The extent of the politicization of the evangelical church is so profound scholars who study the phenomena suggest the term “evangelical” should no longer be a term delineating a segment of Christianity but is more appropriately used as a social political term.

In Katharine Hayhoe’s New York Times op-ed titled, “Caring about Climate Change is the Christian Thing to Do” she, too, zeroes in on the insidious politicization of the evangelical church.  She warns us not to be paralyzed by climate fear nor to fall victim to anti-climate science propaganda. She insists our Christian faith defeats fear and emboldens us to act with love and logic.

During most of the church’s existence the examination of nature by learned individuals, then referred to as philosophers of nature and who today are called scientists, were honored by the church and its believers. The respect for these scholars comes from two Christian beliefs.  First, God created the Word and, second, God created the universe. It was a given there has been, and will continue to be, disagreements when we strive to bring together our understanding of God’s Word and God’s World.

Great Christian minds like Augustine (354 AD to 430 AD) recognized this challenge.  Einstein best expresses the dilemma: “I believe that we have to content ourselves with our imperfect knowledge and understanding and treat values and moral obligations as a purely human problem—the most important of all human problems."

We must strive to understand nature so we can act confidently, logically, morally, and without fear.  Science is our best avenue of understanding nature. 

Towards a better future for us and for our kids, it is my humble advice that you never let anyone shake you from your Christian MORAL foundation.

And, never let others undermine your respect for science, logic, and reason.

Why has Katharine Hayhoe been dedicated to educating us for so long? One reason is she has nearly the entire science community, world-wide, behind her.

And second she says, “Because I believe that Evangelicals who take the Bible seriously already care about climate change…”

If you do not “believe” in climate change, I encourage you to read her complete opinion piece in the New York Times Sunday Edition, “I am a Climate Scientist Who Believes in God. Hear Me Out.”, go to: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/opinion/sunday/climate-change-evangelical-christian.html

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