The American Spectator

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The Nation's Pulse

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ECI, as it appeals to evangelicals, is sensitive about not appearing to be another environmental movement of the left. Its website's question and answer section specifically asks: "Does addressing climate change mean we're becoming liberals?" The answer is a clear "no." It goes on to say that "climate change is not a liberal issue. It is a profound problem for people Jesus loves, people Jesus died to save." The section also specifies that ECI is NOT "working with environmentalists, and are critical of some of their views and approaches." But, "we do not rule out working with environmentalists and anyone else of goodwill in the future. "

In fact, a number of ECI's signers are already well established political liberals, such as Jim Wallis, Brian McLaren, Jim Ball of the "What Would Jesus Drive" campaign and Ron Sider of Evangelicals for Social Action,. As to not working with environmentalists, Sider's Evangelical Environmental Network has partnered with the leftist National Council of Churches since 1993 as part of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE). Left-wing foundations fund both the NRPE and ECI. It would seem unlikely that ECI will not fall into the usual coalitions of the left on environmental issues.

In times past, some evangelicals invited ridicule by foretelling imminent doom if listeners did not repent. The ECI seems to fall into that same dubious tradition, warning of climate catastrophe if government regulation of carbon emissions is not stepped up. Hopefully, ISA will help temper the heated rhetoric about global warming, and remind evangelicals of Ecclesiastes 1:9: "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."

topics:
Economics, Religion, Environment, Global Warming, Africa, Energy