Religion and Global Warming

[Heaven]

So, another thread just got me thinking...
All the research into global warming and the evidence they show us says millions of years ago the earths temperature's weren't like this, it just keeps getting hotter, etc etc...
BUT, I guess for me because I'm christian I believe the bible says the world isn't that old. So how can I believe evidence from millions of years ago??
I think they look at what the atmosphere was like back then by looking at trees and glaciers or something and seeing what different chemicals are in different layers (I really don't know, but it said something like that on that movie??).
BUT, if you believe in creation, wouldn't you think, well God didn't make seeds etc....he made the earth and trees and everything already grown so that we'd have something to eat, just like he didn't make adam and eve as babies, they were full grown. So then...the earth, really extremely old trees (if they exist), glaciers, and everything would look a lot older than they really are.
Does that make sense??
What are your thoughts?

[Bathsheba]

I'm a Christian but I believe the earth is millions of years old. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am not a fundamentalist Christian. I read the Bible as analogy rather than in a literal sense.

My thoughts on environmental issues are divided. One half says we should do everything we can to protect the planet for future generations. The other half thinks that, like it says in the bible, we humans are not meant to be here forever and soon our souls will be harvested from garden earth anyhow. This is why i disagree with people who say we should curb population growth by limiting how many children we have. Humanity was told to 'go forth and multiply'... no use trying to keep our race going forever with pop. controls... it's not the plan.

However, it is man's responsibility to care for our planet and animals. I do get annoyed when some people cite religous reasons for trying to 'dominate' everything.

[Heaven]

Yeah, I do think we should look after our home and not be careless.
But also, it says in the bible all this bad stuff that is going to happen before Jesus returns....so maybe it's just going to happen anyway and we can't stop it?? Hmmm....

[christy]

I believe we were given dominion over the earth, animals and environmental, so therefore its part of who we should be. Caretakers of our earth. Biblically this is supported, yes the end of the world will come someday, but in the meantime its up to us to preserve what we can.

[krysalyss]

I am actually not religious but did get brought up in a very christian school.
My beliefs are similar to Baths in that the bible isn't literal but more an analogy.
I have spoken to some people with Christian beliefs who feel that it is not their place to change the possibility of global warming because God will protect them and the earth.
While others feel that humans are caretakers of the earth and other animals.
I feel that if there is a god, He would be acting to preserve the planet and as such has placed particular people on earth to bring this message. I strongly feel that it is my role to conserve the earth and protect animals. I think everyone has a responsibility to preserve the earth and that if there is a God, He acts through people here, not through miracles.
Does this answer your question?

[sushee]

I'm a Christian but I believe the earth is millions of years old. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am not a fundamentalist Christian. I read the Bible as analogy rather than in a literal sense.

Yes, me too.

This is interesting timing becaue I read in the weekend papaers that the pope has urged Catholics to embrace the fight against climate change as a means to protect what God has created. I don't know what the church's stance on the subject was previously, but apparently the pope's message was a bit of a surprise.

[Heaven]

Hmmm....sort of, but it's all confusing with the age of the earth thing. So if you believe the earth isn't that old then you would think the people God is sending to tell us about global warming wouldn't be using evidence from millions of years ago.

[Heaven]

Interesting...

pope has urged Catholics to embrace climate change as a means to protect what God has created

How is it protecting what God has created?? I don't get it.

[sushee]

SaraJane OMG I'm sorry, I said that wrongly! I meant embrace the fight against climate change! ROFL! I'll go edit it now. I'm such a dill!

[Heaven]

No wonder I was feeling confused, LMAO.

[Bathsheba]

I have spoken to some people with Christian beliefs who feel that it is not their place to change the possibility of global warming because God will protect them and the earth.

Uh oh, that's not good I don't think God will protect us from our mistakes... it's the "Free Will" clause that should warn us about that! Except from reports from the Old testament I can't think of any time God has protected us from our mistakes... he allowed us to build the atomic bomb didn't he?

[dusty]

this year 13 Australian faith leaders including Anglican Bishop George Browning, Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence and Br Ikebal Patel have called for targets to reduce greenhouse pollution by between 60-90% by 2050 and a clean energy target of 25% by 2020.

it is called the The Interfaith Common Call to Action On Climate Changeand has been facilitated by the Climate Institute. it builds on Common Belief which was released last year and included statements by a wide range of Australian faith leaders about climate change and a shared belief that there is a moral obligation to care for the earth.

they are extending this Interfaith Call to Action to representatives of religious communities around Australia and them to show their moral commitment to addressing Climate Change. if anyone is interested they can download the Call to Action on the climate institute's website and submit it.

The Statement by the 13 leaders call on the Aust gov't to do a number of things including

1.Ensure Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions peak and begin to decline in the next five years, set a long term reduction target of at least 60-90% below 1990 levels by 2050 and a pathway of strong interim targets to meet that long term target.

2. Ensure all new electricity generation comes from clean energy and legislate a clean or renewable energy target of 25% by 2020.

3. Set world’s best energy performance standards and establish a priority package of efficiency measures to cut energy waste and deliver all cost effective energy savings, particularly for low income households.

4.Strengthen, broaden and deepen current greenhouse international agreements, help neighbouring countries make the switch to clean energy and prepare for climate change, and lead the world in a response that avoids dangerous climate change of global warming more than 2 degrees above preindustrial levels.

the full one page statement is on the climate institute's website if you are interested. some amazing signatories.

seems like the religious institutions in australia are united on this issue.

dusty

[Bathsheba]

Wow! Thanks for posting that info Dusty I'll check it out.

[Nelle]

I take the bible pretty literally, so I don't believe the earth is millions of years old. Just my belief, it's not really a salvation issue.

I keep in mind that evolution and every idea based on that is a theory. I'm not sure why evolution is presented as fact, no one can prove it, it's a theory the science world has come up with as an alternative to creation. Every piece of evidence changes the theory, so it's not really a set theory either, it's an evolving idea. Since humans are flawed, our research is often flawed too, we see flaws in carbon dating and other things all the time.

Plus, people say, well the earth couldn't have been made in 6 days, it's more likely that God developed it over millions of years - why? Just because we can't wrap our minds around it doesn't mean that God didn't do it. Remember that God is outside of time too, he isn't constrained by time, so it's not like he would have been rushed. I just don't see any reason to doubt the bible just because it doesn't make sense to me.

I....kinda wandered off topic didn't I. I agree that God gave us the position of caretakers of the earth, so we need to look after it! I do think though that people are the most cherished part of God's creation, so people come first - if there is ever a conflict of interest between people and environment that can't be dodged, then people should come first. I do think that much of humanity is much more irresponsible with the earth than they need to be.

I think that's all from me, I'm hungry!

[Bathsheba]

Nelle I agree with a lot of what you said... I really would like to be open minded and y'know it wouldn't be that hard for me to be convinced by creationists. Some people get frustrated with me because I don't take definite 'stances'... I really am not one thing or another... I'm a work in progress. However, to me, the earth feels millions of years old IYKWIM so I am basing my thoughts on intuition more than anything else. I do 'get' you when you say people should come first HOWEVER do you mean that today's people should come before future people? That seems to be the sticking point. I also think that many human "wants" not "needs" are destroying our planet and threatening/killing other species

[Heaven]

Thanks Nelle.
I agree with everything you said. I take the bible literally too because I don't think God would have wanted to confuse us by having it so it could be interpreted in many different ways. I also think it's pretty clear when it says 'then the evening, and the morning, the first day' or whatever. Seems like a normal day to me. So that's what I think anyway, but I understand how others think differently too. Sorry, I don't want to offend anyone, just trying to explain why I think the way I do.
SO my question is. do you believe global warming is true then, based on this, because they only show evidence from millions of years ago when the world didn't exist (for some)...

[Bathsheba]

Oh I definitely think it's "true". You can't pump all those ozone depleting chemicals into the atmosphere without something changing! The earth is like any other living thing: muck around with it in a way nature didn't intend and it will get sick!

[dusty]

sarajane

to help put it into a perspective for those that believe the earth is only several 1000 years old (which i don't believe but understand that other's may), a lot of the evidence that global warming is happening now at an alarming rate is based on information from the last 1000 years.

you only have to go back to pre industrial times (1600s) to see the changes with increasing GHG emissions.

also 10 of the hottest years in the last 1000 years have occurred in the last 15 years.

dusty