GLOBAL WARMING AND GOD’S WORD

GLOBAL WARMING AND GOD’S WORD

What would Jesus drive? Last I checked His mode of transportation included a donkey and a fishing (sail) boat. A better question would be – Would Jesus support the Waxman-Markey bill? For all those who just said “Huh?” this bill claims that carbon emissions (same stuff you just exhaled) are responsible for global warming and many other catastrophes waiting to end this “Blue Planet” we call home. Hence this cap-and-trade bill that will allow the government to sanction each organization or facility a amount of pollution credits. If you don’t use your credit, you may sell them; if you exceed your limit, you got it – you pay for extra credits (not another “tax” to be sure!). The bill cleared the Energy and Commerce Committee last week and is due before the full House by the end of the month. Since this bill will trickle down (sooner than later) in our utility bill, we cannot afford to ignore it.

 First let’s deal with the whole guilt thing. Are we allowed to use the stuff in/on/around the earth for our benefit? I think Genesis 1:26 answers that: “let them (human beings) have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” For example, my wife has healthy snacks in the pantry and fruits on the table for the kids. They know that if they are starving (which they claim to be all the time!), it’s not a sin to help themselves. Similarly, we don’t need to buy “carbon offsets” to repay our debt to the earth. Somebody will profit from this and it’s not the polar bears.

Second is the stewardship issue that claims that our ancestors lived in harmony with nature until we came along and now the sea-level is rising and the polar bears are dying. Well, God is neither removed nor reactive with His creation. He has already set the limit on the water level. “You have set a boundary that they (waters) may not pass over, that they may not return to cover the earth.” (Psalm 104:9) Contrary to popular hype, the sea-level has remained the same for the past three years (Jason-1 Satellite Mission) and the polar bear population has actually risen. As the song goes “His eye is on the sparrow” and “not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” (Matthew 10:29) Let’s take care of God’s creation not exploit them for a personal agenda.

Third, who decides how things will come to a close? The Bible reminds us that the end will be from the top down and not from the bottom up. “Behold, the day of the Lord comes . . . For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine . . . Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place . . . ” (Isaiah 13:9-13) The end will not come with a global heat wave but a universal breakdown and remodeling by the owner. The whole creation has been waiting for this makeover like a woman waiting to deliver her baby. (Romans 8:19-22) Our new earth will get the first taste of it in the millennial kingdom and the full taste of it in the new heavens and new earth where there will be no more sin.

God is still the owner/operator and perfectly in control.