1 / 23

Jill Webb Jill.Webb@gmail

Jill Webb Jill.Webb@gmail.com. Christian Evangelicals and Environmentalism. What do Evangelicals Believe?. Biblical authority and inerrancy Belief in the apocalypse High religious engagement (such as regular worship attendance)

lotus
Download Presentation

Jill Webb Jill.Webb@gmail

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Jill Webb Jill.Webb@gmail.com

  2. Christian Evangelicals and Environmentalism

  3. What do Evangelicals Believe? • Biblical authority and inerrancy • Belief in the apocalypse • High religious engagement (such as regular worship attendance) • Preservation of traditional beliefs and practices – moral absolutes

  4. Numbers of Evangelicals 50 million people. 24% of the U.S. population

  5. Why the reluctance to join environmental causes? • We don’t know the creator through the creation – we know Him through Scripture • Worries about nature worship and/or paganism

  6. Earth exists for Humans. Humans do not exist for the earth. • Trees are good because we can build houses with them.

  7. Connectedness v Hierarchy God People Everything else

  8. Desire not to be associated with secular environmentalists From a secular environmentalist point of view, which excludes God, the highest aim is to understand nature itself. How we treat nature, then, depends strictly on our own, relative ethics and preferences. (Dobson – Focus on the Family)

  9. Humans cause natural disasters through sin • Environmental disasters…[are] resultant from the fact that humans have … frustrated God’s best plan both for themselves and for the harmony of creation. • We tremble to consider the consequences to a nation that spends billions for pure air and water, yet whose land .. is polluted by the blood of more than 40 million innocent preborn children

  10. The end times are here • The Bible predicts massive environmental changes as the world nears an end. • destruction of forests, the poisoning of waters and oceans, the destruction of wildlife, global warming and major changes in the seasons. • Rapture index

  11. Solutions

  12. Creation Care 500 Christian leaders signed the Evangelical Declaration of the Care of Creation • Land degradation • Deforestation • Species extinction • Water degradation • Global toxification • The alteration of atmosphere • Human and cultural degradation Rick Warren

  13. Moderates Appeal to Conservative Evangelicals • Respect marriage to ensure thoughtful procreation of children. Similar duty to nurture the home of children - earth • Poverty is a cause and consequence of environmental degradation • Willingness to understand what creation teaches about the Creator

  14. All of creation belongs to Jesus • The inevitable end times do not excuse us from our present biblical responsibilities • We are stewards of the land

  15. Asked for lawmakers to pass a law requiring that emissions of carbon dioxide be reduced.

  16. Rev. Barbara Williams Skinner National Association of Evangelicals: • M.S.W. and a J.D. • Executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus • Christian Community Development Association and Evangelicals for Social Action.

  17. Created Coalition with Conservative Evangelicals • Rev. Skinner received a standing ovation from National Association of Evangelicals. • Emission Standards Proposal

  18. Coalition between moderate and Conservative Evangelicals broken by Robertson, Dobson, and Republican Senators

  19. Pat Robertson, Sen. James Inhofe • Inhofe characterized Environmental Groups as • Associated Environmental Liberation Front. • Referred to as “terrorist groups” • “Jesse Jackson’s group and ACLU, and all these”

  20. Ingram’s characterization • “But her whole message was, you have to give up your core values.” • “You can’t have a litmus test on gay marriage, • You can’t have a litmus test on abortion on demand, you can’t have a litmus test on the Pledge of Allegiance, “

  21. “You know, I was so excited that we were winning all of these things, and now we have this far-Left group coming in trying to capture the evangelical Christians. We can’t let it happen, Pat”

  22. New coalition will have to be formed that includes Dobson and Robertson or wait until after Dobson and Robertson lose some of their power.

  23. Links Creation Care: www.creationcare.org Focus on the Family Statement on the Environment: www.family.org/cforum/pdfs/fosi/worldview Pat Robertson and Inhofe: http://www.700club.com/cbnnews/news/050429a.asp Other sources: http://www.theocracywatch.org/relig_inst_evangel_times_mar11_05.htm http://www.raptureready.com/rap2.html http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/ChurchAndMinistry/Clergy/ChristianEnvironmentalistsAreOuttoSavetheEarth.asp http://www.pagetwister.com/generic/templates/cej_news_wide.cfm?id=594&secver=sec1name&pid=33&storyid=2206

More Related