c. 2007 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) What trumps the most heartfelt of differences?
The issue that President Bush and minions in his administration have repeatedly said does not exist or is a figment of the over-reactive, tree-hugging liberal imagination: global warming.
In the most unlikely of unlikely coming-togethers _ indeed, pigs are skyborn _ leading scientists and evangelical Christian leaders have put aside their fierce stands over the origin of life to work together to fight global warming.
Representatives from both camps met this week on the urgent need to save the planet. The truce, headed by the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School and the National Association of Evangelicals, brought an “Urgent Call to Action,” a collaborative alert about the dangers of the unsustainable burning of fossil fuels and the extinction of species.
“Whether God created the Earth in a millisecond or whether it evolved over billions of years, the issue we agree on is that it needs to be cared for today,” said the Rev. Rich Cizik, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 45,000 churches.
Eric Chivian, director of the Harvard center, agreed. “Scientists and evangelicals have discovered that we share a deeply felt common concern and sense of urgency about threats to life on Earth and that we must speak with one voice to protect it,” he said.
A statement released on Wednesday (Jan. 17) states: “Important initiatives were already under way on both sides, and when compared they were found to be broadly overlapping.
“We clearly share a moral passion and sense of vocation to save the imperiled living world. … ”
The “Urgent Call to Action” declares the need of people and corporations to make dramatic lifestyle changes to reduce energy consumption. Members like David Gushee, professor at Union University in Tennessee, said: “I think it is fair to say that most of us were not just surprised but astonished by the depth of our shared moral commitment, despite the obvious theological differences that exist.”
If you don’t think this development is earth-shattering, consider the past. Battles over creation and whether it should be taught in public schools, stem cell research, abortion and other heath issues, and school prayer resulted in numerous lawsuits on the scale of the Scopes monkey trial. Brokering a deal just to talk was impossible … until now.
As Chivian admitted, “evangelicals perceived the scientists as sipping lattes and reading The New York Times, while scientists saw the evangelicals as thumping Bibles and driving Hummers.”
But the growing threat to Earth’s survival was the tipping point, and as the Bible might have predicted, the lambs and lions came together in peace in the field of survival. Or to paraphrase President John F. Kennedy: We all live on this small planet and we all have children.
Evangelicals and scientists argue that the threat to life on Earth is too great to let the religious/ideological rift prevent them from working together to combat greenhouse emissions.
Who are these men? Megachurch pastor Joel Hunter, who refused to take the leadership of Christian Coalition of America because it wouldn’t let him expand its agenda to include the environment and poverty. Harvard biologist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson. NASA scientist James E. Hansen.
Interesting to note: The White House blasted and sought to smear the esteemed Hansen after he delivered an impressive lecture in 2005, calling for urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming.
Someone needs to clue in Bush. Or maybe Condi can sit him down and read this joint statement, issued by Chivian on behalf of the group:
“There is no such thing as a Republican or Democrat, a liberal or conservative, a religious or secular environment. We all breathe the same air and drink the same water.”
Amen, brother.
(Stevie Lacy-Pendleton writes for the Staten Island Advance in Staten Island, N.Y.)
KRE/LF END LACY
