The Christian culture has been slow to adopt the conclusions of the scientific community regarding climate change. This dynamic has been fodder for those who seek to make hay from the "science vs. religion" narrative that is currently a part of our society. I'm not qualified to assess the validity of the scientific conclusions, so I am not trying to argue for or against the legitimacy of the claims for man-made climate change. What I would like to address is what I see as the response to these claims from those who would consider themselves to be followers of Christ.
It appears as if the issue that has really caused the evangelical community to flatly reject the scientific community is that evangelicals don't trust the ultimate motive of the scientists. Many in the Christian community are skeptical that the claims regarding climate change are based on the premise that mankind is ultimately an accidental product of the earth and that we should treat the earth as our mother, and that we are no better or worse than any other creature on it. A Christian would rightly reject this premise, but is that a good reason to throw out all of the claims that may arise from it?
The Christian view of the environment is that it has been created by a personal God, who placed mankind on this earth to "tend the garden" as a steward. We are not one with the earth, but we have a duty to be a responsible caretaker of what we have been given. Is it possible that God could use others to help us see ways in which we can better care for His creation?
The tendency to reject, outright, any idea or issue simply because of the faulty theology of others seems to close us off to the potential that God can use any number of ways to help guide and move His church into a greater level of obedience and service. The scriptures and the Holy Spirit are the guides that have been given to us, and so we should take each and every idea and thought captive and subject it to the will of God and the bounds of Scripture. Is it possible that God could be using the climate change community to help move the church toward a greater emphasis on responsible stewardship? Maybe, and maybe we are called to reach back to the climate change community to help remind them that they are more than an accidental result of nature, and that they are more than a product of chemical reactions, and that there is a God who is personally interested in them, instead of just being on the same naturalistic level as an impersonal nature.
Let's not let the motives of those around us drive our interpretation of Scripture. Let's always remember our biblically mandated response to speak the truth of the Gospel in love.
