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Global Warming – Science Is Only Human

 Let’s rekindle this discussion, shall we? George Jonas’ recent piece in the National Post reminded me of a discussion we had here at The Ascent to Truth early in 2009. The question was “Do Christians believe in global warming?”.

Here are some highlights from Jonas:

“Global warming first surfaced as a scientific question, all but devoid of ideology. Today it’s an ideological position, all but devoid of science. What happened? Nothing, really: Science has revealed itself to be human.”

“Intellectual rigour may alleviate, but cannot alter, the fact that the objective findings of science are mediated through the subjective brains of scientists.”

“The starter’s gun went off. While Science was fiddling with its shoelaces, Ideology was halfway around the track.”

“Both sides had supporters among qualified scientists, although Greenies often questioned the bona fides of their Skeptic colleagues. Rabid Kyoto-propagandists coined the term “climate change denier” for skeptics to put doubts about global warming on the same footing as Holocaust denial. It was a stroke of genius and an admission of moral bankruptcy at the same time…”

Does Jonas come across like a grumpy old man? Yes, he does. Not because he wants to deny global warming, but because it has become “an ideological position, all but devoid of science.” Me too. The current conversation is hardly an exercise in seeking truth. Too many – both left and right – immediately jump on these hot topics (no pun intended) for their own gain, their own attempt to capture attention.

That is the bunk here. There is nothing wrong with embracing scientific truth; there is also nothing wrong with being skeptical of that which is based more on propaganda than science.

However, we have been sold on the idea that man-made global warming is an absolute fact. Haven’t we?

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3 Comments

  1. Dan Rempel says:

    “Do Christians believe in man-made global warming?” – Why does that matter? It’s foolish to pit hermeneutics against science. They are both tools to discover truth. They are both misused to support ideologies.

    Christians who argue from the Bible against man-made global warming are just conjuring up support for their own ideology at the expense of truth. [insert Bible study here]

    A generation of Christians had to die before truth of the round earth was widely accepted. (After all, the Bible was quite clear about the earth being flat.)

    Let’s admit the Bible is silent on the issue.
    Let’s admit we’re not qualified to analyze the physical data.
    Lets admit that at best, we hang onto our ideology and the propaganda that supports it OR we sway toward the propaganda to which we’re most exposed.

    That awareness will enable us to remain open to truth when it is revealed. Alternatively the truth may have to remain in the shadows until we are out of the way.

  2. Dan Rempel » To give you some context, this question was posed by a curious atheist friend. He asked me, but I figured I would let my readers answer for themselves (as you can see in the comments of the original post). He was looking for a ‘general statement’ and I wanted to illustrate that there is not a unified belief one way or the other. Again, I think the comments illustrate that.

    Yes, the bible is silent on the issue (well, there is that one mysterious part of Revelation)
    We’re not qualified to analyze the data… unfortunately, neither are most of the journalists who report on the issue, or Al Gore for that matter.

    It behooves us to be skeptical about most things, lest we ride the bandwagon off the cliff of shame.

  3. Dan Rempel says:

    Ahhh. Got it. Thanks for the insight.

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