This is a topic about which I have grappled for the past couple of years. Probably because I could not find a way to address it without making unfounded generalizations. In light of last night’s events in London, you probably think the title of today’s post and my past hesitancy in blogging about extreme acts in the name of religion refer to the increase in random violence perpetrated by or inspired by ISIS. That is not the case.
When I picked up this morning’s edition of the Washington Post (actually pulled it up on a computer screen), any personal intellectual contradictions about the role fringe religious elements play in modern day society were resolved by the following two headlines.
- 12 Suspects Arrested in London Attack That Killed 7
- Why Many White Evangelists in Trump’s Base Question Climate Change
I will leave the details of the latest assault on innocent British citizens and Comrade Trump’s self-serving response to the mainstream press. While I add my voice to so many others who offer solace to the victims’ families or friends, the number of people who suffer from these unjustifiable acts will pale in comparison to the multitudes who are at risk if nothing is done to address the effects of climate change.
Which brings me to Sarah Bailey’s enlightening analysis of why evangelicals who voted for Donald Trump seem to be at odds with most Catholics, mainstream Protestants, Jews, Muslims and Hindus when it comes to the threat of global warming. Bailey writes:
Half of white evangelicals say global warming is occurring, according to a 2015 survey from the Pew Research Center, but only a quarter of them say it is caused by humans. And just 24 percent say global warming is “a serious problem.”
For many conservative Christians, climate change taps into a deeper mistrust they have of science over issues like abortion and transgenderism.
To understand how much alt-right politicians, commentators and clergy are guilty of perverting the Gospel to an equal or greater extent than ISIS uses the Koran to justify its unholy crusade, consider the following.
Erick Erickson, conservative talk show host, tweeted in defense of withdrawing from the Paris accords, “I worship Jesus, not Mother Earth. He calls us all to be good stewards of the planet, but doesn’t mean I have to care about global warming.”
At a town hall meeting in Coldwater, Michigan, Republican congressman Tim Walberg said, “As a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”
An evangelical interview subject told Katherine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University, “God told Noah he would never flood the Earth.”
So much for the Republican mantra of “personal responsibility.” Erickson talks the talk of stewardship but sees no reason to walk the walk. Walberg probably throws refuse out of his car window knowing God will be there in an orange vest with a deluxe trash picker to clean up after him. And Hayhoe’s interviewee must have been in a Rip Van Winkle-like coma during Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.
So the next time a public official, journalist, cleric or citizen refers to “global terrorism” by ISIS or any of its predecessors or off-shoots, call it for what it is, “A bunch of malarkey.” Their brand of horror and trepidation is most often local. The true soldiers of “global terrorism” include fundamentalist Christian climate change deniers, as the impact of their actions will cause worldwide suffering, despair and death on a previously un-experienced scale.
Sunday Morning Postscript
News the Trump administration announced it is requesting Supreme Court review of the appeals court stay of its travel ban made me realize a comic who wanted to take down Donald Trump could have been more creative than Kathy Griffin. A better visual would have been a picture of Donald Trump holding the bloody head of a decapitated Statue of Liberty. How dare Lady Liberty defy authority by colluding with the enemy, “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
POSTSCRIPT UPDATE: My daughter knew this sounded familiar and found the following Der Spiegel magazine cover from April 4, 2017.
For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP
Evangelical climate change deniers are a danger and an embarrassment to people of faith everywhere. Very bad theology is making all of us reap what it has sown. Thanks as always for your commentary.
“God will be there in an orange vest with a deluxe trash picker.” Hilarious The shear numbers who will suffer in comparison, such a point well taken, and not so funny. Yes, DT holding the head of Lady Liberty! Another great post!
Once we turn in pragmatic, informed common sense for religious zealotry we are facing an apocalypse fueled by modern weapons. “God” spoke to those enlightened few who – in good faith and profound knowledge of the world before the Age of Enlightenment – understood that power must never be absolute, but based on a system of checks and balances. It’s now ours – to use or lose all. Jefferson’s Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom stands as the very reason behind the 1st Amendment’s dictate that Church and State must be separate – unfortunately now forgotten.
http://www.vahistorical.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history-explorer/thomas-jefferson
Thanks for sharing Mr. Jefferson’s “Virginia Statutes for Religious Freedom.” To understand how much he valued this as a contribution to American politics and culture, it is one of three achievements he requested be listed on his gravestone.
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
& Father of the University of Virginia
Unlike the current occupant of the oval office, Mr. Jefferson understood the difference between titles and accomplishments in the interest of the public good.