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The National Association of Evangelicals unveiled a sweeping report Monday, Aug. 29, on global climate change, laying out what its authors call the ābiblical basisā for environmental activism to help spur fellow evangelicals to address the planetary environmental crisis. The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a of the NAE.
āCreation, although groaning under the fall, is still intended to bless us. However, for too many in this world, the beach isnāt about sunscreen and bodysurfing but is a daily reminder of rising tides and failed fishing,ā reads the introduction of the , written by association president Walter Kim.
āInstead of a gulp of fresh air from a lush forest, too many children take a deep breath only to gasp with the toxic air that has irritated their lungs.ā
But the authors admit persuading evangelicals is no small task, considering the religious group has historically been one of the demographics most resistant to action on the issue.
The nearly 50-page report, titled āLoving the Least of These: Addressing a Changing Environment,ā opens with a section that insists protecting the environment is a biblical mandate.
āThe Bible does not tell us anything directly about how to evaluate scientific reports or how to respond to a changing environment, but it does give several helpful principles: Care for creation, love our neighbors and witness to the world,ā the report reads.
The authors go on to cite passages such as Genesis 2:15 (āGod then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for itā), Matthew 22:39 (āLove your neighbor as yourselfā) and Deuteronomy 15:10 (āGive generously to them and do so without a grudging heartā).
āWe worship God by caring for creation,ā the report reads.
Another section outlines the basic science behind climate change, but the report, produced in partnership with the NAEās humanitarian arm World Relief, returns often to the real-world impacts of climate change, such as how air pollution created by fossil fuels can have negative outcomes for childrenās health or disproportionately affect the poor.
Kim suggested the emphasis on lived experiences, which are often tied to churches or evangelical organizations, is by design.
āOne of the things that youāll see in this document is not simply scientific information, though that is there, or biblical argumentation, although that is there, but you also hear stories of actual impact on communities,ā he told Religion News Service in an interview.
Real-world examples help readers āunderstand the human dimension of the impact of climate change,ā he explained.
āI think people of faith responded very deeply, because weāre wired to follow in the footsteps of Jesus of loving God and loving our neighbor.ā
Dorothy Boorse, a biology professor at Gordon College and the chief author of the report, agreed.
āOne of the things that can be true for evangelicals is they have a very deep desire to care for others, and they often have a deep spirit of hospitality,ā she said.
Appealing to concerns about health and care for children, Boorse said, can āspark an imaginationā in evangelicals to recognize that climate change is ānot different from other problems in the world that we feel committed to care about, such as education, food availability or disaster relief.ā
The focus on persuasion may be the result of necessity. The NAE has spoken out on environmental issues before (the new report functions as an update of a similar document published in 2011), but while Protestant Christian groups and have repeatedly signaled the urgency of addressing climate change, many prominent evangelical leaders have suggested the opposite: Last year, Franklin Graham, president of international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse as well as his late fatherās Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, dismissed climate change as ānothing newā in and compared it to biblical instances of extreme weatherāsuch as the flood in Genesis or the years of famine and drought in Egyptāthat are depicted as acts of God.
The result has often been a religious community disinterested or distrustful of determining the source of the issue, much less acting to prevent it. In a Pew Research survey , white evangelicals were the religious group least likely to agree that human activity contributes to climate change, with only 54% saying humanity contributed a great deal or some to the trend. By comparison, 72% of white nonevangelicals, 73% of white Catholics, 81% of Black Protestants and 86% of Hispanic Catholics said so.
But as Boorse points out in the NAE report, there has been some movement since the associationās 2011 report was published, particularly among young evangelicals: A year after that document was unveiled, was founded.
āOne huge pattern that I observed is that young evangelicals are very concerned about the environment,ā Boorse, who sits on YECAās advisory board, told Religion News Service. āThereās an entrenchment of certain ways of thinking that just takes a long time to change.ā
Activists say the change canāt come soon enough. In addition to ongoing droughts in various parts of the world, the NAE report was unveiled the same day as that, given the current pace of climate change, 3.3% of the Greenland ice sheetāaround 110 trillion tons of iceāis expected to melt into the sea, raising global sea levels nearly a foot between now and 2100.
Asked if she was hopeful the report and similar efforts could urge evangelicals to muster their resources and help prevent further environmental calamities, Boorse acknowledged she is often frustrated by fellow faithful who promote baseless conspiracy theories about climate change or express open hostility to science in general.
āThat has been very challenging for me in my professional life,ā she said. āBut I feel God has privileged me with the task of speaking to a group of people that I know and love, and trying, consistently, to talk about this as a real phenomenonāand it needs our attention.ā
For Boorse, the necessity of the work and the tenets of her faith sustain her for the fight ahead.
āIāve decided to be hopeful,ā she said. āI think everybody has to, or youād never get anything done.ā
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