April 22nd is Earth Day, a major international holiday of conservation, appreciation of nature, and general treehuggery.
The first Earth Day in 1970 was a massive protest; Some 20 million Americans took to the streets that day to advocate for better environmental policies. 51 years later, and Earth Day has largely changed from a protest to a celebration of the planet we live on.
However, that doesn't mean environmental issues have disappeared entirely.
At their forefront is climate change – and as of late, it has been creating serious rifts in religious circles. Take the evangelical church, for example.
What Fire and Brimstone?
A 2015 Pew survey found that only 28% of evangelicals believe in manmade global warming, which is generally accepted as fact by leading scientists.
That may be because, for decades, evangelical leaders maligned the very idea that man could change the climate.
No religious leader made more noise in the fight against global warming than Jerry Falwell, who said it was a hoax on and off for decades.
In 2007, for example, Jerry Falwell delivered a sermon entitled “The Myth of Global Warming,” where he’s quoted as saying “I am raising a flag of opposition to this alarmism about global warming and urging all believers to refuse to be duped by these ‘earthism’ worshippers,” as well as assertions that global warming “is created to destroy America's free enterprise system and our economic stability.”
A New Leaf
Despite a cultural opposition to climate change acceptance, many evangelicals have come to believe in recent years that manmade climate change is real, and they’re on a mission to convert their fellow faithful before it's too late.
One such activist is atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe, co-founder of Science Moms and a prominent voice in the bridging of the gap between scientists and Christians.
“I care about climate change because I’m a Christian,” she says, arguing that she fights so hard for scientific literacy on climate change because “It affects my child’s future.”
But it hasn't been easy. For her troubles, Hayhoe says she’s been called every name in the book, from “jezebel” and “whore” to a “high-priestess of the anti-Christ."
Young Evangelicals for Climate Action is another group fighting for change. They view protecting the environment as simply doing what God calls upon them to do in the Bible: Be good stewards of creation.
There's one common experience these evangelical climate activists share: they’ve all faced nasty backlash from their fellow Christians for their views.
Biblical Skepticism
What's behind this toxicity? Part of it could be history – evangelical teachings and science don't always mesh cleanly.
Faith leaders have for decades ranted about scientists using evolutionary theory and carbon dating to poke holes in their preferred literalist interpretation of the Bible.
But there’s another potential reason, dubbed the “end-times apathy hypothesis” by assistant professor of religious studies at Texas A&M University, Robin Globus Veldman.
It boils down to evangelicals’ belief that Jesus is returning any day now to begin the rapture, so whether we dump a little extra trash in the ocean or pump more CO2 into the atmosphere doesn’t really matter much.
Others, however, simply believe that God simply wouldn’t let things get too bad.
In 2019, Robert Jeffress, a member of President Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board, had harsh words for prominent teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg. He said:
“Somebody needs to read poor Greta Genesis, Chapter 9 and tell her the next time she worries about global warming, just look at a rainbow. That's God's promise that the polar ice caps aren't going to melt and flood the world again.”
What do you make of all this? Could a new environmentally-conscious evangelicism be on the horizon, or will activists within the faith continue to face harassment?
73 comments
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Richard Lee Cornell
I like all the warmth in the winter that I can get. Hope to see more warm winters. Who wants snow and ice cold temperature can go to Vail for their winters. I do not live on the coastal land and since I'm 400 feet above sea level I'm not worry about the slow raise of the oceans. Earth adds a 100 million people to its population each year and have been doing it for decades. We as a species have destroy our garden of Eden. If it was not be getting warmer then it just as well be getting colder and I'm for one rather get warmer then enter a deep freeze ice age. One really has to worry about is the food crops that will not be grown because of the drought conditions in the US. This year it looks that the Midwest will suffer from the lack of rain. The place where corn is grown.
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Christian
Earth will burn. Our star, Sol, will expand and consume the inner planets. This is why we shall focus on building New Jarusalem, for the long journey to New Stars and New Planets. It is all outlined in Revelation. New Jarusalem is too big to build on Earth, so it must be constructed in high Earth orbit. The nearest new stars are less than 2,000 light years in the closest nebulas. It is a long trip by current technology, so humanity must also invent the FTL drive engine to escape the dying Sun and find our new home on a new world.
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Joanna Whitney
Climate change is the a eugenics agenda of the UN, IMF, world Economic forum and the federal reserve banksters to steal personal property from the people and create world socialism- the real environmental defilement is being done by the military of all nations not by people- we have the technology today- developed by Nicola Tesla to harness the earth’s energy and abandon petrochemicals - but that would put the Rockefeller’s and Rothschilds out of business- so they blame it on our cars and exhales -and we believe them- TURN OFF THE TV AND DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH
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Alexander Clarke
No!
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JaZe
Do we really need Jesus to arbitrate on this issue? And why would he? One peek at this world and he'll recoil in horror: "But they haven't changed in 2,000 years!! Where did I go wrong?"
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Jorge Kwek Soon Hang
We were chased out. This is not Eden, there is no magical protection. It has always been a chance to live up to the gift we stole and redeem ourselves from our prideful fall. The merciful Lord may cheer from the sidelines, and secretly shift luck and chance in His children's favor when He can. But He can not learn the lessons for us, He can not live this life for us, change our wasteful habits, our unreasonable expectations. Nor can He stop the precious materials we allow our factories to abuse, then pump the toxic waste into the sea. He can't free the wage slaves, destroy monocultured farmlands, and sink the ships dragging iron chains across the reefs. He can't tax tax-evaders, give bountiful harvests a fair price, force countries to sign trade contracts, forge diplomatic relations, and lift sanctions. We know who does. 1 person, 1 man-hour, 1 vote, 1 dollar.
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Rev Ned
To save the Earth, we need population control. No matter how environmentally conscious a person is, they still need food, clothing, a home, etc. There will surely be population control sometime in the future, if we decide to do it, it won’t be popular, if Mother Nature does it, it will not be pretty. That said, after we’re gone, like after the dinosaurs went, there will still be Cyanobacteria, tardigrades, cockroaches and, provided we don’t harvest them to extinction for medicinal purposes, horse shoe crabs. So the planet will continue to evolve.
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Mrknowitall
Here's a typical response form a moron who believes Global Warming is man made......You like all the rest of the genuinely mentally ill and neurologically divergent members of the far right seem to be unable to grasp the fundamental difference between weather and climate. Also you seem to be willfully ignorant about the vast amount of evidence that has supported the scientific theories.....
Sorry chief, you do not know the meaning of a scientific fact, look it up and understand it. Once you do you will see that Global Warming is an idea only, sorry.....
Bet you also wear a mask while your in the car driving alone.....
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I sold my last car in 1991, to a good friend who was a tattoo artist. He paid me a thousand in cash, and a thousand in tattoos. And I still think it was a good deal.
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Ilmenheru Terikson
DG is quoting me, and I hear you Carl. I sold my beloeved 1967 chevy impala this last year and used the money to help a life long friend pay for cancer treatment. He still died but I have no regret that it may have helped buy him a few more months of life.
I wonder what the last time our dear devout christian DG gave as much of themselves to help another person.
By the way Carl is it just me our does this Danny G sound a lot like another Danny G on these forums?
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Robert Wilson
Carl Carl, you are a good person I was so wrong about you.
God bless you Rev Robert wilson
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Richard Lee Cornell
Since the year 15,000 BC the planet has slowly being warmer. It has been in the last century that the warming has been jump started. Since China and India have put online one coal burning plant each week and will do so for years to come. The frost line is moving North. So is the mosquito that carries Malaria. The Africa Queen bee can wipe out whole species of plants by not pollinating them. The slow raise of the oceans makes selling house boats to those who live in low line ocean front properties a lot easier. If you think I'm nuts just look at Venice Italy.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
So, how much are you selling houseboats for, Richard? And will you accept low, monthly payments while I'm living on it?
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Michael S Cope
The world wobbles. The world spins. The world rotates. That is how GOD started it and thats how it is. Like all gyroscopes... eventually it will stop. Thats the way of things. Its all based on. 1+1. Live - die. 1+1. Thats all it will ever will be. For now, I would like to live in a clean house. Let's keep it clean... Please.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
If you'd remain seated when you've got a buzz Michael, the world wouldn't wobble at all.
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James Lynn Jones
It doesn't matter what al sharpton says. It doesn't matter what Katherine Hayhoe says. What matters is who is listening to them. Scientifically uneducated people are simply people. They will believe in whom they consider credible. Whether credibility really is in what is said would not matter as their minds would be made up. I am a scientist and what I say doesn't matter to a closed mind, someone who is already convinced otherwise. As stated-"Most scientists agree that man causes most harm to the atmosphere" is simply not true. Manmade atmospheric toxins cause no more harm than the earth itself. No one will ever change a scientifically uneducated mind once it is made up-as it is "uneducated".
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Mrknowitall
here's the only fact : America is the cleanest nation on earth. We can't do anything about china or wherever so go pipe it !!!
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Aron Mark Doherty
This is a list if the worlds biggest polluters per capita ( that means you Daniel)
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United States: 14.95t Canada: 14.91t South Korea: 11.5t Russia: 9.97t Japan: 9.04t Germany: 8.88t China: 6.57t U.K.: 5.65t Italy: 5.37t France: 4.38t
Inform yourself before you blame everyone else for the mess we are all in globally
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T Kosse`
I think what Daniel Ginther really meant to say is the USA is #1 also it funny that he said go pipe it as in "OIL PIPE IT" that are notorious for leaking and creating ecological disasters
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
It might be clean where you live Daniel, but I haven't seen a street sweeper truck in very many years, although I keep seeing people throw trash on the ground, dump chemicals and other dangerous substances in our water, et cetera, etc., etc.. I haven't been to every country in the world, and doubt that you have iether, so I can't imagine why you think this is the cleanest one. However, it sounded nice, and was nice of you to say, regardless of your deceit.
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Mrknowitall
China as an example pollutes the way we did in 1950. We as a nation are generations cleaner than any other industrialized nation in the world and it keeps getting better. Deceit, I think not, a comparative analysis is all the proof you or anyone else needs. We cannot be the Police of Pollution around the world, that is absurd and unrealistic, therefore Americans will not pay any sort of price or give up any more freedoms for the sake of what the rest of the world decides to do.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Daniel Ginther, "Fairy tales, can come true, they can happen to you, if you're young at heart (naive as a child)."
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I still wouldn't eat or drink off the ground here, even though it never seems to make dogs or cats (and some referbates) sick, Daniel Gunther.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I be never played a pipe or bagpipes,DG, but did take two years of piano lessons, played clarinet for a few years in school, sang base baritone for a few years with the Galveston Echuminical Choir, and sometimes smoke a pipe. However, I never smoke while ministering on this blog. I need to keep a clear head for that kind of stuff. However, I must say it often sounds like you've been piping it too long and too hard for too long. When they say to toke it up it doesnt mean for you to bogard it. And that goes to show that America is definitely not clean, you old pothead.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
America wouldn't be so full of drug rehabs, if it was nearly as clean as you claim, Ginther. And you, and others like you wouldn't smell so bad, iether. For chrissakes man, take a bath!!!
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Robert N Clarkson
So many today say "leading scientists" but nobody claims credentials, most are political science degreed, others are teachers specializing in general science, meteorologists, etc. but when narrowing it to archeologists, geologists, and climatologists over the years I have discovered that the matter is global climate change is not a black and white issue, rather it has become an emotional social economic basis for revolution and restructuring and opportunistic venture, preying upon the ignorance. Electric transportation for example requires lithium batteries, these are far more poisonous and damaging to the earth from mining refining and dispose of it than present day fossil fueled autos. A better change would be to go to an alcohol based fuel, but the demand would result in grain shortages worldwide too. I am old now, so I likely will be harshly flamed by others on this blog, but my life experience tells me something more than the current propaganda. When I was pre teen I went to the Boy Scout Summer Camp, Napi, in Glacier National Park. That was about 1961 or 2. We hiked up to Grinnell Glacier where the Park Ranger Guide showed us traced of the great Ice Age and taught us that by 1990 there would be no glaciers in the park, based upon the warming since they had been taking readings and keeping records. Well, that deadline has passed now by 60 years and, guess what? Grinnell Glacier and others are still here, only about 30% smaller. However the Park has had to update all of its information signage at least three times to accommodate their scientific errors. Another Observation is former VP Gore's dire predictions based upon his science advisors research predicting deadlines for glacier ice disasters that never happened. I live in a less populated area closer to nature than the majority of Americans, however I also have had to live inside the cities too over my lifetime. When we talk about greenhouse gasses, nobody seems to care about wood smoke, other than that emitted by industry. One modest size town in a state like North Dakota where residents heat with wood emits far more tons of particulate and greenhouse gasses than a coal fired electric generator with scrubbers! My lady friend was an air quality engineer, with the Mt DEQ and she verified this. Yet, the coal fired electric plant comes under scrutiny from government and is being taxed and penalized, yet the individual burning is considered "natural"? The problem is America is being conned by pseudo science and greedy opportunists and our population has been dumbed down through regimented education cherry picking facts and making people believe they know everything about the subject, when they only know what the system wants them to. Outside study and reading is discouraged by the use of extra work being punishment, people eager to learn and thirsty for knowledge being ridiculed and called nerds by peers, and sports and play being encouraged in all forms of education. We carry computers in our pockets far more powerful than those used to design the Atomic weapons and rockets to space, using them for this social nonsense and playing games without any clue as to their real potential and how to apply it.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I saw a really cool bumper sticker in the Azuregreen catalog which states"I love my country, but hate my government." However, there aren't any more large enough bodies of land available to start a new country, without killing it's inhabitants, and putting the survivors on reservations. And besides that I'm too old to ever want to get out of this armchair in front of my T.V., so it's best to read Jesse Ventura books talk about making changes, and grin and bear it.
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Thom
I found this little bit on Climate Change and just had to share -
What if Climate change is just a natural phenomenon that has been going on since the Earth first formed, and we can easily adapt to it just like humans have been adapting since caveman days, but it is being exaggerated and exploited by people with financial or emotions investments in it? What if this is all about money and power, and not common good?
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Amber Fry
The issue is more the rate we are affecting that change towards it becoming uninhabitable not just humans but for many other animals that need the same things humans do. I'd say it is all about money and power, sure but more towards keeping us on a fast track to that uninhabitable status. Common good would be for us to do what we can to cut back on pollution as much as we can.
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Thom
Amber, I agree. I want clean water and clean air. I don't want to see and taste the air I am breathing. The earth will clean up after we are gone, meaning, we will be gone before this planet.
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Richard Albert Heyse
Okay I'm sure the climate change issue concerns many evangelicals but they are afraid to speak out. Will the blinkered allow the concerned to actually question what they see as criticism of the Holy word? I doubt it. What we may see is breakaway branches establish, but those breakaways will still hold on to other stricter and discriminatory ideals Evangelicalism.
I've said it in other posts, some faiths are cruel and harsh and don't allow free thinking.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
What happened to those so-called Christian soldiers, with their supposed armor of God? Did they turn out to be party costumes?
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Rev. T.L. Hurd
Dear Friends: Our planet has been around for more than four billion years. Homo Sapiens have been around for a few cosmic seconds. What monumental hubris to assume we can destroy or save the planet in less than a nanosecond of our transitory time here.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I agree with you ,Thom. And, I live on and am from a little Island, right next to Texas, called Galveston. However, I got burned out talking about this years ago, to fools who opposed me. So, beyond saying this, I'm going to try to sit this one out...if I can.
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Thom
Several years ago I had a wonderful conversation with an old school Meteorologist. His work history was with groups such as NOAA and FAA. He worked on wind shear warnings for the FAA and help design the system to go into airports around the world. So, this guy was someone who knew what he was talking about.
He told me how in the 80's meteorologist started calling themselves Climatologist. The reason they did this was because they saw the money being thrown at the global warming fiasco. He told me how people had studied the earth for years and years and how 1 degree Celsius was a big deal in their mind and how this area of study was going to change the world. Not that it had not been studied for decades before but, now people were going crazy over it. We talked about how people are still going off on all of the theories of global warming and climate change.
I live in Texas and am very accustom to climate change. In the morning it can be 32 degrees and that afternoon, 80. It can be sunny and wonderful in the morning and cold and rainy in the evening. The climate is constantly changing and, this is normal. We are a warmer planet because we have more concrete and habited areas and we have more lakes which were not once there. The earth has changed over time so I guess climate change is a real thing.
We began to talk about how the world has changed over time with regards to carbon in the air, more and less trees over history, forest fires being out of control before lands were inhabited and so on. We talked about how the industrial revolution in the latter part of the 1800's caused so many cities to have massive amounts of smoke and just junk in the air. But, as we talked we brought up how the earth has taken care of itself. The air today is cleaner than we ever imagined, yes even with China and their pollutive ways. We talked about the predictions of so many "tree huggers" and how they said so much was going to be destroyed in the 2000's. How Al Gore and his bunch were telling us how glaciers were going to be gone. I now see a 16/17 year old girl telling us how we are destroying her future. No one mentioned how clean the air was when the lockdowns happened and people were not driving to work. It was amazing in how 3 days, their was crisp and clean and like new.
If the world has survived massive forest fires, an industrial revolution with no pollution regulations and, so much more, why would the world be ending? Oh, and again, every prediction of massive problems never happened.
So, is God going to protect the earth? Well, that is up to him and us. But, the earth will keep spinning and the sun will keep burning but, when it does go out, I am sure someone will blame humans for all their mistakes. But, it is good to know, other galaxies existence and maybe, just maybe, there are creatures on one of them.
To sum it all up, global warming is a load of crap. Climate change is something that always happens and I laugh when I hear the predictions of people in Hollywood and Washington.
Can't wait for the comments on this one.
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Ilmenheru Terikson
You like all the rest od the genuinely mentally ill and neurologically divergent members of the far right seem to be unable to grasp the fundamental difference between weather and climate. Also you seem to be willfully ignorant about the vast amount of evidence that has supported the scientific theories( hint what you think of as a theory when it comes to the theory of god etc is not an actual theory its called magical thinking and makes you more a animal than a human to think like that) But we all know that you are one who serves the Ancient Enemy of mankind.
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Mrknowitall
Duh.............
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Mrknowitall
Comment removed by user.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Everything is a thought in the mind of The All. If you don't believe me, ask Hermes Trismegistus.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Whoever does what, it's still God.
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Jeff McClain
In the book of Revelation, John writes, “The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them” (Rev. 9:16) We know there is no such number of armies that exist today, however as the population continues to grow so will the birthing pains that Jesus spoke of, our time here will surely run out, if you want to know what is going to happen to us read your bibles its all in there!!!!!
The Bible predicts that ecological catastrophes will increase as the end of human history approaches. Jesus said, “In various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Mt. 24:7-8). Likewise, Paul wrote, “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3). Labor pains begin as less painful and less frequent, and they intensify as the baby is ready to be born. This means that we can expect ecological catastrophes to worsen, as human history rushes to a close.
According to a recent Yale study, “Since 1970 there have been more than 9,800 natural disasters worldwide, killing more than 3.7 million people, affecting more than 5.8 billion people, and causing more than $1.7 trillion in estimated damages, and the numbers are steadily increasing. This study argues that there has been a fivefold increase in natural disasters since 1970. According to the International Disaster Database, natural disasters have been creating more and more costs in damages over the last 30 to 40 years.
No one knows the hour or the day that Jesus will return not even Jesus himself, but we have been given global signs in scripture to watch out for, Only the wise and faithfull will see these signs and prepare accordingly. Love God, the Son and the Holy Ghost and draw yourself close to them whenever you can, and be vigilant!!!!!
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Excuse me, while I barf on the book of Revelation, Jeff.
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JaZe
Why would Jesus come back? Isnt there something in the Bible about him living in each and everyone of us? And that if you persecute another being you persecute him too? How many times and for how long will he be persecuted?
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Jeff McClain
In the book of Revelation, John writes, “The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them” (Rev. 9:16) We know there is no such number of armies that exist today, however as the population continues to grow so will the birthing pains that Jesus spoke of, our time here will surely run out, if you want to know what is going to happen to us read your bibles its all in there!!!!!
The Bible predicts that ecological catastrophes will increase as the end of human history approaches. Jesus said, “In various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Mt. 24:7-8). Likewise, Paul wrote, “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3). Labor pains begin as less painful and less frequent, and they intensify as the baby is ready to be born. This means that we can expect ecological catastrophes to worsen, as human history rushes to a close.
According to a recent Yale study, “Since 1970 there have been more than 9,800 natural disasters worldwide, killing more than 3.7 million people, affecting more than 5.8 billion people, and causing more than $1.7 trillion in estimated damages, and the numbers are steadily increasing. This study argues that there has been a fivefold increase in natural disasters since 1970. According to the International Disaster Database, natural disasters have been creating more and more costs in damages over the last 30 to 40 years.
No one knows the hour or the day that Jesus will return not even Jesus himself, but we have been given global signs in scripture to watch out for, Only the wise and faithfull will see these signs and prepare accordingly. Love God, the Son and the Holy Ghost and draw yourself close to them whenever you can, and be vigilant!!!!!
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Ilmenheru Terikson
Sorry I killed your god a long time ago
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
The only problem with that Ilmenheru is there isn't a shortage of polyresin to make more gods.
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Herbert Moore
The earth is not at risk. We are, by generating huge amounts of green-house gases, headed towards making the earth's surface difficult to impossible for us to inhabit. We are putting ourselves at risk, and we are the only ones who can do something about it. Looking elsewhere for our salvation is essentially suffering deck chairs on the Titanic.
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Stephanie A Willey
The planet earth has survived multiple minor and major global extinction events in its several billion years and after each one new life with a different variety of species evolved. (Oh, I just said THAT word ... ) We are nearing another extinction event, there is no doubt, regardless of whether humans accept or deny it. Whether it will be a minor or major event remains to be seen and there will be animal species that evolve after that event to populate it. God is NOT going to step in and save us all from our sins of environmental negligence. On the contrary SHE is letting us metaphorically and literally hang ourselves. There's an old bible story about God destroying the earth and the modern day Noah's are definitely NOT the science and climate deniers, they are the ones trying really hard to protect what we have remaining of our Earth. All of you climate science deniers out there are going to end up just like the deniers way back in Noah's time, floating face down in the flood, metaphorically speaking.
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John Norris Campbell
"Climate science deniers" LOL...You speak as if this is all settled "science", which it is not. Remember the former Vice President of the United States Al GORE?? He told us all that the entire east coast was gonna be under water by 2012---'SCIENTISTS' told him this. Did he believe whole heartedly his little cabinet of scientists? No. Instead, after raising the alarm, he made BILLIONS off of snatching up east coast beach properties at a reduced rate....Same with that idiot OBAMA...The U.S.A. is #ONE in the world with a reduced carbon footprint. Fun Fact: The Sahara Desert was once a lush tropical rainforest around 12,000 years ago, with running rivers, wild life and human settlements all through out. Then those bastards the Neanderthals started driving their Esclades and Hummers and destroyed the climate...WTF EVER.
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Mrknowitall
You do not even know the definition of ' Science " if you did you would see that man made global warming is not scientific. Another thing, changing the name from global warming does not make it scientific either.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
That's why they're working on making Mars inhabitable. So that when we're through trashing this planet we'll move there, and start trashing that one. Face it, we're just trashy people, and love our filth. We can't get enough of it.
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Keith Dewayne Bailey
The earth will be destroyed by fire its reserved for such. 2peter 3:7. What do you do with a garden? You flood it first to purify it then burn it for me growth to get rid of under brush. That are choking out the root source.
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Lionheart
Wow Keith, you’ll be telling us next you believe everything you’ve read in that old book of yours! If you do, you will of course still believe in Slavery, and stoning people to death, but then again, wasn’t he the jealous angry god of the Old Testament, according to your beliefs, that approved it all?
🦁❤️
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I've always wondered how the god of destruction in the old testament turned into a much kinder, loving God, according to Jesus, in the New testament, as most christians now interpret it, without him becoming a different person, or atleast having a personality disorder. The only other thing I can think 9f is that he must be bi-polar. However, he couldn't be perfect if he had a mental illness. I wonder if their god also sucks on his thumb, while drooling profusely, and rocking back and forth, like a retard.
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Terry Lee Vaughn
Well Carl, the last word in your comment tells me everything I need to know about you. What are you doing on a religious thread anyway? TROLL!!!!
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T Kosse`
Sorry but someone who is merely expressing their thoughts does not make them a troll just because it upset you.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
You've told me everything I need to know that you aren't going to last long around here, Vaughn.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Little Terry, have you not reached the age to know that name calling is very immature and childish, as well as unbecoming of a minister.
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Terry Lee Vaughn
The last word in your comment tells me everything I need to know about you, carl. What are you doing on a religious thread anyway? TROLL!!!
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Some of our fellow ministers are so far off base that they aren't even worth acknowledging, or trying to explain to them how this blog doesn't have anything to do withth any particular religion.
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Mrknowitall
Fools that mock the Bible have never read it, yes it's a book for old fogies !....Your life is a blip in time, the only one you have to believe.
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Lionheart
Yes Daniel, the Bible is indeed the least read best seller. As for me, an ex High Priest that has ministered from the pulpit and I have read it, so I’d be interested in knowing what qualifies, in your eyes, as a fool.
It was in reading the Bible that lead me to realize it’s a book full of mythical tales, and handed down stories. I would in fact go so far as to say that most atheists became none-believers due to reading that book using logic and reason.
Perhaps, in reality, the fools are those that buy the book and don’t read it, because surely if they did, many would have left that religion long ago.
I now volunteer my time with RecoveringFromReligion.org to help those who have been traumatized by religion. My first two phone calls, as an Agent, were from girls contemplating suicide because of their indoctrination into religion. That’s how traumatic many are affected. I would actually postulate that the fools are those that read the book, stay in religion, and remain emotionally unwell for fear of the myth of eternal damnation.
To me, indoctrinating little children is mental cruelty.
🦁❤️
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John D. Partin
You may have read the Bible (we have to just take your word about that), but if you read it at all, you read it through worldly eyes and letting the human ideas, prejudices, and lies in it get in the way of your seeing and accepting God's love and truth in it, and expecting that gold mine there to be solid gold throughout and because it wasn't, as no mine is, you claim that "it isn't a mine or valuable at all". How about those who read the Bible and believe more that it is the Word of God by doing so because they don't foolishly expect it to be solid gold from cover to cover and know that it has human lies and ideas in it? Those who have left Christianity because of reading the Bible read it undiscerningly, superficially, and unthinkingly, as you have, instead of deeply in order to see and mine the truth in it. What about those who have been traumatized by atheism and feeling, because of it, that they were "nothing special" and "life is meaningless" and committed suicide on account of atheism's traumatizing them. As usual, you present a very one-sided picture of only trauma and problems caused by people's misunderstanding of Christianity, while not including the problems caused by people's acceptance of atheist teaching, and so present a very lopsided picture. Communists' and Nazis' and other atheists' problems that they have caused people are certainly evidence of the atheists' mythical and wrong "thinking". Why don't you practice balance in your thinking and statements and seeing the other side, and volunteer at the Freedom From Atheism Foundation online or in person? Or are you afraid that hearing their side of it might make sense to you and cause you to rethink your views or even convert to Christianity, as many atheists have done? Indoctrinating little children in atheism or in the Godless "thinking" of the Nation of Islam, to teach them hatred for and separation from white people, is certainly mental cruelty to them, just as godlessly teaching them white racism is!!
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John D. Partin
Those who leave Christianity because of reading the Bible read it superficially and not deeply, and let the human ideas and lies in it, which are overwhelming, keep the love and truth of God out of their view. No gold mine is solid gold all the way through, but is mostly rocks and dirt, and the gold has to be dug out of it. The mine isn't considered "worthless" or "only rocks and dirt" and dismissed because of that. The Bible is mostly human ideas and prejudices and lies, and the gold of God's truth and love has to be dug out of it, but isn't "worthless" because of that, either. Why don't you practice balance in your thinking and volunteer at the Freedom From Atheism Foundation online or in person, too, and hear the other side of it and our defense? Or are you too afraid that it would make sense to you or even convert you to Christianity? Why don't you fairly talk about all those who have committed suicide or become mentally ill through atheist indoctrination from Communists, Nazis, and other atheists, instead of only one-sidedly talking about some people, who approached religion and the Bible wrongly and had problems from that? What about those who have grown deeper in their faith in Christianity through reading the Bible correctly? You didn't mention them in your one-sided post. Indoctrination of children in atheism is mental cruelty to them!!
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I've never heard of fools mocking the bible, Ginther. It seems to me like it's the other way around. I dont mock the bible Daniel, but speak very highly of using it for rolling papers, to roll our almost legal joints. Before discovering that wonderful use of that comic book, when I was eighteen years old, I peed on mine, and threw it in the trash. If you want me to, I'll bless yours in the same way.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Senile old fogies, don't you mean, Daniel?
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Chris
We were given a beautiful gift, an environment we were supposed to live in harmony with. Instead, we've trashed it. As a parent, if I gave my kids a gift and they destroyed it I wasn't inclined to fix it back up again. Why would god heal the earth if we're just going to keep destroying it?
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John P Maher
MY SENTIMENTS EXACLY CHRIS, BRAVO !
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Maybe God is more loving and forgiving than you, Chris. This planet has been here a lot longer than mankind, and will no doubt be here for atleast millions of years more. The world will suffer and be restored many more times, by humans, and possibly other species that are yet to come. God or whatever you want to call it might not restore this planet within our lifetimes, but it will be restored. And there will be a time when everything that has ever happened in this world will not be known, remembered, or even imagined by any one or thing, as it has been before, countless times in this universe, this thought in the mind of the all. All else is transient, lasting forever, and all contained within this current moment,which is all there ever is.
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Mrknowitall
You have lost your mind. Read the bible and find it
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Daniel Ginther, that worthless bible was never meant to be taken seriously, but was supposed to be a comic book, written by paranoid schizophrenics, who were then called prophets. A better use for it is rolling papers, and also ass wipes.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Maybe God made us trashy people so he'd have something to clean up. As above, so below. Engaging in constructive activities raises our self-esteem. God is most likely the same way, on a much larger scale.
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Rev Mark D
One could as validly say that God gave man dominion over the earth. By what criterion does one justify one over the other?
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Actually this is not “news” it is gossip, pure, simple gossip. Something a child of 10 would write. It is like every other attempt the contributors write for U L C, not truthful, is not thoroughly researched and is loaded with all kinds of assumptions and innuendo, presented to make people become highly agitated and create divisiveness. Whoever the person responsible for screening the articles posted on the ULC web page is only interested in creating tension, agitate people, create divisiveness and similar situations.
My request to whomever selects the articles to be posted on the ULC site is to set your standards a lot higher. All you are accomplishing by allowing the same journalistic caliber as the major fake news companies with nothing but journalistic lying, assumptions, innuendo, gossip and all other such sophomoric rumormongering that is only intended to incite agitation and create divisiveness, anger and hatred. You are better than that, we all are!
I will not stoop to the childish level of those who write this material, those ULC individuals who support this or those of you who claim to be spiritual leaders that choose to become involved in the lying, the assumptions, the innuendo, gossip and all other such sophomoric rumormongering.