Re: [asa] Live - Gore on Climate Change

On Mar 25, 2007, at 10:08 PM, Merv wrote:

> Try to chase Janice away if you want -- but then also consider this.
> Our Sunday school discussion this morning was over global warming
> -- in fact, our discussion leader had a publication which was
> probably authored by you, George (how many George Murphys are
> writing on this?) although unfortunately we didn't actually delve
> into that. What we actually ended up discussing was the
> partisanship and division over this and why do some Christians
> (obviously none of us sitting there) are so adamant in their
> opposition.
>

I'll take a bite. Why do Christians are so adamant in their
opposition? I'll use people I personally know rather than on-line
ones because this media distorts so badly. Nevertheless, I know many
Christians who oppose it but they are not nearly as strident as you
find on-line or on talk radio. These individuals -- the ideologues
you cannot reach anyway -- hold their positions because:

1. They believe that they are true. I have found no evidence that the
people in the pew who hold to this are being cravenly cynical.

2. The believe it to be true because sources they trust say so. Many
of these people are so battered by opposition in the world that they
will trust most anyone who at least appears to be on their side. Add
to this a large amount of the evangelical community -- no longer a
majority but still significant -- who make a connection between this
and godlessness.

3. Lastly, and this is where the connection with the warfare model in
YEC comes is there is a general distrust of science. We can study the
reports and see if they are true but the average lay person doesn't
have the "chops" to do this. This is not an indictment as such as
this ability is not necessary for many if not most walks of life.
They need people that they can trust to help here. Unfortunately, the
warfare model cuts them off from people like us that can help. I am
not so naive to think that given the current poisonous atmosphere
that this will easily happen. I do have a more limited goal, though,
and that is try to warn my friends of untrustworthy sources of info
and the earmarks of bad science. They may not in the end listen to me
but if I can introduce a seed of skepticism with respect to the
charlatans so that their individual research might more easily
comport with the truth. Climate change is the battle but the truth is
the war. Even if I don't convince my friends about climate change I
may make it so that they can more easily discern the truth when the
next scientific controversy inevitably happens.

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Received on Sun Mar 25 23:45:49 2007