Newest False Claim: The ‘Climate Emergency’ Is A Result Of Our ‘Sinfulness’

Rev. Dr. Peter Walker, Principal of United Theological College at Charles Sturt University in Australia is getting some press exposure over his claim that wildfires and floods are direct results of “climate change.”

He claims emitting industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) is sinful, and therefore should be stopped.

See the excerpts from his magazine article in Insights Magazine July 21, 2021:

RESURRECTING SIN TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE

Recent infernos in California and floods in Germany remind us that climate change is a global drama that may end in utter tragedy for the whole creation if we do not act.

Just as when a finger bumps a spinning top from its perfect rhythm, and the rotating toy then teeters out-of-balance before finding a new equilibrium or collapsing, the Earth System has been bumped out of balance.

And not by accident, but by a willing, decision-making species. That’s us. Earth System Science tells us this planet is finely tuned, yet one species has been serving its own needs to such an extent that the cost to everything else has become intolerable. And it is showing.

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As strange as the language of Christian theology may seem in the public square today, the human-induced climate emergency, brought about by our selfish abuse of the planet, surely requires a resurrection of the language of sin.

There was speculation in early 2020 that Pope Francis might name humanity’s abuse of the Earth as sinful in his statement on the plight of the Amazon. He did not.

In Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon), Pope Francis did denounce the unrestrained industrial destruction, saying “The businesses, national or international, which harm the Amazon and fail to respect the right of the original peoples to the land and its boundaries, and to self-determination and prior consent, should be called for what they are: injustice and crime.”

That language of “injustice and crime” is powerful, yet it is not the most inherently powerful language available to Christian leaders.

The abuse of the Earth is a sin. The climate emergency has come about because of our sinfulness. It is a sign and may prove the most telling of all signs, of our universal gone-wrongness, and of the fact that humanity has turned in upon itself.

Calling people to prayer for the planet without naming the sin that makes those prayers and global action to save the planet essential is a profound moral and theological failure.

But what about the sin of denying food and clothing to the poor?

Matthew 25:34-36 tells us “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’”

What will the King say to those who, however, would, in the name of a made-up “climate emergency”, rip away today’s abundance of energy, food, clothing, and medicine that all originate from fossil fuels, such as petroleum and coal?

There are over 6,000 products made from oil, a partial list is available here. It lists such diverse and everyday things as toothpaste, toilet seats, antifreeze, shampoo, pillows, artificial limbs, and sunglasses.

I have no doubt Dr. Walker truly believes what he is saying. But seeking to tear down the central source of our age of abundance is a direct attack on the reliable supply of energy, food, clothing, and clean water to the poor.

How can you reconcile your attack on our age of abundance with the Gospel of Matthew?

Only cheap energy and an industrialized civilization can deliver the abundance we all too often take for granted, the abundance that has fed and clothed more poor people, and healed more sick people than anything mankind has ever previously attempted.

Read more at Climate Realism