Christians and Climate Change - Hope and Responsibility

Emerging picture of what God is concerned with:
• 1960s: with individuals
• 1980s with the poor, with justice
• 2000s with the rest of creation
• Initially each is an extension of the earlier one, but later we realise God is concerned with it directly as well.

• Romans 8: creation is groaning
• Climate change is one of the groanings.

3. Facts about Climate Change

• A few facts [some of these not shown in the event]
  • Temp rise
  • CO2 rise
  • What likely to happen. 2 deg C
  • Things just starting.
  • CCEs 1980s, 1990s impact to 2040. Our CCEs now make things worse, and impact to 2080.
• If in 1997 we had acted we could have levelled off before reducing.
• But since we did not, we must start reduction immediately.

4. What prevents us taking action

• Three major reasons why so little action is taken.
  • idolatry, e.g. airline industry and the 'sacred cow' of air travel
  • self-interest, e.g. governments all wanting to protect their own interests, and unwilling to act before others do.
  • unbelief, refusal to believe. Climate skeptics - most of their writing is full of sneer and smear, and it feels as if they would not believe even if major evidence were presented.
• This is a spiritual problem, not just economic, political, scientific, etc.
• Luke 16:31 "If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death."
• Despair? No: hope because ...

5. God's story.

6. Silent prayer

• Response box: thoughts, comments, questions, suggestions, prayer
• Invitation to come to next event. Future: As a church shift our focus as a result of this week and start looking at God's world in a new way and start working for the good of God's world in a way we haven't collectively done before.

7. Our Responsibility

• Since God's plan is completeness in Christ, he is concerned about the future.
• What we do now affects the future. Esp. the climate in 2050
• Responsibility for the future.
• Law, responsibility and power.
• Seculars ignore God so cannot see the whole picture; no hope, despair and denial.
• God's people understand the whole picture. Hope. They *are* the hope.
• God want's his people - those who have been saved by Christ and have the Holy Spirit - to take the lead.
  • UK has committed to 80% reduction in climate change emissions by 2050. To be applauded.
  • But how will we reach that?
  • Example: Those who currently drive 15000 miles per year in car, must reduce this to 3000 miles a year, all other things being equal.
  • We must seriously think: how will I achieve this?
• CC won't be solved unless God's people take the lead.
• Tear Fund 'Act Fast' cards to fill in.
• Changing our lifestyles while the world is still structured to encourage consumerism, will not be easy and there will be many inconveniences - but also great joy and meaningfulness.

8. Challenge:

• Jesus said Lk 9:24

  "For whoever wants to save his life [all the pleasures and conveniences in it] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

• What are we going to do?

Andrew Basden.