Southern Baptist leaders shift position on climate change

CNN ^ | March 10, 2008

[bd476]

(CNN) Several prominent leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention said Monday that Baptists have a moral responsibility to combat climate change -- a major shift within a denomination that just last year cast doubt on human responsibility for global warming.

Forty-six influential members of the Southern Baptist Convention, including three of its last four presidents, criticized their denomination in a statement Monday for being "too timid" in confronting global warming.

"Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed," the statement says. "We can do better."

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, adopted a resolution last year urging Baptists to "proceed cautiously in the human-induced global warming debate in light of conflicting scientific research." The resolution said "many scientists reject the idea of catastrophic human-induced global warming."

On Monday, however, dozens of Southern Baptist leaders expressed a different view.

"There is general agreement among those engaged with this issue in the scientific community," their statement says. "A minority of sincere and respected scientists offer alternate causes for global climate change other than deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels."

The signatories pledged to do their part to fight global warming "without any further lingering over the basic reality of the problem or our responsibility to address it. Humans must be proactive and take responsibility for our contributions to climate change--big and small."

The signatories include Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention since 2006; James Merritt, president of the convention from 2000 to 2002 and Jack Graham, president of the convention from 2002 to 2004. The group posted the statement on its Web site...

[jtal]

What a disappointment. I thought if there were one Protestant group that would not fall for this nonsense it would be the Southern Baptists.

[buffyt]

We had four degrees cooler than normal here this weekend. No glowbull warming here. No climate change. It will probably be four degrees warmer today and wipe out the low temps of yesterday. It all averages out. Moved here in 1973 and the climate is the SAME as it was in 1973 here. No change.

Plus what caused the temperature change 10K years ago and the end of the ice age after that....

[Thermalseeker]

Me? ... I'm still wondering what psychosis I have that won't let me acknowledge white guilt.

Good point. I can't seem to find my white guilt, either......

[bd476]

tal wrote: "What a disappointment. I thought if there were one Protestant group that would not fall for this nonsense it would be the Southern Baptists."

Agree and that's a very good point.

However, we are all human with susceptibilities. One person or several marketed this garbage specifically with them in mind. They addressed the issues that the Southern Baptists wanted to hear. It was nothing but a very clever, well thought out sales pitch.

[wolfcreek]

They need to stay out of the discussion. This is where the Church/State invisable line is drawn.

[bd476]

I hear ya Buffyt.

Columbus, Ohio was blasted with 20 inches of snow on Saturday alone. The last time that happened was one hundred years ago. It snowed in parts of Texas last week.

buffyt wrote: "...It all averages out. Moved here in 1973 and the climate is the SAME as it was in 1973 here. No change.

Plus what caused the temperature change 10K years ago and the end of the ice age after that...."

Bingo.

[bd476]

Wolfcreek wrote: "They need to stay out of the discussion. This is where the Church/State invisible line is drawn."

Pssst, Wolfcreek, it's too late for that. Besides, there's an election going on.

This isn't just about global warming and the environment, it's about selling a particular political belief system, and eventually that political system's candidates.

However, the Southern Baptists don't seem to be aware of that, so please pass the word.

[Enosh]

"Buying into God’s word is ridiculous?"

See 1 Timothy 2:8. How does it start?

"I want..."

See 1 Timothy 4:1. How does it start?

"The Spirit clearly says..."

Notice a difference? (The SBC doesn't.)

[bd476]

aruanan wrote: "Late to the party as always. They need to stop aping the world."

Good point, aruanan. What next? One world, one government, one Church?

[listenhillary]

Stop heating and cooling your church? It’s for the children.

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

While I am a believer in the power of prayer, I'll have to say no thank you to one of those fluorescent light bulbs. I do not want fluorescent lighting in my home.

Amen, my friend. Just ordered one of these from World Net Daily:

[chatham]

Will they PRAY that the Sun goes out when it gets too hot in the summer???

[Walmartian]

This is a bunch of bullcrap from cnn. The article sites a web site that makes it look as though it's quoting from www.sbc.net when in fact it's these "leaders" web site.

Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative

Southern Baptist have no position on global warming or climate change for that matter.

Official Southern Baptist Position Statements

[bd476]

listenhillary wrote: "Stop heating and cooling your church? It’s for the children."

It's just my opinion, but I think that it only begins with reducing energy spent heating and cooling churches and it will take off from there.

This wasn't about convincing the Southern Baptists that they needed to conserve energy, or even that they should take steps to reduce carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

This campaign was a successful campaign directed at changing their beliefs from healthy scepticism to their full on acceptance and belief in nonsensical unproven theories, which theories are joined at the hip to leftist political intentions.

[listenhillary]

Love your nick. Thanks for the rest of the story.

[listenhillary]

This campaign was a successful campaign directed at changing their beliefs from healthy scepticism to their full on acceptance and belief in nonsensical unproven theories, which theories are joined at the hip to leftist political intentions.

The left says "You gotta have faith and BELIEVE!" in the IPCC reports.

"Who you going to believe? Your lying eyes? or Al Gore?"

[driftdiver]

“This is a bunch of bullcrap from cnn.”

gee, thats surprising.

I’m glad someone took the time to verify this. thank you

[Walmartian]

However, the Southern Baptists don't seem to be aware of that, so please pass the word.

Are you refering to all Southern Baptists or these Southern Baptists?

[Just another Joe]

Their collective minds are made up.

Uh, you've heard the term, "herding cats"?
Well, that's about what it's like getting a collective mind out of a bunch of Baptists.
Why do you think Baptist churches always have so many Bible study classes?

I know, I am one.

[bd476]

Walmartian wrote: "This is a bunch of bullcrap from cnn. The article sites a web site that makes it look as though it's quoting from www.sbc.net when in fact it's these "leaders" web site. Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative Southern Baptist have no position on global warming or climate change for that matter."

Blogger posted in this thread that he had noticed:

"...There are some good guys on that list. Also some very notable absences. Glad the absences abstained from getting involved in the propaganda."

Walmartian, from your first link, I found the following signatories listed:

• Frank Page, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, 2006-Present (Taylors, SC),
  
  
• James Merritt, Pastor of Cross Pointe Church and former SBC President, 2000-2002 (Duluth, GA), and
  
  
• Jack Graham, Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church and former SBC President, 2002-2004 (Plano, TX)

That link listing them above matched their listing in the CNN article:

• Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention since 2006;
  
  
• James Merritt, president of the convention from 2000 to 2002, and
  
  
• Jack Graham, president of the convention from 2002 to 2004.

Question 1: Walmartian and Blogger, are Frank Page, James Merritt and Jack Graham current and/or ex-leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention?

Question 2: Walmartian and Blogger, are the Signatories listed on the site Southern Baptist Environment & Climate Initiative leading members of the Southern Baptist Convention?

Question 3: Are the listed Signatories current Southern Baptist Convention leaders?

Question 4: Blogger, can you support and/or clarify what Walmartian has said above?

Thanks to both of you in advance.