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Global Warming for a Creationist

Schreiberbike

New Blood
Schreiberbike
Joined
Apr 13, 2004
Messages
11
It's clear that anyone who believes that the earth was created in the last 10,000 years doesn't put much value on science, so how could I persuade such a person to consider the validity of global warming?

A question inspired by a debate going on right now and by the worry that if so many in the USA believe in a young earth, (including legitimate presidential candidates and probably the incumbent) we don't have any hope to persuade them to care for the planet.

Ideas? Thanks,
 
I tend to think that most believers who reject the science of evolution and geology on the base of their beliefs does that only when it stands in the way of that beliefs. A good chain of arguments to make a believer care for the earth might then be to say:
1. According the bible god did actually put man to rule over nature.
2. He then gave us our intellect and knowledge so that we could take good care of his creation.
3. We are therefore obliged to use all our knowledge to do our job.
 
scratchy said:
A good chain of arguments to make a believer care for the earth might then be to say:
1. According the bible god did actually put man to rule over nature.
2. He then gave us our intellect and knowledge so that we could take good care of his creation.
3. We are therefore obliged to use all our knowledge to do our job.
Click to expand...
To which many of them will reply:
1. God gave us dominion over the earth and all of creation.
2. Therefore, we are supposed to use it for our gain as much as possible.
3. When it runs out, then Jesus will return and we'll all go up to heaven.
4. Anyone who says otherwise is obviously a hippy pagan Satanist.
 
I know of one person who believes in ID but not global warming - his argument is that God wouldn't give us an earth we could so easily mess up.
 
Schreiberbike said:
It's clear that anyone who believes that the earth was created in the last 10,000 years doesn't put much value on science, so how could I persuade such a person to consider the validity of global warming?

A question inspired by a debate going on right now and by the worry that if so many in the USA believe in a young earth, (including legitimate presidential candidates and probably the incumbent) we don't have any hope to persuade them to care for the planet.

Ideas? Thanks,
Click to expand...
Since the sky is falling on your little corner of the world, how about you buy a Kevlar umbrella? Not all Christians are conservative, and if you check the news for the past three months, there have been a number of Christian spokesmen who are (in the waste not want not theme, I think) voicing the position that good stewardship of the earth is a directive from God.

Look further than the loud YEC's who so disturb you, and find the other voices out there. Don't be distracted by the noise.

Or, buy the umbrella.

DR
 
Darth Rotor said:
Since the sky is falling on your little corner of the world, how about you buy a Kevlar umbrella? Not all Christians are conservative, and if you check the news for the past three months, there have been a number of Christian spokesmen who are (in the waste not want not theme, I think) voicing the position that good stewardship of the earth is a directive from God.

Look further than the loud YEC's who so disturb you, and find the other voices out there. Don't be distracted by the noise.

Or, buy the umbrella.

DR
Click to expand...

DR, I am trying to persuade a specific individual that they should consider the validity of the theory of global warming. The specific individual rejects the science which I present because climate science rejects biblical literalism.

It also reminded me that about half the people in the United States report that they believe in a young earth. I think they are going to understand any argument for global warming in a different light than I do. I am interested in the ideas and experiences of those here who might be able to help me.

Of course, if I misunderstand you and you disagree about the theory of global warming, that is a separate issue.
 
Maybe this isn't an "official" church argument...

But when I was a wee lad... well I was never wee... when I was a young lad my grandma disclosed how god created everything in just seven days.

"The days were lon-n-g-g-e-r-r back then," she explained. "God hadn't set the sun to spinning yet to make short days."

"I thought the earth spinning made the days, Gram?"

She also was an incredibly quick back-hander for a woman of her years.
 
Schreiberbike said:
It's clear that anyone who believes that the earth was created in the last 10,000 years doesn't put much value on science, so how could I persuade such a person to consider the validity of global warming?

A question inspired by a debate going on right now and by the worry that if so many in the USA believe in a young earth, (including legitimate presidential candidates and probably the incumbent) we don't have any hope to persuade them to care for the planet.

Ideas? Thanks,
Click to expand...

It got too hot down south of here. That why all them Mexicans coming here. First they just went to Texas but it got hot there too. Now they up as far as Winsconsin. Cause it got hotter, see. Global Warming.

See? Ain't that simple?
 
karener said:
I know of one person who believes in ID but not global warming - his argument is that God wouldn't give us an earth we could so easily mess up.
Click to expand...


This is oh so very depressing to read. Reminds me of Douglas Adams’ story about the evaporating puddle:
Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for.
 
Hawkeye said:
This is oh so very depressing to read. Reminds me of Douglas Adams’ story about the evaporating puddle:
Click to expand...

Sagan also warned against delay for strategy. He did this with regard to population growth, but economic demands fill the model, too.

Basically, he points out that even finding another planet to live on is not going to solve our problem in the long run, since we can outgrow its resources, too. It is much more appropriate to plan around the realistic assumption that we will have limited resources.

I like to point out that there is a difference between survival and thrival, too. The Donner Party planned badly. Sure, they survived. But better planning would have made for a more enjoyable winter.

By the same token, humans as a species will survive anything global warming throws at us. But that doesn't mean my children won't be eaten by the survivors of a catastrophe caused by my bad planning.
 
If you want to convince a Creationist that global warming is legit, you could always try to argue that since the world's population is 6 billion and growing, most of them aren't Christians, so more unsaved people are dying than ever before, therefore Hell is expanding. And since we all know that Hell is under the ground, eventually all that heat will rise and roast the living.
 
sphenisc said:
What aspects of climate science reject biblical literalism?
Click to expand...
In science, knowledge is based on the scientific method. Scientific method, through data collection and development of theories has lead to the conclusion that the Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old.

A biblical literalist would reject such a conclusion out of hand. In order to justify that rejection, they reject science itself. More specifically, for global warming, a literal reading of the Bible precludes any data about temperatures over the last 70,000 years.

I suspect that there is a relationship between the rejection of scientific knowledge and the fact that roughly half of Americans believe humans were created in their current form by God fairly recently. That disrespect for science worries me.
 
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