Archbishop Of Canterbury: God Has Given Humanity The ‘Terrible Freedom’ To Destroy The Gift Of His Creation
Archbishop Of Canterbury: God Has Given Humanity The ‘Terrible Freedom’ To Destroy The Gift Of His Creation
In a penetrating lecture Wednesday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, explained that “religious communities are ‘failing profoundly in what is expected of us‘ in energizing a response to climate change in society.” The Archbishop told his audience at York Minster that “we are near a tipping point” of global warming “and that the church, and other religious communities, are not doing their part to lead the world against it.” He fiercely defined an “unintelligent and ungodly relation with the environment“:
It is impatient: it seeks returns on labour that are prompt and low-cost, without consideration of long-term effects. It avoids or denies the basic truth that the environment as a material system is finite and cannot indefinitely regenerate itself in ways that will simply fulfil human needs or wants.
Warning there “is no guarantee that the world we live in will ‘tolerate’ us indefinitely if we prove ourselves unable to live within its constraints,” the Archbishop eviscerated the false claims of right-wing evangelical campaigns like We Get It, launched by James Dobson, Jim Inhofe, and other conservative climate deniers:
We Get It: “The science is not settled on global warming.”
The Archbishop: “I don’t intend to discuss in detail the rhetoric of those who deny the reality of climate change, except to say that rhetoric (as King Canute demonstrated) does not turn back rising waters. If you live in Bangladesh or Tuvalu, scepticism about global warming is precisely the opposite of reasonable: ‘negotiating’ this environment means recognising the fact of rising sea levels; and understanding what is happening necessarily involves recognising how rising temperatures affect sea levels.”
We Get It: “A recent Barna study of evangelicals found that only 33% consider global warming to be a major challenge.”
The Archbishop: “As is true in various ways throughout the whole created order, humanity and its material context are made so that they may find fulfilment in their relationship. Without each other they are not themselves. And the deliberate human refusal of this shared vocation with and within the material order of things is thus an act of rebellion against the creator.”
We Get It: “Efforts to cut greenhouse gases hurt the poor.”
The Archbishop: “The world is less than it might be so long as human beings are less than they might be, since the capacity of human beings to shape the material environment into a sign of justice and generosity is blocked by human selfishness. In the doomsday scenarios we are so often invited to contemplate, the ultimate tragedy is that a material world capable of being a manifestation in human hands of divine love is left to itself, as humanity is gradually choked, drowned or starved by its own stupidity.”
The Archbishop’s full lecture, with audio, is available here.
10 Responses to “Archbishop Of Canterbury: God Has Given Humanity The ‘Terrible Freedom’ To Destroy The Gift Of His Creation”
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This is great news – not that it’s an incredible change of heart on the Archbishop’s part or anything – just because if we are going to push efficiency, conservation, and renewable elements then information dissemination becomes key. It’s hard to imagine an information diffusion system better than church networks. Plus, there’s the added benefit that they can bring communities together for climate-related projects – like buying solar panels, local food production, or some of the soft-geo-engineering like painting blacktops and roofs white that Joseph Romm suggests.
Churches are going to be key when it comes to all the little details that can lead to a climate-stable, sustainable society.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:02 pmHumanity’s ability to disagree violently is well established. Scientific innovation enables that tendency to be lethal.
Ironically, the Archbishop’s church fractures in a split over difference.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:06 pmI look forward to pouring over his remarks. There are religious people who are with the Archbishop.
TPs pairings of We Get It and Williams is Fab-U work. Keep it up!
March 27th, 2009 at 1:10 amWhat the heck is a “conservative climate denier”? Hulllooooo, words have meanings; remember? Are you guys smokin’ that stuff again?
March 27th, 2009 at 8:37 amExcellent post Brad!
The Archbishop’s words are striking and clearly outline the responsible party as all of us. This could very well help tip the balance in favor of action.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:21 amHis comments make me proud to be an Episcopalian,
The notion you can work or Cheer on the destruction of creation to “hurry up the return of Jesus” and Jesus would like you to do that, is so totally wrong.
Matthew 7:15-23 A Tree and Its Fruit
15″Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21″Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Note: you should read entire books of the bible by yourself first. The false prophets stock and trade is to give you a line here and a line there, then change the context in which it was said. Reading the whole book of Mathew (my favorite) in one sitting will take you an hour or two; Doing so will arm you against the false prophets whether you are Christen or not.
March 27th, 2009 at 12:29 pmlibertyforever Says:
What the heck is a “conservative climate denier”? Hulllooooo, words have meanings; remember?
Would you be happier with “conservative climate change denier”? Do you really not know or are you being deliberately obtuse? Words do indeed have meanings and the meaning of those particular three words, when grouped together, ought to be plain to anyone with a modicum of intellect.
March 27th, 2009 at 12:36 pmThere really are people who are masters at titles that totally obscure their core: “We Get It” probably is more legitimately “We are Working Hard Not to Get It”.
The claim 1000s of preachers / ministers backing them, target a million signatures. Well, they might get that million, but a million people flocking together in ignorance doesn’t exactly demonstrate Wisdom of Crowds.
March 27th, 2009 at 4:13 pmJust because much of what someone says makes sense it doesn’t follow that everything they say makes sense. I agree with the majority of what the Archbishop was saying but I still believe he is coming at it in sheep’s clothing. See http://www.toxicdrums.com/god-wont-save-stupid-people.html for more on this angle
March 27th, 2009 at 5:20 pmWhile I applaud this man’s call for stepping up and taking responsibility for the mess we have created, I still find it hard to credit the opinion of a person who believes in magical beings.
March 28th, 2009 at 1:49 amWe need to accept reality and make logical choices for the future based on the best evidence at hand. An irrational belief in a supernatural sky daddy contributes nothing to the discussion.