Published in The Post-Star (D1)
8/14/06
Former Vice President Al Gore preached a message of fire and brimstone -- or at least, rising temperatures and melting ice caps -- in his recent documentary about global warming, but the people in America's pews have proved to be a tough audience.
One national group, calling itself "Inconvenient Christians," offered free tickets through the Internet to any "committed Christian" who promised to take another Christian to see the film, called "An Inconvenient Truth."
It was an effort to change a stubborn unwillingness by most mainline and evangelical churches to address what is largely seen as a liberal cause.
The effort wasn't especially effective on a local level, since the film only played in small theaters that did not accept Internet tickets, but many Christians around the nation accepted the offer and left positive comments about the film on the group's Web site.
Local pastors said global warming just isn't something they think about much.
"Global warming? That's generally not a hot topic in our church," said Rev. Steve Van Dixhorn, pastor of Pine Knolls Alliance Church in South Glens Falls. "I think that's true in most generally theologically conservative congregations."
He hadn't heard of "An Inconvenient Truth," but said he would be willing to watch it.
At the Queensbury Church of Christ, a "nondenominational, Bible-based" congregation of about 50 members, Rev. Logan Robertson said he doesn't focus much on global warming or other environmental issues.
"It's good to be mindful of those things that affect the atmosphere in which we live, but it's not a real concern, not first on the list," he said. "It's not as high a priority as relationship with God and one another."
If Gore's cinematic lecture is to be believed, however, global warming should be at the top of everyone's priority lists. Among other claims in the film, he states that within a matter of decades, global warming will contribute to more than 300,000 deaths annually, drive more than a million species to extinction, and obliterate many coastal communities.
But as Gore himself demonstrates, global warming has become a highly politicized issue. Perhaps that's why so many evangelical Christians are skeptical about it, said Van Dixhorn.
"They don't want to align themselves with people who worship creation instead of the Creator...people who believe there is no God, no distinction between a human and a tree, or a human and a whale," he said.
Rev. Rich Weihing of United Methodist Church in Queensbury agreed that global warming is so "politically charged" that it's easier for pastors to avoid the issue. But he also hopes to "start a conversation" within his church about what it means to respond to global warming and other environmental issues from a Christian perspective.
"We always respond to immediate disasters, like tsunamis -- who's going to argue with that?" he said. "Global warming is such a big thing, and in many ways it's technical, that it's hard to know what you can do."
At the Adirondack Friends Meeting, a Quaker congregation in Glens Falls, Rev. Regina Haag said her congregation is more open to discussing such issues because they see stewardship as a vital part of faith.
"All things are parts of God's creation -- the air and sky, rocks and minerals, animals and plants, the human race -- and so all natural resources given to us by God are to be held as a sacred trust," she said. "Global warming is...a warning that we do need to be attentive to all parts of creation in order to live and work together for good."
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