In answer to a question thrown at me more than once, and only occasionally with accompanying rotten fruit, “Yes, I do call myself a Christian”. The most recent inquisition came from a climate-change zealot after I questioned London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan to expand the ULEZ zone.
“Call yourself a Christian and you want ultra-high emissions?!”
And so it always is when a Christian takes a position different from the received opinion of climate alarmism, but as Christians we should think carefully before partnering too quickly with the environmental lobby.
Much of the climate debate is not motivated by Christian concern for stewardship, but rather by something strongly anti-Christian, ideological, hopeless and not grounded in truth. Predictions over decades have been wildly incorrect, from warnings about nations being wiped out by rising sea levels to humans having less than ten years to save the planet (more than 20 years ago). The polar bears are still with us.
In 2019, child star Greta Thunberg said in a speech to world leaders that “the eyes of all future generations are upon you and if you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you, we will not let you get away with this…”.
This is a profoundly un-Christian way of speaking. There is no forgiveness, there is no acknowledgement of the need for God’s grace to heal our brokenness, and there is no recognition of God’s sustaining providence over all creation. Some, like my zealous friend in London, even appeal to the Holy Father as a way of encouraging alignment with their cause, despite having shown no interest in papal teachings before.
What drives much of this ideology is something very different from Christian stewardship. It is an entire worldview, with its own theory of justice, human rights, immigration, humanity, democracy, and of good and evil.
Climate alarmism is one of the many disguises worn in the West by those who seek to destroy our Judaeo-Christian culture, and Catholics (especially young Catholics) can easily become sucked into an extremism that sees them striking from school, declaring that they will not have children and becoming vegan.
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