By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Society's global warming
Pastor's Corner
Placeholder Image
Last week in Washington, D.C., a group of environmental activists staged a protest. According to the group's Web site, it was the largest single act of civil disobedience in the name of global warming awareness in history. More than 2,000 people managed to clog the entrances to the Capitol Power Plant for about four hours. The irony? Their protest was blanketed by nearly half a foot of snow, compliments of an early March storm that covered the entire Northeastern United States. No one was arrested. Perhaps the D.C. police decided it was too cold to bother. As a result, the group didn't get the level of media attention it desired.
Throughout its history, the Earth has undergone global climate shifts. I am a creationist. I believe God created this Earth and it has, throughout history, operated by His design. The Bible clearly says man was told to fill the Earth and subdue it - that the Earth was subject to man. Still, the Earth is an unruly servant. Even something that seems weak and frail, such as a blade of grass, has the proven power to break through concrete and asphalt.
The global warming argument supposes the phenomenon began about 18,000 years ago, as the Earth began to warm its way out of the Pleistocene Ice Age. During this time, most of North America, Europe and Asia were under glacial ice and uninhabitable. The funny thing is, man wasn't in a position to have created this meltdown. All of the things allegedly responsible for global warming were not in place 18,000 years ago. The same arguments that support global warming are roughly the same arguments used to offer evidence of evolution. By their own logic, if we hadn't experienced global warming, man would not be here to begin with.
Earth's temperatures began to drop during the 1970s. The same pollution that now is blamed for global warming also was charged with blocking the sun and creating global cooling. The reality is that science has proven the Earth goes through warming and cooling cycles. We should not be surprised at this. The argument about man's ability to really control the world's climate is sort of like the flea determining where the dog should run.
Or is it? There is a problem with global warming in another aspect. It is a problem that receives too little attention. When it comes to society, the heat is on ... and getting hotter. We have powerful climate control devices in our society. They act as giant thermostats, determining what the temperature of man's thoughts and ideals should be.
The climate of morality is heating up. As a society, we are making adjustments to what is acceptable. We turn on our televisions and whether it's a movie, sitcom or news program, we see a very scripted depiction of life.
We are inundated with housewives who are desperate and bachelors who date 25 girls simultaneously. There are movies that suggest a 15-year-old girl having a baby is normal and can even bring happiness. Sitcoms, music and videos make viewers think it's OK to have intimate partnerships without the lifetime commitment of marriage.
There is moral global warming in our society. Actions that were inappropriate and still are damaging to a society are now protected under government law.
Romans 6:23 teaches the wages of sin is death. We have discovered in our society that we can cheat death. We have sinned and survived, leading many to the conclusion that the Bible is wrong or that our actions don't count as sins. This becomes the heated argument for many.
Death occurs in many ways. One, you die. But how about the death of trust? There is also the death of a dream.
With all of this talk about global warming and personal responsibility, we should also be more aware of the things in our society that have "warmed." If we will not embrace morality - if we will not impart its values to our children, then society itself will melt away.

Byler is the senior pastor of Bethesda Church in Hinesville.


Sign up for our e-newsletters