Climate Change: the Biblical View

Who is Right: the IPCC or Climate Sceptics?

The general public perception is that the climate is not the same as it was a few generations ago. People percieve less snow or more snow, less rain or more rain, higher or lower temparatures, and generally more extreme weather. The media must have a significant role in creating such perception with its bias towards anthropogenic warming. On the other hand, scientifically, there is no doubt that the global climate has changed over the 20th century: the world warmed by 0.6-0.8 degrees C, sea level rose by about 7 inches and most glaciers receded. The big question is: "Who or what is responsible?" The intense debate between the IPCC warming view and the natural change view of climate sceptics has led to conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy Theories

Despite the high publicity, man-made CO2 is actually rather insignificant compared to other CO2 sources. Of the 186 billion tons of CO2 that enters into the atmosphere yearly only 3.2% is from human activity, the rest is from the oceans, volcanoes, and decaying plant matter. Figure 1 compares (on a qualitative basis) the current greenhouse effect (GHE) from all atmospheric phenomena, with that from CO2. Even if CO2 was doubled, the "Radiative effect of CO2" is still relatively small. When the effect of other atmospheric components is accounted for, the effect of CO2 is either amplified ("Hypothesis 1 IPCC") or moderated ("Hypothesis 2"). It is claimed in Robinson et al that "Experimental evidence favours the latter: while CO2 has increased substantially, its effect on temperature has been so slight that it has not been experimentally detected".

Given Fig.1, the poor correlation between temperature and CO2, and uncertainties in climate modelling, the alarmist reports from the IPCC appear questionable. And the fact that these reports are accepted by the UN, EU and national bureaucracies as the basis of long-term political and economic decisions has led many to cry 'conspiracy'. They claim that the flawed concept of anthropogenic warming is being used by climate change talks to raise taxes and to bring about one-world government. In other words, they claim there is an agenda behind all IPCC reports.

Biblical View

An end time world government is clearly found in Bible prophecy, and the concept of climate change with it's associated controlling laws and taxes would seem a good mechanism to help bring this about.

But does the Bible say anything about the world's climate, or even just the world's weather, at the end of this age (before Christ comes again)? In fact - it does! Few realise that severe weather events are prophesied in the Bible and are part of the 'end time' scenario. For example:

'... the storehouses of the snow ... reserved for the time of distress ...' (Job 38.22)

'... torrential rain ...' (Ezek 38.22)

'... the world fades and withers ...' (Isa 24.4)

'... the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left' (Isa 24.6)

'There will be ... dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves' (Lk 21.25)

'... all the green grass was burned up' (Rev 8.7)

'... huge hailstones, about one hundred and fifty pounds each, came down from heaven upon men ...' (Rev 16.21)

All these biblical quotations pertain to the very end of this age, as God judges the nations. They imply wild weather events, but not necessarily climate change. God uses rain, snow, hail, heat and drought. Taking a broad look at End Times, currently observed climate change may not even be part of the above 'weather judgements'.

Even if man is seriously affecting the climate (and that is debatable), we must remember that it is still God's weather and God is still in ultimate control. It is claimed that injection of particles into the atmosphere can mitigate global warming, but how arrogant of man to ignore God and still think he can control the climate! From this viewpoint, man cannot ultimately alter what the earth's Creator decrees.

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