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The Green Bible
Resources from Baptist Center for Ethics

The Baptist Center for Ethics is pleased to begin warehousing information about the Green Bible. Stay tuned to this page as we add more information in the coming weeks and months!

NEW:
Click here to view the "Baptist Letter to United States Senate on Climate Change Legislation," sponsored by the Baptist Center for Ethics and signed by more than 140 Baptist pastors and officials.

Watch clips related to the environment, global warming and the Green Bible.

	Joe Phelps of Louisville's Highland Baptist Church and Aidsand Wright-Riggins, executive director of National Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA, discuss the launch of TheGreenBible.org and how Christians can connect their faith with care of creation.
	Robert Parham, executive editor of EthicsDaily.com in Nashville, introduces the Honorable Al Gore at the New Baptist Covenant gathering in Atlanta on January 31, 2008.
	Al Gore testifies to the House Energy & Science committees regarding global warming on March 21, 2007.

Read related articles at EthicsDaily.com:

Christian Right Leaders Push Back Against Concern for Global Warming (05-16-08): A group of conservative religious leaders and politicians on Thursday unveiled a new campaign aimed at getting 1 million supporters behind a so-called "biblical" view of the environment that downplays concerns about human-induced global warming.
How to Save the Planet Without Busting Your Budget (05-14-08): Instead of buying more products, consumers need to look at ways to use current resources more wisely. Happily, such choices are easier on the pocketbook as well as the planet.
Baptist Conscience Awakening About Creation Care, Baptist Leader Says (05-13-08): Baptists have throughout history largely lagged behind other Christians in theological and practical discussion concerning the environment, but there are signs the Baptist conscience is awakening to the issue of creation care, a European Baptist leader told a recent gathering of British Baptists.
LEEDing By Example (04-30-08): Curiously, churches have lagged far behind institutions of higher education and corporations in paying attention to environmental responsibility and sustainability in constructing buildings. In some conservative Christian circles, the recent obsession with creation(-ism) has led to a great deal of talk but very little walk in creation care. In some liberal circles, environmentalism has become a new creedalism, but with little or no impact on the design and construction of church facilities.
Baptist Leaders Urge Senate to Pass 'Strongest Possible' Bill on Climate Change (04-28-08): More than 140 Baptist leaders from 25 states and the District of Columbia endorsed a Baptist Center for Ethics letter sent today calling on the U.S. Senate to pass climate-change legislation.
Environmental Racism: Another Inconvenient Truth (04-28-08): There exists an inconvenient truth within the present environmental movement. The greatest levels of environmental derogation exist where people of color live.
Should Christians Be Concerned About Our Carbon Footprint? (04-25-08): Scientists are in wide agreement that global warming is real. Carbon dioxide and methane gases have increased in our atmosphere over the years and scientists believe these are mostly to blame for the warming phenomena which are causing more frequent extreme weather, disappearing glaciers and ice cover in both the Arctic and Antarctic Sea regions, and a rise in the ocean's temperatures. Even so, some prominent Christians don't believe the evidence and use their influence to slow the efforts of America to go green.
It Ain't Easy Being Green (04-24-08): In some Christian circles it's not easy being green. That's because as soon as you start talking about the climate crisis and global warming, which are the heavy environmental topics of the day, some Christians start thinking "vast left-wing conspiracy."
10 Ways You Can Be More Green (04-23-08): As we focus on how to be better stewards this Earth Day, I thought it might be helpful to share some practical ways to get started with your "Green" lifestyle.
BCE Launches 'The Green Bible' Web Page (04-22-08): TheGreenBible.org is now online. The site, from Baptist Center for Ethics and EthicsDaily.com, is a warehouse of information on the biblical mandate to care for the environment--and what people of faith can and should do.
Recycling Our Witness (04-22-08): I recently preached a sermon on environmental stewardship based on the familiar John 3:16 passage.
Link Between Global Warming and Poverty Focus of Earth Day Sunday (04-18-08): Each year the National Council of Churches' Eco-Justice Working Group focuses on a particular environmental theme and highlights a number of ways individuals and congregations can celebrate and protect God's creation. This year's emphasis is on the link between global warming and poverty
Churches Use 'An Inconvenient Truth' as Teaching Tool (04-16-08): There's a valuable teaching tool for pastors and religious educators willing to take a little political risk: Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," say two congregational leaders who have shown the film in Baptist churches.
Corporate America Goes Green, Will Pulpits Follow? (04-14-08): On the eve of Earth Day 2008, CEOs and politicians are all reaching for the championship green jacket. Will pulpits follow their leadership? Pro-environmental preaching among evangelicals, Southern Baptists and other conservative Protestants has been a minor note, if one at all.
Dobson Is Troubled by McCain's Opposition to Torture and Global Warming (04-07-08): How did Sen. John McCain's commitment to addressing global warming and advancing human rights become sources of opposition from Christian Right leader James Dobson?
Questions for Global-Warming Deniers (04-07-08): Robert Parham at EthicsDaily.com recently posted an article about Al Gore's interview on "60 Minutes" discussing the "toxic partnership" between religious fundamentalists, who deny global warming in an effort to protect a hyper-literal reading of the Bible, and free-market ideologues, who deny it to protect their financial interests.
Al Gore Launches Campaign to Engage Public on Global Warming (04-01-08): Former Vice President Al Gore is launching a bipartisan three-year campaign this week aimed at building grassroots support to address global warming. With a $300 million price tag, the Alliance for Climate Change's "We" campaign is one of the largest and most expensive public advocacy campaigns in history.
Gore Challenges Global Warming Deniers (03-31-08): Knowing the truth about the global warming deniers can help to set good church folk free to do the right thing--care for God's creation.
Australian Baptists Support Earth Hour 2008--Will Others Join In? (03-24-08): Australian Baptists announced last week that they support Earth Hour 2008, an initiative launched last year in Sydney that focuses on global warming and has spread across the globe, signing up individuals, corporations and cities to reduce their greenhouse emissions.
Climate Expert Challenges Southern Baptist Leader's Global Warming Claims (03-24-08): A leading scholar on global warming says a letter sent last week to all 100 United States senators urging defeat of a measure to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is factually wrong.
SBC Leader Claims Earth Not Getting Hotter But Colder (03-17-08): Southern Baptist Convention leader Richard Land apparently thought he had good reason for refusing to sign a recent statement by fellow Southern Baptists calling for action on global warming. He believes the Earth is getting colder.
Organizers Defend Environmental Statement (03-12-08): Organizers of the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative defended their statement released Monday urging Southern Baptists to take better care of the environment and fight climate change.
Headlines Mislead Public About SBC Shift on Global Warming (03-11-08): Untruth anywhere harms truth everywhere. Misleading headlines misdirect public opinion. False charges cover up flawed documents. No matter how noble the cause, wrongful means damage the desired goal.
Southern Baptist Leaders Release Environmental Statement (03-10-08): Nearly 50 Southern Baptists leaders are issuing a declaration today urging Southern Baptists to take care of the environment and fight climate change. The Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative released its environmental statement entitled "A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change," which cites Scriptures and the Baptist Faith & Message of 2000 to support its environmental message.
Letter to New Baptist Covenant's Next-Step Planners, Meeting Wednesday (03-10-08): Climate change's impact on church ministries and missions must be a top drawer issue for the North American Baptist leaders, who will meet at the Carter Center on Wednesday to discuss next steps for the New Baptist Covenant.
Timidity on Global Warming Comes from Lack of Special Revelation (03-07-08): Unless a 21st century Moses comes down from Stone Mountain with a new commandment about global warming, don't expect the majority of Southern Baptist clergy to tackle the issue of human-induced climate change. Scientific consensus simply isn't enough to trigger responsible moral action for those who demand the absolute certainty of divine revelation.
Baptists Must See Crisscrossing of Race, Poverty and the Environment (02-13-08): Prior to the highly successful Al Gore luncheon on earth stewardship, a perceptive Euro-American Baptist pastor shared his concern about whether African-American Baptists would really attend the luncheon. Embedded in his concern was the notion that the environment was really a "white" issue.
Gore Delivers Most Important Baptist Address in 30 Years (02-04-08): Former Vice President Al Gore delivered the most energetic, substantive and potentially transformative speech made by a Baptist to a Baptist audience in 30 years.
Gore Urges New Covenant Baptists to Take Up Mantle of Creation Care (02-01-08): Former Vice President Al Gore challenged 2,500 fellow Baptists at a Thursday luncheon with prophetic zeal to take up the mantle of reversing global warming.
Urgent Invitation to 'An Inconvenient Truth' Screening at New Baptist Covenant (01-25-08): Unpublicized is a jewel of an opportunity for Baptists concerned about the environment. If you want to know more about global warming and what you can do, then attend one of two special screenings of "An Inconvenient Truth" during the New Baptist Covenant gathering next week in Atlanta and interface with two Baptist ministers who have shown the documentary in their churches.
Attend Lunch with Nobel Laureate (01-04-08): Nobel Peace Laureate Al Gore will speak at a luncheon scheduled for Jan. 31, 2008, from noon to 2 p.m., in Atlanta, in the Thomas Murphy Ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Baptist of the Year: Al Gore (12-28-07): Al Gore is EthicsDaily.com's pick as Baptist of the Year for 2007. He has pressed for the global good with a compelling message about the danger of climate change and a clear call for moral responsibility, knitting together science and faith, reason and passion. He has refused to be distracted by the character-assassins, the fear-mongers, the science-deniers and the merchants of short-term gain. He has remained faithful to his mission of protecting the earth and its inhabitants.
Gore's Peace Prize Lecture Tethered to Moral Authority (12-11-07): Al Gore delivered this morning an intensely brilliant lecture bathed in prayer and tethered to his moral heritage as a Baptist. He quoted the Bible, valued truth-telling, uplifted responsibility for neighbor, confessed human sinfulness and placed moral authority at the tip of the needed plan for planetary redemption. He acknowledged that human beings have purpose, refused to make Providence responsible for human inaction and voiced respect for the global community's diverse, interdependent cultures. His address was profoundly Christian without being offensively so.
Jesus' Moral Manifesto in Luke 4 Includes Call for Earth Care (12-03-07): Pro-environmentalism is embedded in Jesus' moral manifesto found in Luke 4:18-19, a note long ignored among Baptists who consistently water down, spiritualize or privatize this text.
Southern Baptist Leader Attacks Gore, Says Christians Should Save Souls, Not the Earth (10-15-07): The environment is a second-tier concern for Christians--in part because the Bible teaches that the world is coming to an end, anyway--and the church's top priority is saving souls, according to a Southern Baptist Convention leader.
Gore Becomes Third Baptist to Win Nobel Peace Prize (10-12-07): Al Gore became the third Baptist to win the Nobel Peace Prize, joining Jimmy Carter in 2002 and Martin Luther King in 1964.
Gospel Jubilee (Luke 4:19): Bible Commentary for the New Baptist Covenant (08-17-07): It might seen odd to begin a commentary celebrating new Baptist beginnings with a quote from a Catholic. Yet Pope John Paul II said something quite remarkable in "Centessimus Annus," the papal encyclical he issued in 1991.
Gore Film on Environment Nominated for Two Oscars (01-24-07): Former Vice President Al Gore said he is "thrilled" that his documentary film on the perils of global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," was honored with two Oscar nominations.
Will Baptists Step Up to Take on Global Warming as Moral Issue in 2007? (01-08-07): Three days after Christmas the Bush administration backtracked on global warming when it proposed under a court-ordered deadline to place the polar bear on the threatened-species list due to the rapid loss of Arctic ice.
'An Inconvenient Truth' (07-19-06): Fifty-six minutes into “An Inconvenient Truth,” I was ready for the documentary to shift from the scientific evidence for global warming to a political and personal agenda for warding off global disaster.
Gore Speaks about Clergy, Politics (06-27-06): Evangelical clergy are breaking with the Bush-Cheney view on global warming, said Al Gore in response to a question on Friday from EthicsDaily.com.
Gore Stresses Moral Imperative on Global Warming in Interview (06-26-06): Scientific truth about global warming carries a moral imperative for action, former vice president and presidential candidate Al Gore said Friday in an interview with EthicsDaily.com.
Reading the Green Bible (06-16-06): The Bible is God's green book, staking out the divine imperative for earth care.
Many Christians Still Don’t ‘Get’ Environmentalism (03-15-04): I still haven’t forgotten a casual remark made by a Baptist pastor friend of mine about 10 years ago. He wanted to communicate to me how “environmental” issues can get out of hand, how “enviros” can go overboard.
Oceans: Vast But Not Invincible (02-19-04): Nearly all human beings live on land. This leads to a tendency to forget about the oceans. Out of sight, out of mind. But when we stand before them or float upon them they seem vast and limitless and invincible. We have sayings that highlight this feeling, such as “just a drop in the ocean.”
Computer Disposal Creates Dilemma (08-14-03): Have you ever thought about what is inside your computer screen? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s some pretty toxic stuff: lead, chromium, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, nickel, zinc and brominated flame retardants.
WWJDrive Tour Confirms That Message is Sound (07-31-03): My wife and I recently completed an 11-city, eight-state “What Would Jesus Drive?” tour of the Bible Belt that began at the First Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, and ended at Riverside Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
Couple Making ‘What Would Jesus Drive?’ Tour (06-09-03): Six months after launching a media campaign asking “What Would Jesus Drive?” the Evangelical Environmental Network is taking its message on a barn-storming tour of the South.
Second Gulf War Takes Toll on Creation (04-07-03): I’ve never been there. But as a spiritual descendent of Abraham, I find it disquieting that the land of his birth is the scene of this current war in Iraq, the Second Gulf War. Ur, Abram’s hometown, was located close to the Euphrates River, and not too far from the Persian Gulf. Marines and British soldiers are engaging Saddam’s fedayeen there now.
Embrace Hydrogen and Reduce Oil Dependence—Now (02-10-03): What’s the big deal about hydrogen? It has the highest energy content per unit of weight of any known fuel. When powering a fuel cell, its only waste is pure water.
“What Would Jesus Drive?” (10-14-02): While growing up I never thought of driving as a moral issue. It was not until I was in graduate school and began learning about the harm pollution from cars and trucks causes that I began to reflect upon it.
Evangelicals Address Global Warming at Oxford Conference (08-05-02): Evangelical Christians from the United States and Great Britain and many of the world’s leading climate experts recently gathered at Oxford University’s St. Anne’s College for a three-day conference on global warming.
Practicing the Three Rs (07-01-02): When people ask me what simple things they can do as individuals and as families to care for God’s creation, something I suggest is that they practice the Three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle.
Indoor Air Pollution Is Unknown Threat (06-03-02): Indoor air pollution poses a problem, and it’s one that has been around for a while.
Creation Sunday: Celebrating Christ’s Reconciliation of All Creation (04-08-02): Does “environmentalism” have any place in a Christian worship service or in Sunday School? Some say no, others yes. This question is really a red herring from a biblical perspective.
Creation-Care: Three Women Pioneers (03-12-02): Women’s History Month is a fine time to highlight three women who impacted creation-care in the United States.

Sat, May 17, 2008