American evangelical takes climate change crusade to Canberra
Climate change is not an issue normally associated with evangelical Christians but a visiting American religious leader has taken up the mantle of climate change crusader.
Environmental and Christian groups have combined to host the Rev Richard Cizek from the National Association of Evangelicals, who is in Australia this week to lobby the Federal Government on climate change.
He is expected to meet Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today and will meet the Opposition’s environment spokesman Greg Hunt.
His fight has not been without controversy. It’s earned him the wrath of more conservative Christians in the United States.
“We believe climate change is real we believe that it’s human-induced and we regard the poor to be the principal victims of our responsibility,” he said.
The Rev Cizek says climate change is a moral issue and evangelicals have a Biblical duty to protect God’s creation.
“I say to my fellow evangelicals, when you die, God is not going ask you how old the earth is or whether or not he created it in six days or six billion years,” he said.
“He is going to say, ‘What did you do with what I created?’ and we have to have an answer. We have to say we took care of it when it was hurting.
Rev Cizek says climate change was one of the issues that weighed heavily on the minds of some young evangelicals voting in last week’s US presidential election, helping President-elect Barack Obama to win their support.
“We have disagreement with him on high-profile sanctity of life issues and same-sex marriage issues but nonetheless he was the candidate that reflected our values in so many ways,” he said.
While Rev Cizek is usually lobbying in Capitol Hill this week he’s in Australia calling for urgent action and long-term commitments to climate change from both politicians and the corporate sector.
He also wants more evangelicals in Australia to take up the cause.
John Henderson, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia, says it is important for Australian Christians to engage with pressing social and environmental concerns.
“I think more and more not just evangelicals, but Christians throughout Australia, are becoming more concerned about these issues,” he said.
The Council is trying to develop an agreement between the churches in Australia on climate change. It will not be an easy task.
While some religious leaders have called for speedier action on climate change, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney George Pell has been public in his position as a climate change skeptic.
But Mr Henderson says if Australian Christians are mobilised on issues like climate change, they could make a real difference in helping the community.
“What we’re going to do over the next couple of years is spend time looking at Christian teaching and Christian experience and practice,” he said.
“Comparing that to the science experience of peoples around the world and try and get the churches agreed around some common policy issues around that.”
Based on an AM report by Sara Everingham
