Earth Worshipping Evangelicals?
Mr. Jim Ball, head of the Evangelical Environmental Network and author of the following public letter speaking about the Petition Project (www.oism.org/pproject):
The Partners of the NRPE look to respected scientists within their own traditions as well as the most highly regarded scientific bodies for sound scientific analysis. An issue the Interfaith Council for Environmental Stewardship raises repeatedly is global warming, which they describe as an "unfounded or undue" concern. To justify their stance they cite an Internet petition from the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine that claims to have over 17,000 signatories. The only criterion for signing was a Bachelors degree in a scientific field.
(Since I have a BA in Psychology, I could have been a signatory.) No checking was done on who signed, and for a time several fictitious persons (e.g. TV lawyer Perry Mason) were included.
Instead of looking to an Internet poll for sound scientific analysis on global warming, EEN has relied on discussions with senior evangelical scientists (please note that the American Scientific Affiliation, the association of evangelical scientists, is one of EEN's partners) and on the findings of the most respected and authoritative scientific body on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)....
---------------------------------------------------
Dr. Art Robinson of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (www.oism.org) responds:
Dear Mr. Ball
I have read your comments about the Petition Project conducted by myself and a group of other scientists concerning the subject of global warming. Since you have clearly looked into the matter, I expect that you know that several of your statements are false.
Perry Mason, for example, is a PhD chemist living in Lubbock, Texas. The petition was signed by thousands of PhD physical scientists, who are listed by degree on our web site. There was substantial checking of signatures to this petition - only about 1% of which were gathered by Internet. About 95% of the signatures have been independently verified. These included far more relevant experts than were even present at the IPCC meeting. They also included many of America's most eminent physical scientists - some of whom helped collect the signatures.
Moreover, with respect to your citation of the IPCC, I expect that you know that, of the 1,100 scientists (including 385 Americans) who participated, many disagreed with the final report. These 1,100 cannot be cited as "human caused global warming" supporters because they were never asked to approve the written statements of the IPCC - which, in any case, have been shown by subsequent climate measurements to have been seriously in error.
I note that nowhere in your long letter to evangelical leaders do you cite any scientific facts whatever. Not one item of data or graph is included. Your sole credentials seem to be contained in your BA in Psychology (very poor preparation for rigorous scientific work) and in your pretension to be a "Friend of Christ."
Assuming that you are a Christian, as am I, and that we are reading the same Bible, you know very well the Biblical prohibition against bearing false witness. Your letter reveals, at the very least, a lack of interest in the scientific facts underlying your claims and a tendency to falsify information concerning those with whom you have chosen to disagree. Both of these tendencies violate Biblical instructions.
There is a review article, complete with citations to the peer-reviewed literature available on our web site at www.oism.org/pproject. It is written so as to be understandable by a layman such as yourself. I suggest that you read this article and then consult your conscience as to whether you wish to continue to issue false statements in the name of "evangelical" science and, worse, in the name of Christ.
Arthur B. Robinson
And a followup:
Dear Mr. Ball,
In addition to my earlier comments, I assure you that your BA in psychology would not have qualified you to be listed as a "scientist" on our petition. In addition to the more than 17,000 scientists, approximately 3,000 people who were not scientists sent in unsolicited signatures to the petition. Had we received your signature with your degree specified, you would have been put into that group.
AR |
