Global Warming: A Pascalian View
Philosopher and theologian Paul Helm looks at global warming through the lens of Pascal.
“My question is, ‘What’s the Christian approach?’” said Helm. “And with an issue like global warming, where the evidence looks equally balanced for both sides, I say what’s the harm in conservation and recycling?”
Helm, a longtime professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Liverpool, King’s College, and Regent College, is offering a series of lectures on “Saving the Planet” at Covenant College, January 21-22.
“Pascal’s argument was that if the evidence for God’s existence is no stronger than the evidence against, you should wager on the side of faith—that was what seemed reasonable to him,” said Helm. “As a philosopher, I am redeploying Pascal’s wager argument to think about global warming. We should adopt forms of action that are sensible, whether it is determined that mankind is responsible for global warming or not.”
“My question is, ‘What’s the Christian approach?’” said Helm. “And with an issue like global warming, where the evidence looks equally balanced for both sides, I say what’s the harm in conservation and recycling?”
Helm, a longtime professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Liverpool, King’s College, and Regent College, is offering a series of lectures on “Saving the Planet” at Covenant College, January 21-22.
“Pascal’s argument was that if the evidence for God’s existence is no stronger than the evidence against, you should wager on the side of faith—that was what seemed reasonable to him,” said Helm. “As a philosopher, I am redeploying Pascal’s wager argument to think about global warming. We should adopt forms of action that are sensible, whether it is determined that mankind is responsible for global warming or not.”
“It’s still valid for us to reduce consumption and get rid of waste,” said Helm. “As Christians, we can’t just fold our arms and do nothing. We must ask, ‘What can I do, even if I’m not causing global warming?’”
Helm will also be presenting an academic paper on God and time—a topic that he has been interested in for many years—while at Covenant College.
Helm’s John Calvin: A Guide for the Perplexed will be published this fall, and he will release a longer volume on Calvin in 2009—during the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth.
To learn more about Paul Helm’s visit to Covenant College, visit www.covenant.edu.
Helm will also be presenting an academic paper on God and time—a topic that he has been interested in for many years—while at Covenant College.
Helm’s John Calvin: A Guide for the Perplexed will be published this fall, and he will release a longer volume on Calvin in 2009—during the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth.
To learn more about Paul Helm’s visit to Covenant College, visit www.covenant.edu.
Comments
E. Calvin Beisner
South Florida
The inapplicability of Pascal's wager to how to respond to global warming is apparent from the facts that (1) the policies promoted to curtail future increases are not cost-neutral but would allocate literally trillions of dollars to one goal that could be allocated to other goals much more beneficially, and (2) since global climate is cyclical and there is no strong evidence that the solar cycle will lead to significant cooling in this century, attempts to fight global warming at this time could actually only worsen global cooling--and we know for sure that severe cold kills about ten times as many people as severe heat.
--E. Calvin Beisner, National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, www.cornwallalliance.org
--E. Calvin Beisner, National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, www.cornwallalliance.org
etk
japan
YES!! Finally a voice of reason...conserve and recycle. I think that the hysteria harms more than helps in the long run. It only makes people hardened to the real issue...do we REALLY need such a "consuming" lifestyle, whether global warming is true or not??
Rev Bruce Howes
Delaware
Good insight! The consensus of scientific opinion is that Global warming is not only a fact, but is also caused by in large part by human activities which release excessive carbon dioxide. It is virtually impossible to eliminate, but we can cut back. Reuse, recycle, drive our auto’s less, etc. Turn our home heat down. In the long run, we will need to design & build more efficient consumer items so that less energy is used. It will cost & hurt us personally, but our personal comfort is not the goal of life. The Glory of God is! And that includes faithful stewardship of the earth in accord with Gen 1:28, etc. The resources of earth do not belong to us. They belong to God and must be used wisely so that we do not ruin the earth for the coming generations. It’s time we cut back. I applaud Covenant for hosting this!
E. Calvin Beisner
Florida
The alleged "consensus" on manmade global warming is nonexistent, as every attempt to document it by actual surveys of the refereed scientific literature and of climate scientists has shown. For documentation, see my "Global Warming: Why Evangelicals Should Not Be Alarmed," at www.cornwallalliance.org, under the link to "Articles."
MJB
Oregon
Could someone address the disturbingly low correlation between scientists who hold to a historically orthodox view of the first six chapters of Genesis and those who promote an anthropogenic view of global warming? Does anyone know of any scientists who would fall into this category? I can't seem to find any. Why is that? Any ideas?
Dave
La Crosse, WI
Of course we should re-use, conserve, and recycle! Why? Because we were put here to be stewards, and what good caretaker makes waste of the Master's world? Of course, we will all do so at various levels and with varying intensity, and that is fine. Why do I do this? For two reasons: 1 - I think (I pray) that I am being a good steward by doing this; and 2 - I am CHEAP and I hate to throw away stuff that can still be used! (Thrifty does not quite describe me!) I was heavily influenced by my parents, who were children of the Depression.
E. Calvin Beisner
Florida
I noticed just now that in the very first comment I accidentally wrote that "there is no strong evidence that the solar cycle will lead to significant cooling in this century." The "no" should have been "strong." There is in fact strong evidence that the solar cycle will lead to significant cooling in this century.
Jeff Smith
Durham, N.C., USA
May God give His people, and indeed all kinds of people, the wisdom to understand to what extent -- and in what forms -- conservation and recycling would bring about a *net* blessing!