At a Glance
What should Christians really think about climate change? What does the Bible have to say about creation care? E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D. and Dr. David R. Legates, Ph.D. from The Cornwall Alliance have spent their lives trying to provide this perspective. Their new book, Climate and Energy, brings together numerous experts on climate science, physics, economics, environmental science, political science, ethics, and theology. It brings a clear understanding about the ideas of human-induced climate change and how Christians should respond. In today’s episode, you’ll learn the basics of climate change and how differing worldviews significantly affect a person’s response to the issue. You’ll also learn about renewable energy and its effects on the poor, along with the impact of postmodernism on the field of science. Finally, we offer some critiques of the Christian creation care movement that Megan Basham covered in her recent bestselling book, Shepherds for Sale. Be sure to tune in tomorrow to hear the in-house discussion and our personal takeaways from this eye-opening episode.
E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D.
Dr. Beisner is Founder, President, and National Spokesman of The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, a network of Christian theologians, natural scientists, economists, and other scholars educating for Biblical earth stewardship, economic development for the poor, and the proclamation and defense of the good news of salvation by God’s grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
Dr. Beisner was associate professor of historical theology and social ethics at Knox Theological Seminary from 2000 to 2008 and of interdisciplinary studies (focusing on the application of Biblical worldview, theology, and ethics to economics, government, and public policy) at Covenant College from 1992 to 2000. He has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, planting a new congregation for the latter and serving on its pastoral staff for three years. He and his wife Debby, an accomplished portrait painter, have seven children and twelve grandchildren. Learn more.
David R. Legates, Ph.D.
David R. Legates, Ph.D., serves as the Director of Research and Education at The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. He received a B.A. in Mathematics and Geography (double major) in 1982, a M.S. in Geography-Climatology in 1985, and a Ph.D. in Climatology in 1988, all from the University of Delaware. His expertise lies in hydroclimatology/surface water hydrology, precipitation and climate change, spatial analysis and spatial statistics, and statistical/numerical methods.
Legates has testified three times as an expert witness before the US Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works and before both Pennsylvania House and Senate Committee meetings on climate change. He participated in the historic joint USA-USSR protocol for the exchange of climate information in 1990, won the 2002 Boeing Autometric Award for the Best Paper in Image Analysis and Interpretation by the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, won First Place in the International Statistical Institute (ISI) and ESRI Paper Competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was awarded the Courage in Defense of Science Award in 2015. In 2021, he was awarded the Frederick Seitz Memorial Award and the Petr Beckmann Award. Learn more.
What You'll Hear
Using the link above, you can read the transcript or listen along while highlighted text follows the podcast audio.
"It [the world] is not best untouched by human hands… instead we see that nature can be best transformed by human hands, particularly as we learn to think God’s thoughts after Him."
Calvin Beisner (29:15)
Quotes
Go Deeper
Climate and Energy: The Case for Realism
The attempted cures for climate change are generally worse than the disease—especially for the poor. In this groundbreaking volume, experts in all the fields related to climate change explain for laymen what we know about climate change and evaluate from a Christian perspective the proposed responses.
Demands to transform the global energy infrastructure to depend heavily on wind, solar, and other renewables are harmful to people in America and the world–especially to the poor. Meanwhile, continued large-scale use of traditional energy sources like nuclear, hydro, and fossil fuels would reduce poverty while doing less harm to the environment.
Climate and Energy: The Case For Realism combines outstanding climate science, physics, economics, environmental science, political science, ethics, and theology to present a well-reasoned understanding of human-induced climate change and how to respond to it.
The Forest in the Seed: A Biblical Perspective on Resources and Development
In The Forest in the Seed, Scott Allen and Darrow Miller set out to answer these questions: What resources do we need for truly Christian community development, and where do these resources come from? The transformation of impoverished communities requires resources, yet our worldview determines our vision for what resources we have and which are most important.
The Bible reveals God as the source of all resource. He is “Jehova Jireh,” the God who provides for His creation. But do we have eyes to see the vast array of resources He has already provided us? Do our development activities help others discover their God-given resources or hinder them? The Forest in the Seed touches on the topics of economics, poverty, worldview, and community development. Download the free resource now!
Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda
By Megan Basham
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“This may just be the single most important book on modern Evangelicalism in recent years. It is bold, clear, and very well-researched.”—John MacArthur
“Some will quibble over details, but no one should miss the powerful warning in this book. We face a gathering storm, as Winston Churchill warned a century ago, but this time the enemy is inside as well as outside the gates. Every convinced and unashamed Evangelical should read, ponder, and pray over this important book.”—Os Guinness
How deeply have leftist billionaires infiltrated America’s churches?
In Shepherds for Sale, Megan Basham of the Daily Wire documents how progressive powerbrokers —from George Soros, to the founder of eBay, to former members of the Obama administration— set out to change the American church. Their goal: to co-opt evangelicals for political purposes. She exposes:
- The left-wing billionaires, foundations, and think tanks that deliberately target Christian media, universities, megachurches, nonprofits, and even entire denominations
- The celebrity megachurch pastor who secretly encouraged a group of pastors to change their views on sexuality
- The revered Presbyterian theologian who backed a congregation rebelling against his own denomination
These are just a glimpse into the compromises and astroturf campaigns Basham uncovers. Many evangelical leaders are pushing their members to “whisper” about sexual sins, reconsider the importance of abortion, lament the effects of climate change, and repent of “perpetuating systemic racism.” And in exchange for toeing a left-wing line, many of those church leaders and institutions have received cash, career jumps, prestige, and praise. Basham brings the receipts, and names names.
A rigorously reported exposé, Shepherds for Sale is a warning of what happens when the church trusts the world’s wisdom instead of Scripture.
Join Scott, Dwight, and Luke to discuss this week’s interview with Calvin Beisner and David R. Legates, authors of Climate & Energy: The Case for Realism. Our question is, how do Christians provide a Biblical worldview perspective to this discussion on climate change? As the sons and daughters of the Creator of this planet, how can we fulfill our mandate to work this garden we have been given and keep it?
