Providential Climate Change

About Providential Climate Change

Abstract

Scientists agree that the Earth has been warming in recent years. However, they disagree as to the cause. Some believe the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the combustion of fossil fuels is mainly responsible for the warming. They believe that if CO2 emissions are not dramatically reduced soon, that irreparable damage will be done to our planet. Others believe that manmade carbon dioxide has very little impact on the climate and some of those argue that increased concentrations of CO2 are actually beneficial. The thesis of this paper is that the Earth is not as fragile as some would have us to believe and that God is ultimately in control of the climate, not humans. That being said, the Christian engineer should still be a good steward of the environment by, for example, improving the thermal efficiency of combustion processes so less fuel is consumed which also means less pollution is generated. This paper will discuss some of the major arguments for and against manmade global climate change, provide both short and long term examples of God’s control of the weather in the Bible, consider environmental stewardship, and conclude with some comments regarding a suggested Christian engineer’s response to this debate.