SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Southern Baptists approved a resolution on global warming yesterday that questions the prevailing scientific belief that humans are largely to blame for the phenomenon and also warns that increased regulation of greenhouse gases will hurt the poor.
The global-warming debate has split evangelicals, with some not only pressing the issue but arguing humans bear most of the responsibility for the problem because of greenhouse gas emissions. Other evangelicals say talking about the issue at all diminishes their influence over more traditional culture war issues such as abortion, homosexual “marriage” and judicial appointments.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) resolution, approved near the end of the denomination’s annual meeting, acknowledges a rise in global temperatures. But it rejects government-mandated limits on carbon dioxide and other emissions as “very dangerous” because they might not make much difference and could lead to “major economic hardships” worldwide.
“Our concern is for the vulnerable communities as well,” said Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research with the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, who helped write the measure. “But we think if the data is being misinterpreted, and policies are being implemented to reduce the human contributions, those policies are bound to drive up the costs of goods and services for poor and underdeveloped parts of the world.”
The two-day annual meeting of the nation’s second-largest Christian denomination, which boasts 16.3 million members, ended last night. The gathering was highlighted by new steps to prevent child sexual abuse, calls for unity to reverse stagnant membership and a struggle over defining Baptist identity.
In a live address by satellite yesterday, President Bush highlighted his administration’s common ground with Southern Baptists on abortion, fighting AIDS and other issues.
“You’re rising to meet the challenges of broken souls, in a broken world, with compassion and courage,” said Mr. Bush, an evangelical but a Methodist by denomination.
Earlier yesterday, Southern Baptists concerned about denominational narrowness claimed a victory with the passage of a motion, by a vote of 58 percent to 42 percent, that called the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 the sufficient standard for establishing Southern Baptist credentials.
Backers of the statement said some conservatives have been narrowing the definition of who is considered a Baptist in good standing by condemning various worship practices such as “gifts of the Spirit.”
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