An Evangelical Call to Action Series

In early 2008, the Evangelical Climate Initiative released a document called Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action a document offering a biblically-based moral witness to the issue of human-induced climate change. This post will be the first of a 5-part series, covering the Preamble and each of the four claims made in that document.
The ECI's website is located at http://christiansandclimate.org/ and there are resources on the website to learn more about climate change, to pray, and to act. The website also has the full text of the Call to Action and a list of the Signatories.

Preamble

As American evangelical Christian leaders, we recognize both our opportunity and our responsibility to offer a biblically based moral witness that can help shape public policy in the most powerful nation on earth, and therefore contribute to the well-being of the entire world. Whether we will enter the public square and offer our witness there is no longer an open question. We are in that square, and we will not withdraw.
We are proud of the evangelical community’s long-standing commitment to the sanctity of human life. But we also offer moral witness in many venues and on many issues. Sometimes the issues that we have taken on, such as sex trafficking, genocide in the Sudan, and the AIDS epidemic in Africa, have surprised outside observers. While individuals and organizations can be called to concentrate on certain issues, we are not a single-issue movement. We seek to be true to our calling as Christian leaders, and above all faithful to Jesus Christ our Lord. Our attention, therefore, goes to whatever issues our faith requires us to address.
Over the last several years many of us have engaged in study, reflection, and prayer related to the issue of climate change (often called “global warming”). For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority. Indeed, many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians. But now we have seen and heard enough to offer the following moral argument related to the matter of human-induced climate change. We commend the four simple but urgent claims offered in this document to all who will listen, beginning with our brothers and sisters in the Christian community, and urge all to take the appropriate actions that follow from them.

Let's take a look at some of the language in this fascinating and powerful piece. First, "opportunity and responsibility" is right in the first sentence. Sustainability is both of those- and this document is addressing the problem of climate change, to which the answer is sustainability in all its forms. The authors move on to proclaiming a stance, in an almost military way, by saying that they are in the public square to say something and will not withdraw.
"We are not a single-issue movement." None of us are single sided people. We all have facets and interests that are separate and diverse. And yet we have a calling, a pulling on the heart, that God calls us to focus on. Just like individuals, the authors of this document illustrate the diverse range of issues that the evangelical community focuses on, and yet that they need to speak out on this issue for the very reason that they are faithful to Jesus.
Following this preamble are four very powerful and simple claims, which we will cover in the next four posts. In fact, they are urgent. The signatories of this document are speaking first to the Christian community and to everyone who will listen- which we need to do. And then to act.