Via townhall.com::

An impressive list of evangelical Christian leaders has recently signed onto the “Evangelical Climate Initiative” (ECI), a statement calling for Americans to do what they can to combat climate change.

Some of the statement seems reasonable and biblical. Yes, Christians are called to be stewards of the earth. Yes, we’re charged with caring for the poor. Yes, we want to stand for what is right, and even get involved politically when an opportunity arises. These assertions are agreed upon by nearly all evangelical Christians.

“However, these Christian leaders step outside of their areas of expertise when they take on the issue of climate change. They assert, “Over the last several years many of us have engaged in study, reflection, and prayer related to the issue of climate change,” but the majority of them are not scientists. They are also not economists, so they seem to be totally unaware of the economic ramifications of the ideas they are proposing.

“The Kyoto treaty, for instance, would reduce climate change only minimally while imposing economy-crushing regulations on businesses and individuals around the world.”

I know there are Ortho-bloggers that say they favor the political left for its stands on a couple things, and usually the list includes their attention to the poor and their stand on ecology. But it’s things like this well-intentioned effort of the evangelicals that keep me from being able to agree. Whenever you borrow your rhetoric from the left, you seem to end up with hollow promises that aren’t yours to keep, sloppy math and science, and a de-emphasis on personal responsibility, as if concepts like stewardship and charity could be dictated by the government and not be, at bottom, coercion.

I know I come off like a shill for one side, but believe it or not, I really do think these things through. (Not to say that a quantity of thought necessarily equates to a quality of thought, but at least it’s something.) I hope I wouldn’t mind being in the liberals’ camp once in a while. I just need them to have a couple better ideas and think them through a little better. For instance:

Christian leaders should look toward the Copenhagen Consensus if they’re serious about being good stewards. More than anyone, Christians should be wary of throwing their money after impossible goals when achievable aims – such as combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and malnutrition - are in sight. That’s the true definition of stewardship.

Hopefully, we can all give an amen to that.