Guest ridicule by David Middleton
Some Christians are cutting carbon for Lent
Instead of giving up luxuries, they’re reducing pollution.
By Diana Madson
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
The weeks just before Easter are known as Lent. It’s a time when many Christians fast or give up luxuries. Now, some churches and faith groups are encouraging Christians to reduce activities that contribute to global warming.
Leah Wiste is director of outreach and advocacy at an organization called Michigan Interfaith Power and Light.
Wiste: “Lent is a state of preparing for rebirth … And so we focus on transformation.”
In that spirit, her group helps Christians use this time to develop more environmentally friendly habits.
Wiste: “We propose a Lenten Carbon Fast…
[…]
The inane article goes on to describe a “carbon fast” as “switching to energy-efficient L.E.D. light bulbs, eating food that is not trucked long distances, turning the temperature down on water heaters, and hanging clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer”… Not much of a “carbon fast”… Which would be fatal to any carbon-based life-form.
However, this quasi-spiritual scam has nothing to do with any religion other than the Gorethodox Church of Junk Scientology…
The organization Wiste spoke on behalf of describes itself as a “faith response to global warming.”
Its mission statement says, in part: “Foster and create an educated faith constituency that’s committed to proactive solutions to decreasing harmful coal plant emissions through energy efficiency [and] renewable technologies.”
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Gorethodox Church of Junk Scientology
I like that, but I might change it to Gorethedox Church of Climythology for future use in my own ridiculing.
I like that!
Oh, yes! That goes right along with the Monks of Carbon Apostasy. Brilliant!
If only they’d take a “vow of silence”.
Stop exhaling that is your .main CO2 budget most days.
Here’s how to do this properly:
* Walk, at a moderate pace, to an open area (preferably a dessert), where there is the least amount of civilization.
* Strip off all clothing.
* Eat nothing, drink nothing, and speak to no one.
To enhance the effect, pierce nipples with sharp bones as staples to hold a hemp rope, one end of which is looped through the bone staples and the other end tied around a long poll. This is your symbolic umbilical cord connecting your naked body to its primal mother Earth. No sitting, no sleeping allowed. You must suffer, as you lean, exhausted by the physical trial, until you fall back under your own weight, ripping the staples from your flesh, symbolizing your surrender and transformation-through-pain to the priesthood of devout servitude to the cause.
That reminded me of this suspenseful scene
I haven’t given up things for Lent for years I prefere to do something positive
James Bull
Meh, I gave up religion for Lent.
I’ve just said something similar above! I’ve been doing it for years.
I have no problem giving up carbon for lent. Diamonds are a little tough to chew, and graphite sticks to my teeth.
I’ll forego a Weinstein movie for Lent.
My TV is dead, so I’ve given up TV for Lent, for many, many years.
[The mods congratulate your wisdom is leaving it broken. .mod]
Live the Mods, too!
Er, I meant ‘LOVE the mods’. That last glass of 2014 Burlwood pinot noir did go down nicely. Nose-friendly, a deep burgundian color, smooth entry and goes well with a sharp imported UK cheddar aged 9 months.
“The inane article goes on to describe a “carbon fast” as “switching to energy-efficient L.E.D. light bulbs, eating food that is not trucked long distances, turning the temperature down on water heaters, and hanging clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer”
Well, I have LED and CFL lights, except those two in the well that keep it from freezing—those are 100 watt incandescent I hoarded and the 60 watt that keeps the corn snake warm, I grow much of my food and harvest my own meat, my water heater is staying set right where it is, and I will not give up the clothes dryer. Still, all in all, for a person who thinks the CAGW meme is completely lacking is science, I think I’m doing pretty well.
Water heater settings.
Somebody is going to ask me for a link, sorry. I don’t have one. But…
Some outbreaks of Legionaries Disease (maybe others?) have been linked to hot water heaters being turned down too low. Turned down to a temperature where the heat encourages growth of pathogens rather than inhibits them.
Take these nuts recommendations with a grain of salt. (While there is a “C”, there is no Carbon in NaCl.)
What do you expect with a pope endorsing Gaia worhship, hence promoting paganism. His lord would be turning in his grave. Oh, wait ….
A different kind of ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’. Ouch Ouch! Bad Bad! Smoke is Carbon! Bad Bad!
Ha haa
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
Matthew 7:15
Nothing better describes Al Gores & all of the “prophets ” of AGW. Clearly leading the sheep astray.
An extremely appropriate verse for thise occasion, Jeff L., but how do we get the message out to those masses who follow false prophets?
We must avoid arguments, and instead use reason and practicalities, such as references to the materials of which their clothing is made, and the sources of those synthetics that they love so dearly. That would be a good start.
The balloon must be slowly deflated if it is to have a permanent effect.
“Not much of a “carbon fast”… Which would be fatal to any carbon-based life-form.”
Lent is 40 days , you could go that long without food without dying but you would be very weak.
Sadly most religions have totally lost what fasting is all about. Most christians don’t get beyond pigging out of pancakes one day per year.
You might be able to last 40 days without food… Maybe even longer.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-can-a-person-sur/
However, this is a “carbon fast” and drinking water usually contains some CO2.
http://help.bioworldusa.com/kb/algae-treatment/water-analysis-dissolved-carbon-dioxide-co2
I’m going to stop killing Unicorns for lent.
I mean no, I’ve never killed one before. And I wouldn’t know where to find one or how to kill it even if I could. (maybe rewatch Legend. I think you needed to lure it in with a virgin)
But apparently it’s the thought that counts.
~¿~
As a Christian of nearly 60 years, I have never been able to “find” Lent in the Bible. I know clearly, in Jesus own words we must be born again, John 3. More churchianity than Christianity, I think. As for giving up carbon for Lent, they might like to stop breathing (sarc). What a load of bunkum and a blot on true faith. If people read their Bible it would straighten out lots of this rubbish.
😎
I was scrolling toward the bottom of the comments to say something similar.
I think both of us are Christians who, to best our ability, seek to learn, understand and trust the original “data” as recorded, less theological “adjustments”.
(Jude 1:3 comes to mind.)
Dave and Gunga Din, you can be a practitioner of Wicca or worship the ancient gods of
the Egyptians or Babylonians, ans till be mindful of the basic principles espoused by Christ and conveyed in the Ten Commandments.
It does not require a specific faith to be a good person. And Lent is more an ecclesiastical time determined by the calendar and set by the Church of Rome and the Episcopal Church, and followed by other Protestant groups, than anything else. In pagan faiths, it’s Ostara, the season of birthing animals and humans. It’s the time of renewal and the Earth awakening, something these benighted people have forgotten and that includes the current papal person. (No disrespect meant to Catholics.)
It would be appropriate to worry less about whether or not it’s in your Bible and concern yourself more with how a seasonal observance in the Christian faith has been corrupted by the greed and self-serving behavior of people like those at Yale Climate Connection. That is something to rightfully object to.
Sara, I think you missed our point. (I know you missed mine.)
“Lent”, “Christians need to save the planet”, etc. have nothing to do with the Good News of Jesus Christ and his death and Resurrection, what could come on the Day of Pentecost because of them.
Read Act 2.
Jesus Christ came to any and all that believe on him.
He came to save Man, not the whales.
PS I was raised Roman Catholic. Someone spoke that Good News to me and helped me to understand.
I don’t do “Lent” anymore, not because of this recent “give up carbon” crap but because it’s not in the Bible.
When I preach the Gospel, it’s not “anti-nongospel”, it’s pro-gospel.
I don’t need to point out the darkness. The Light will do that for those who dare to open their eyes.
I am actually speaking of Bible based Christianity, am a Spirit filled believer and adhere to the now defunct teaching, scripture only. On the issue you raise, how about the Ten Commandments? Especially the first one, “You shall have no other gods but me…”? I do not like olde traditions like this that takes away from the enduring word of God.
Sara,
To be a good person by Man’s standards won’t cut it, even if there weren’t so many of them.
I think Dave and I are talking about God’s standard. Perfection. The 10 plus those that go beyond “actions” to “desires”. The only way to share in that perfection is to accept His answer to Man’s imperfection. Christ. It’s a free gift from a loving God. Freewill choice. Accept it or not.
Remain born dead or be born again.
Dave mentioned John 3.
Many are born again but don’t realize it or know what it means. (I’m still learning.)
What does that really mean? He gave a Book and spirit that made us His kids to help us grow up. I’m still growing. But i know I have eternity ahead of me. And it’s all good. God’s grace. I don’t deserve it. But I said “yes” to the offer.
I’ll bet you a half billion carbon offset credits that Wiste is a typical Socialist/Atheist, and is just using OTHER PEOPLES faith to get them to do what they want.
The Communists and Socialists of the world have finally started to realized that persecuting the followers of various religions only drives them underground, and fosters resistance movements. Better to pretend to tolerate them and use their tried and true methods to infiltrate and subvert.
~¿~
I think that I will give up thinking for Lent.
I gave up sex for lent last year and my wife didn’t notice!!
I refuse to give up anything at all for Lent.
An Anglican nun we knew used to advise giving up anxiety for Lent….very sensible we thought.
If one really believes that the use of fossil fuels it bad, then one one should give up all goods and services that involve the use of fossil fuels. Because the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the buildings that we dwell in and most of the surfaces that we walk on involve production methods and transport methods that involve the use of fossil fuels one needs to shed his clothes and live in a wilderness area as a wild animal. We must also remember that infrastructure involved in alternate sources of energy have been bilt with the use of fossil fuels.
“If one really believes that the use of fossil fuels it bad, then one one should give up all goods and services that involve the use of fossil fuels.”
I’m so tired of this argument. It’s like saying, if one thinks overeating is bad, one should give up food.
It’s not that fossil fuels are inherently bad, it’s that they are associated with CO2 production, and too much of that is a bad thing. We use more FF than we need, and it’s good to cut down our use. We can do so via efficiency, lifestyle change, increasing renewable energy, using cleaner FF, etc. Petroleum can still be used in plastics, asphalt, etc. It’s not an either/or thing.
Sara:
“The self-righteousness of this proposal is charming.”
Well put. Con su permiso, I would add that to my list of put downs.
Presumably they are also giving up breathing for Lent as well, as they must not breathe out CO2. A positive effect of that is that it may remove some idiots from the gene pool before they breed.
Electric cars should not be except . . . You need to consider the plastic used in manufacturing and what about the mining,manufacturing,and transportation of rare metals?
https://www.wired.com/2016/03/teslas-electric-cars-might-not-green-think/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electric-vehicle-plastics-market-by-material-pp-pe-abs-pu-pvc-pa-pc-pvb–other-engineering-resins-application-interior-exterior-lightingelectric-wiring–under-the-hood–region-and-ice-passenger-cars-by-material–300410259.html
https://www.polymersolutions.com/blog/electric-vehicles-driving-demand-for-plastics/
I clicked on the link in the article and got a message from Avast that threat had been detected.
David, why do you publicly ridicule others who believe they are doing something good? What do you get out of it? And look at all the others incited to do the same!
I imagine for the Christians who are doing this, it’s not about how much good they are really doing in terms of preventing climate change, it’s about being conscious of one’s carbon footprint, thinking about one’s responsibility to others, and making a sacrifice. If it feels easy, that’s all the more reason to continue it. If it feels difficult, that’s all the more reason to think about the ways in which we use energy. It could be much deeper than that, I don’t know.
But these motives and ideas are to David and most of those who post here simply laughable. They think themselves superior because they don’t engage in such silly exercises. They’d rather tell the group how much they despise people who think differently.
The two links are to Yale University and Breitbart…
Kristi, lots of people “do things for God” without first finding out what it is He wants done.
Sometimes what they do strikes me so, but I don’t think that’s laughable. I think it’s sad.
And just who is this group that is manipulating and deceiving people into thinking THEY know what God wants?
I imagine there is probably, say, a certain food that you hate. Maybe you are even allergic to it. You’re invited to dinner by someone. Am I doing anybody a favor if I tell them that that is you favorite food?
He gave us His “Cook Book” that tells us, not only what He desires but what is best for us.
PS If God was so concerned about our “carbon footprint”, then why is so much natural life carbon based?
My perception is that it’s not about someone doing a specific deed for God, it’s the idea of making a sacrifice. That has many connotations, from community ritual to a very personal process of showing one’s dedication. Through them God is glorified and loved. That’s my take – I’m not Catholic myself.
P.S. My guess is He didn’t make that connection.
Turning down the temperature of the water heater is just ingenious. First, it reduces the energy consumtion by a significant amount. Second, it would contribute to keep the population growth down, or even turn it negative. The thing is that the customary 55 degrees centigrade, say, (far too hot to pour it in you right from the shower) is pretty close to the critical temperature below which water turns into a cosy breeding tank for legionella bacteria. They just love it if the water temperature goes below around 50 degrees. Legionella causes pneumonia and spreads in water aerosols, e. g. in your morning shower. This kind of pneumonia is frequently lethal, so that the older part of the population would start diminishing very effectively – gruesome to say. So, the greenies have to choose between killing the old and weak in a very sophisticated and ethical way (=reducing energy consumtion) or keeping us alive by providing clean hot water as before.