"Global warming will only be resolved through a global common response and we need your help," the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told the head of the 349-member World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, this week.
In a wide-ranging discussion at the WCC’s headquarters in Geneva, Ban and Kobia laid down plans for a deeper partnership between the two bodies on climate change and a number of other pressing global issues.
The WCC and its member churches have long worked to mobilize churches in efforts to stave off the worst consequences of climate change and ensure that the international community maintains its commitment beyond the Kyoto Protocol, which is due to expire in 2012.
"We would like to maintain a close partnership with the WCC," said Ban. "You have high moral power and what you are doing is based on your Christian beliefs."
Kobia, meanwhile, affirmed the WCC’s commitment to working with the UN.
"Working on global warming is a matter of faith,” he said. “You can count on the WCC as a strong partner in acting together now for the sake of humankind and the rest of creation."
Ban, who is the first Korean UN head, went on to thank the WCC for the role it had played in the democratization of his home country, while Kobia, a Kenyan pastor, paid tribute to the UN’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to post-election violence in Kenya.
Ban invited the WCC to collaborate more closely with the UN in overcoming intolerance, particularly in areas where it has fueled violence at election time.
"This is another area where the WCC can make a contribution," he said. "The world has suffered for too long with intolerances."
The WCC and its member churches in Africa are already planning their role in monitoring the elections in Zimbabwe on March 29.
Ban and Kobia concluded their meeting with a short prayer service for peace in the WCC chapel.
"Your spirit of caring is based in Christianity," said Ban. "I am glad the WCC is one of the strong partners of the UN."
Comments
JC, "you are here on Christian Post.
Why?"
Fair question. I actually consider myself an agnostic. I visit this site because I am interested not in religion itself, but the politics of religion and religions influence ion society. I strongly believe in the US Constitution that states a person has a right to practice their religion without interference from government. I also believe that the US Constitution says that church and state should be kept seperate. I am here to do my part to prevent Christians, or any religion, from bluring the separation of church and state as they attempt to impose their beliefs on me. Religion is a very personal thing and should be kept out of government, courts and public schools.
To scitsonga:
Beloved, you say you don't believe in God, as you call him "the invisible guy in the sky". But yet, you are here on Christian Post.
Why?
jc, keep on believing in the invisible guy in the sky thing, It would be a waste of time to try to explain anything with you in scientific terms. You are all about the religion and faith thing.......good luck with that. What ever floats your boat.
To scitsonga:
Do you mean the atmospheric and meterological science credentials that are backing these same scientists who told us 30 years ago that we would be in an ice-age and all be dead by now? Or do you mean the same atmospheric and meterological science credentials that over the past 100 years have said this same thing with nothing new under the sun happening?
Or, perhaps you are referring to the atmospheric and meterological science credentials that told us that this would be the worst hurricane season ever?
Dear one, I don't think it is wise to take the creation's word over the creator's word. This can easily lead somebody to believe something that is not true. It's easy to bend the facts into what one desires.
To say that the Earth is going to die because of our impact is to say that God couldn't see into the future and couldn't anticipate what would happen. This can be a very dangerous position to be in.
Is global warming/climate change occuring? Indeed. How do we know, or how sure are we? Easy, we have mile plus long ice cores from Antartica that allow us to take atmospheric samples dating back nearly 700,000 years. By using the O2 isotopes that are locked into these cores we can look back and witness global climete changes that occurred, namely wamring and cooling periods, some of which resulting in numerous ice ages (6 last count).
Even without these ice core samples we have European records dating back to recent periods of cooler and wamer weather and the after efftcs of the settlers of greenland that abandonded it in its cooling periods.
Regardless if global climate change is occuring or not, simply dumping mecury and other toxins into our water table and poisining our food supply is just plain retarded so this has to change.
The question isn’t IF global climate change is occuring, that queston has long been over. The question is wheather WE are partially to blame for the recent rising of the global temps and if so what we can do about it. This is only home we have folks and it’s up to us to preserve our home.
jc, Aardvark1, dgnymn, Topekan and caddy. Question to you: And your atmospheric and meteorologic science credentials are??
I remember in the 1970s' when atmosphric scientists were warning the world about ozone depletion from chlorofluorocarbons which were used as refrigerants and in many consumer products. Businesses that used and produced chlorofluorocarbons, and politicians that received campaign contributions from those business's tried to discredit the research of those scientiists. Well, thirty plus years later we now know that what the scientists were telling us about ozone depletion was exactly correct. Now its once again time to listen to the scientists, not Al Gore, not George Bush, not the politicians, not the religious cranks, not the coal companies, not the power companies, but the scientists that actually study this stuff. They are telling us, there might be a problem with atmospheric warming caused by burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
The U.N., Al Gore, and all these "scientists" are counting on the fact that people have never read scripture.
"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:22)
Just imagine what "truths" they will come out with after the reading of scripture has been outlawed. It's only a matter of a very short time now.
ANY....AND I MEAN....SO-CALLED FOLLOWER OF CHRIST WHO FOLLOWS THESE PAGAN PRIESTS OF GLOBAL WARMING, ARE IN DANGER OF ETERNAL HELL!!
This is SERIOUS STUFF, people! God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise...the same "wise" who are now bowing the knee to the Baals, led by High Priest Al Gore.
DO YOU FIND IT INTERESTING THAT RICK WARREN, CHUCK COLSON AND LEITH ANDERSON AND RICHARD CZIVICK OF THE Nat. Assn. of Evangelicals have signed a covenant with the world claiming that MAN controls the weather!! What is wrong with this picture?!!! ONLY JOB 38....and Jesus Christ who told the wind to STOP...to name a few!!
These so-called American church leaders MUST repent and ask forgiveness for telling lies about God, or next they will be signing letters to Muslims equating allah with Jehovah God!! As for the WCC....hahaha!!
May the Peace of Christ be upon you all, my brothers and sisters in Christ! Amen
Psalm 1:1
The UN wants the Church to preach the gospel of global warming??? How about this - the UN has never been friendly to genuine people of faith, and they are no friend of the United States. It's time we start preaching the gospel of telling the UN to leave this country and go elsewhere, as well as telling them that their fairy tale of global warming is a LIE!!
REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND!!!
The apostate WCC and the godless United Nations in glorious communion to stop global warming. Makes sense to me.
Caddy27 is right. The artic ice pack has reformed and is thicker than it was before the latest "warming". What happened, you ask? The sun's output dropped slightly.
Global warming or climate change whatever you want to call it is a LIE. There is no such thing. It was made up by Al Gore. Please do not buy into this farce. Look up Glenn Beck's website if you don'y believe me.