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posted by mrpg on Monday February 26 2018, @01:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the dinosaurs-are-oil dept.

In a recent interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Scott Pruitt, EPA Chief, said that the Bible tells people to use all the resources available to us, including fossil fuels:
"The biblical world view with respect to these issues is that we have a responsibility to manage and cultivate, harvest the natural resources that we've been blessed with to truly bless our fellow mankind".

According to Vox: "But as far as his biblical assertion goes, Pruitt's words reflect a wider trend among American evangelicals, who largely have not embraced scientific thought on environmentalism or global warming."

The Trump administration has used a variety of excuses to legitimize its record-setting rollbacks on environmental protections: calling global warming a hoax, or arguing that the economic consequences of increased regulation would outweigh their benefit.

The latest justification? The Bible.

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, a media outlet that also seems to double as a propaganda arm of the Trump administration, Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt said his Christian convictions led him to conclude that America should use gas and coal freely because natural resources exist purely for man's benefit.

[...] That's why evangelical groups have, therefore, been historically resistant to environmentalist causes. Creationist lobbying groups frequently fund initiatives like the Louisiana Science Education Act, which mandates a "balanced" (and climate change-denying) approach to teaching environmental issues in public schools.

Please read the linked article as it explains the connection between contempt for science and protecting the environment and the beliefs of evangelicals.


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  • (Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Monday February 26 2018, @01:42PM (5 children)

    by Dr Spin (5239) on Monday February 26 2018, @01:42PM (#643911)

    You may be a Christian, but presumably not the American Fundamentalist kind.

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  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @01:58PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @01:58PM (#643920)

    It was an extravaganza. Many respected philosophers were present for this event, which occurred only once a year. Food, fun, and intelligent discussion awaited those who attended.

    Besides offering an excellent selection of exquisite food, there were the games. One game had players throwing darts at a woman nailed to a wall; they earned a certain amount of points depending on which part of the woman's body their dart hit, with the center of the eyeball being the most rewarding. Another game - called The Silence Contest - had players try to create Absolute Silence with only their fists as quickly as possible; the one who succeeds first is declared the winner. From the perspective of the women being beaten, it may as well have been literally raining fists. There were many fun games just like those at the Men's Rights Extravaganza.

    Then there were the people who attended, which included many famous Men's Rights Philosophers. You could meet and chat with people such as Dr. Rubert Wilson, who wrote the critically acclaimed books "The Right to Rape" and "Rape In Self-Defense." There were many such well-respected people at the event.

    This year's Men's Rights Extravaganza was looking to be the best one yet. Indeed, each and every person who attended the event vowed to return the next year.

  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday February 26 2018, @04:13PM (3 children)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday February 26 2018, @04:13PM (#643989)

    You may be a Christian, but presumably not the American Fundamentalist kind.

    There really isn't any other kind in America any more, except maybe the Catholics (and even they seem to be adopting a lot of the fundamentalist political stances). The liberal, non-fundamentalist sects are literally dying out: their members are elderly, and the younger ones are either abandoning religion altogether, or converting to fundamentalist sects.

    • (Score: 2) by Bobs on Monday February 26 2018, @10:23PM (2 children)

      by Bobs (1462) on Monday February 26 2018, @10:23PM (#644258)

      Actually, I think the problem is the crazies get all the press / clicks.

      There are a lot of Christians / most Christians who are moderate, more traditional but they are a "dog bites man" story and rarely get mentioned in the news.

      Like I get a lot of SPAM email from stock pump and dumpers, not much email from calm, effective investment advisors.

      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Monday February 26 2018, @10:45PM (1 child)

        by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday February 26 2018, @10:45PM (#644276)

        I really don't think so. You can read about it, and I saw it myself in my last marriage as my wife was religious and dragged me to some churches. The fundies (which I consider "evangelicals" and "Prosperity Gospel" followers to be part of, though some will disagree with me on this) are growing in number: they're the ones who have all the "non-denominational" megachurches, the televangelists, etc. The "moderate, more traditional" Christians you're talking about are what's called "mainline Protestants". Those are really dying out, like I said before.

        If you don't believe a random Orc on the internet, here's [washingtonpost.com] some [vox.com] articles [stream.org] about it from various sources I found with one quick Google search (all 3 authors are religious BTW).

        • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Tuesday February 27 2018, @03:09AM

          by NotSanguine (285) <NotSanguineNO@SPAMSoylentNews.Org> on Tuesday February 27 2018, @03:09AM (#644435) Homepage Journal

          I really don't think so. You can read about it, and I saw it myself in my last marriage as my wife was religious and dragged me to some churches. The fundies (which I consider "evangelicals" and "Prosperity Gospel" followers to be part of, though some will disagree with me on this) are growing in number: they're the ones who have all the "non-denominational" megachurches, the televangelists, etc. The "moderate, more traditional" Christians you're talking about are what's called "mainline Protestants". Those are really dying out, like I said before.

          If you don't believe a random Orc on the internet, here's [washingtonpost.com] some [vox.com] articles [stream.org] about it from various sources I found with one quick Google search (all 3 authors are religious BTW).

          Interesting. And that was quite similar to the argument I heard here [c-span.org] this morning.

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