Global Warming, Yay or Nay? Or Something Else?

It seems that there are two major camps on the subject of global warming (at least in the social circles in which I find myself):

1. Those that believe the earth is heating up slowly, humanity's actions are its cause, and immediate environmental action needs taken to reverse current effects.
2. Those that deny that the earth is heating up and thus don't feel that action needs taken to control things that aren't negatively affecting anything.

I never really knew what to believe.  I was never too concerned about it.  I grew up being taught all about the greenhouse effect and thinking that the use of Aqua Net and the popular 80's hairstyles that required it was mostly to blame for us dying someday in the future from solar radiation.  I have recycled most of my life, I love reusing and repurposing things, and have even made a career in remanufacturing so, in comparison to the average American, I'm very environmentally conscious and have a comparably small carbon footprint.

Unless you live under a rock, you've been told through television, newspapers, magazines, coworkers, friends, etc. about how the earth is getting hotter.  In January, the New York Times published the article, 2015 Was The Hottest Year in Historical Record, Scientists Say.  And, I have little doubt that the information that they reference is correct.  Glacier depletion is commonly referred to as stone-cold proof of global warming (sorry for the pun).  Glacier depletion has been well documented over the course of the last 100 years or so with the availability of photography and is pretty much undeniable.  Anytime the media reports on someone or some group who speaks about global warming not being the issue that it's all chalked up to be, they are generally referred to in negative terms and called things like "global warming deniers" and often compared to "flat-earthers."

It's clear that the media has made up its mind on the subject and that they are whole-heartedly supporting camp #1 defined above.  But, if you look to the Internet, you'll quickly find conflicting information about how news media outlets report on climate issues.  Wikipedia has a nice little section on Media Coverage of Climate Change that upon finishing leaves the reader with the conclusion that news media is a very poor source for information concerning the science of climate change.  Scientists believe that news media is ill-informed, ignorant of the science, and too intent on writing and filming pieces that purposefully cause division and confusion and then capitalizes on it.  It's the discourse, not the truth, that the media is interested in maintaining to help sell their product.  To hear it from the scientific community, there is an overwhelming consensus that the earth is indeed warming up.  But, as you may read in previous blogs of mine, Shaky Foundations, for example, I don't fully trust the scientific community's opinion since so much of their foundational beliefs are unwise and illogical.

So, what do I believe?  Do I have to believe something?  Do I have to pick one of these two camps?  Can I just go on being unconcerned about it?  If not, where does one find the truth so that one can know for sure that they aren't going to become part of the problem?

One place I admittedly never looked for truth about global warming was the Bible.  I imagine that I'm nowhere near alone, though.  Even being a Christian, why would I look to the Bible for information about a modern problem?  I mean, it is a modern problem, right?

Well, maybe that's our collective problem.  Perhaps, we have an incorrect understanding of history and therefore do not know how to interpret what we see in the present.  A few years back, I was presented with some information.  Upon first hearing it I regarded it as craziness.  As the explanation continued, I began to understand it as an alternate theory.  But, by the presentation's end, I was intellectually rocked by it.  What followed was a fury of research that would later confirm it for me and finally bring acceptance as truth.  Now, I would like to present this to you.

Suppose for the sake of this presentation that the Bible is actually true.  This means that the whole world was under water at some point around 4,300 years ago.  If that were true, what would we expect to see?

• Evidence of sea life found in high mountain ranges
• Flood legends found distorted in virtually every culture
• A lot of available water on earth (3/4 of the earth is covered in water)
• Billions of dead creatures encased in sediment (fossils)
• Bent (not broken) sedimentary rock layers
• Examples of massive erosion caused by more water than what is currently available
• Huge layers of coal (dead vegetation) found miles deep in the earth's crust
• etc. etc.

Here's what I propose to be the true and biblical earth's history concerning global warming:

• Genesis 1:9-10 "Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good."
• All the waters were in "one place" and land appeared as one super continent. (Secular science believes this, too, and named this super continent Pangaea.)
• Genesis 7:11 "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."
• The continental plates were broken apart which caused molten rock (lava) to pour out into the seas and literally boil the oceans causing great "fountains" of steam that fell back to earth in the form of rain from the "windows of heaven".
• Evidence of this ocean boiling can be found in the presence of diatomaceous earth, which is fossilized diatoms.  "The worldwide association of diatomite deposits and volcanic deposits suggests that the availability of silica from volcanic ash may be necessary for thick diatomite deposits." - Cummins, Arthur B., Diatomite, in Industrial Minerals and Rocks, 3rd ed. 1960, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, pp. 303–319
• Genesis 7:12 "And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights."
• The continents, while submerged under water, sprinted apart over the course of less than 40 days unleashing billions of tons of lava into the ocean creating a new sea floor while sending plumes of steam into the atmosphere that fell back as rain since the atmosphere was much too saturated to hold it.  At some point under 40 days, the continental plates came to settle roughly at their current locations, the steam relented, and the rain ceased after 40 days and 40 nights.
•  Genesis 7:19 "(the waters) rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered."
• This was not a local flood nor was it merely symbolism.  It was a global flood that covered the whole earth, even the mountains.
• Genesis 7:20 "The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits."
• Even the tips of the mountains were around 23 feet under water.

Now, consider this.  Glaciers are large bodies of ice formed by snow collection that are moving from a high point to a lower point.  A glacier's formation requires lots of snow.  Now, let's continue my proposed true and bible-based earth's history presentation:

• After the water receded, it wasn't just the surface of the planet that had drastically changed from the catastrophic events of volcanic activity, erosion, and continental sprint.  The climate had largely been affected.  The increased volcanic activity during and the years following the flood filled the upper atmosphere with ash and aerosols (fine particles) that reflected some of the sun's light resulting in a cooled atmosphere.  Also cooling the earth's atmosphere was the year that the entire earth was covered in water.  Water does not absorb the energy from the sun as efficiently as exposed ground does.  It's the absorbed energy in the ground that is released back out that helps keep the earth warm at night until more heat can be absorbed.  The global flood would have created a deficit of heat absorption every day the land was covered.
• Combine this cooled atmosphere with warmed oceans from all the oceanic lava introduction and you get lots of evaporation, condensation, and snow.  (It was likely that the heated oceans helped put off enough warmth to somewhat offset the deficit of the sun's energy absorption while the earth was completely covered with water.  But, warmed oceans and cooled atmosphere together would have created snow storms that the world never saw before nor experienced since.
• With the cooler summers, snow was not melted and thus it accumulated in large amounts in the mid to upper latitudes forming glaciers in a very short time period.
• We would recognize this period after the flood as the Ice Age.
• The volcanic activity settled down eventually, clearing the atmosphere of particles, and starting a familiar climate cycle similar to what we now see today.  The glaciers have been depleting ever since at a faster rate initially in the lower latitudes and slowing exponentially in the higher latitudes.
• With the return of the ice back into water, the oceans are rising ever so slowly.
• Temperatures are ever so slightly climbing as the atmosphere finds its equilibrium.

In conclusion, glacier depletion, global warming, and a rising ocean level isn't evidence of human interference with the world's climate so much as it is evidence of God's interference with and destruction of a sinful mankind.  It would be better to look at all these effects and recognize them for what they are:  a standing geological reminder that God is sovereign.  Romans 1:20 states "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."  Even when He destroyed the earth because of overwhelming sin, He did it in such a way that there would be evidence everywhere for us to see, know the truth, and seek Him like we are supposed to.  I will end this with 2 Peter 3.  It is incredibly applicable to this discussion!  In it, the Bible predicts that people will deny that the flood ever happened and believe instead in uniformitarianism ("everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation").  This is one of the foundational beliefs of secular science today.  Wow!  (I did the highlighting not so you wouldn't read the whole thing, please do, but so that you wouldn't miss the highly applicable points to this blog.)

1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
³ Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

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