Young Baptists Going Green In Atlanta

Two Better South Issues, faith and the South and environmental policy, were addressed this week in Atlanta at a Baptist convention led by former Vice President Al Gore and former President Jimmy Carter. The Raleigh News and Observer reports on the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, “a gathering of black and white Baptists, moderates and liberals,” that met at the Georgia World Congress Center. The event was remarkable for the participation of young divinity students and the priorities they bring to their faith. One of their priorities is the environment.

…the new generation of Baptists who will one day take the helm of churches across the nation. Their passion for environmental stewardship signals a different slate of concerns they'll champion as they move into positions of leadership.

But not just young Baptists are raising environmental concerns. Prominent evangelical Christian leaders -- such as the Rev. Rich Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals -- have warned that global warming is an urgent threat, and that the Bible calls on people to care for God's creation.

The attention given to the environment by the young Baptists marks a change from the denomination’s more traditional voices.

But they have not nearly succeeded in capturing the hearts and minds of more conservative evangelicals. Some, such as James Dobson of Focus on the Family, have seen global warming as a distraction that diverts evangelicals from other issues they deem more important, such as the breakup of the family, abortion and homosexuality.

According to a Barna Group study published last week in the Baptist Press, a publication of the Southern Baptist Convention, global warming was last on the list of problems evangelicals rated. Instead, they listed abortion as the top issue facing America, followed by personal debt, the content of TV and movies, homosexuals, poverty, immigration and HIV/AIDS.

Southern Progressives should see the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant as a promising development in empowering the region’s strong and extensive faith community to adapt to the changing demands of the new century with potentially progressive and innovative solutions. In summing up his message, former Vice President Gore stated;

"We do not have to countenance the heaving of contempt on God's creation.”