| I received some thoughtful if firm emails regarding my comments about global warming from a couple of weeks ago. I had sounded flippant in regard to the threat when I said “So what?” but actually meant “Even if the alarming predictions are not correct, we still have a responsibility to care for God’s creation.” I did some more reading and pondering to try to discern the nature of my on-and-off skepticism about the topic. If you Google “Failed climate change predictions” you find many a piece like this and this. While framed by hard-core climate change skeptics, one can see that many alarming predictions over the last few decades simply haven’t come to pass. So someone like me, who has been cognizant of the conversation since the 1970s, tends to become jaded. Yet to be fair, I also came across this piece from 2017 in Forbes: “The First Climate Model Turns 50, And Predicted Global Warming Almost Perfectly.” It’s a bit sciency for me, but I can’t disagree with the conclusion. Toward the end, however, the writer quotes one of the creators of the first climate model, who says, Models have been very effective in predicting climate change, but have not been as effective in predicting its impact on ecosystem[s] and human society. The distinction between the two has not been stated clearly. Perhaps this is why so many predictions (not all, but many) about impact have been wrong. And why we still have a lot to learn about something as complex as global climate. And why I nonetheless believe that, despite our ignorance of many climate matters, we Christians of all people should be especially concerned about the earth that God has made our home to live in and steward to his glory. Decline in Religion—Take Two I’m an equal opportunity offender, and that means I have to post pieces that disagree with programs I’ve helped produce. A few weeks ago, we recorded a Quick to Listen episode on “What to Understand about Christianity’s Decline in America” (though it was posted just this week). It was based on a recent Pew religion poll. Apparently, we should have listened a little longer, perhaps to articles like this: “Losing Their Religion, Really?” It concludes, So sorry to rain on the media parade, but while there has been a recent decrease in formal religious affiliation and participation in the U.S., mostly among the youngest, it has pretty much been within a narrow band that’s fluctuated over the last half century but maintained a participation and membership total surpassing any other type of social organization. That even includes watching the Super Bowl! In short, as Mark Twain put it, there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Much more to discern when it comes to this issue, to be sure. The Power of the Few in Christ Similar to climate change, even if Christianity is in a state of radical decline, this is no reason to panic shouting about the falling sky. “Make Saints in Our Shops” discusses the power of few numbers when the gospel of Jesus Christ is at stake. To quote Hans Kung in one of his better moments: In the light of Jesus’s message, the small size of a group, the limited means, the seeming ineffectiveness of the activity, [and] the work should not be seen as signs of failure. It is precisely in impotence that power, in weakness that strength, in smallness that greatness, and in humility that self-consciousness can be manifested. The First Great Social Upset Speaking of a God who can beat the odds, check out this delightful animation video “Moses Go Down.” Grace and peace, | 