no, its Too Late. we had our last chance. now we can only go out in a blaze of Kingsford, which I am already planning for this coming holiday. and, for the 4th of July, Labor Day, NASCAR parties, annual team party, probably Thanksgiving. maybe Christmas, if we last that long.So true.
But do what he says, not what he does (re living high on the hog)
We know as Christians that having a bad ambassador does not automatically make the message false, though. It is the facts that have to be our guide.
When the bad ambassador stands to gain billions from the product he’s pitching, I think it goes beyond giving him the benefit of the doubt.
We know as Catholics having a bad ambassador for Christ’s Church does not automatically make the message false, because of Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit will keep His Church from error in matters of faith and morals.
History is full of the right thing being backed by all the wrong people, not just Christianity.
Where there’s life, there’s hope. Never give up on life (or eternal life).
I guess I didn’t understand your use of “as Christians”. I assumed you meant we give deference to the message of our Church leaders even when they make grave mistakes in their lives. Otherwise, I wouldn’t single out Christians as the only ones who should know that even a blind hog finds an acorn once in awhile. I would think Jews, Muslims, and Athiests would know this as well. And I for one am not going to give any credibility to Al Gore’s opinions.
No, no, sorry. No, I meant that some terrible people have done awful things in the name of the Gospel, but that doesn’t mean the Gospel isn’t true. People have down awful things in the name of the United States, too, but that doesn’t mean the US has a terrible political system. I only used “as Christians” because this is a Christian site. So just because someone holds a particular view and you think they are a crackpot in general doesn’t mean that maybe one of the views they hold doesn’t have some truth to it. (And, conversely, someone who usually has pretty good judgment can be wrong. You do have to look at what they are saying.)
I think Gore bashing has gone a bit too far (I’m not saying there has been any or much on this thread).
as a Catholic, I’m burning through my allotment of Carbon Credits ™(c)(r) at a prodigious rate, because I don’t buy into the -]global warmin’/-] -]global colding/-] climate change hype. I’m still hopeful that the Coming Ice Age science promised back in the 1970s will arrive.
The issue is that he is undermining the very message that he is delivering with such urgency by his own choices. That is what I meant by looking at the facts instead of putting too much stock in the messenger. If David Koresh had walked his own talk, he was still nuts and wasn’t preaching the truth. If Al Gore lived in a house with a coal-fired furnace and dumped his used car batteries out back, that doesn’t mean he’s not telling the truth. It does inevitably undermine the message, though.
And, had the audacity to pronounce that the poor, small-minded “others” who don’t buy into the hype will likely go to Hell.
We were just discussing a similar principle in my Carmelite meeting today.
.you should look Gore’s faults before you exonerate him. no one suggested Gore was at fault for being rich, he’s at fault for being a hypocrite and not walking the walk and for profiteering on global colding or global warmerin’.
What did the Lord say after the rich young man went away sad?We were just discussing a similar principle in my Carmelite meeting today.
Even if people do not practice what they preach, it is still important that they preach goodness and against sinfulness.
Sort of like when parents say, “Do what I say, not what I do.”
As for Gore, I’m not really familiar with his faults, except that he is rich, and rich people tend to contribute more to environmental harms by their more extravagant lifestyles. I did hear he either went solar, or his neighborhood rules wouldn’t allow it, or something of that nature. Any travel he does to promote the message I would not count, only personal travel. So I’m not sure what the beef it with him, except he is rich.
I too am living a much richer lifestyle than most people on earth, and am emitting more GHGs than the poor in poor countries. But I’m doing what I can to reduce, and we have reduced out GHG emissions by over 60% since 1990, and have plans to reduce more, and would hope that others do their part, as well, and reduce by 10%, 20%, 30% or more, whatever is doable and feasible for them.
There are no silver bullets or gov laws that can accomplish the reduction needed – it is really up to every person around the world, as JPII told us in 1990. Which, I guess, sounds pretty helpless, considering fallen human nature
I know some here are expecting or hoping for an ice age, but it seems to me it would be best to leave the fossil fuels in the ground for when it really gets cold. It would be foolish to use them all up so our progeny freeze to death
Let us also remember that contemporary people of even modest means are comfortable beyond the dreams of the wealthy of the Lord’s time. We have made many things into needs that were not even remote possibilities for them. How many of us, given the choice to live as the Lord was suggesting the rich young man live, would have the courage to say yes?
There’s absolutely nothing wrong in investing in various products or projects that will help reduce our GHGs. That’s actually where people should put their money and divest from fossil fuels.
I’m thinking like this – we are very rich and profligate compared to people of times past – even people of a century ago. The average American would make King Herod blush. So we may need a rewrite of “It is more difficult for rich man [way back then] to enter into heaven, than a camel to enter thru the eye of the needle [which I understand is a tiny portal, and camels loaded up with goods would have to kneel to get thru].”
no one cares about gore, he’s a profiteer, a hypocrite and full of hot air. that’s a clever attempt to divert the issue by inviting an ad hom attack on al instead of focusing on the collapsing “science” of -]global colding global warmerin /-]climate change.
Here’s one in particular. I have a friend who, several years ago, found himself in a professional relationship with Al Gore and, over the course of a few months, spent a good deal of time with him. One thing that astounded him was Gore’s apparent cavalier attitude toward “walking the walk.” Aside from the travel and whatnot, what my friend kept coming back to was Gore’s complete lack of conservationist habits at home. He wasn’t attacking the fact that he had a mansion, but the fact that, whether Gore was there or away, even if the house was empty for weeks on end, he kept the lights, furnace and A/C running as if people were at home at all times. He said he his home was surrounded by a variety of spotlights, mostly for landscaping purposes, and that they were on at all times. He said certain rooms of the house were lit 24/7, and that the house was kept at a constant temperature regardless of whether anyone was home. Whenever I leave the house, I turn off everything that’s not essential and turn down my furnace/AC so it’s not heating/cooling the house the same as if we were there. You’d think the champion of taking my money to pay for Brazil/India/China’s carbon credits would at least have the courtesy to do the same.