Jonathan

How do you know the diamonds weren’t produced recently as is possible from meteorite collisions and volcanic eruptions etc? Where were the diamond samples taken from?

Damien Spillane

And not that you care, yes indeed the Bible does command good stewardship, as I have written elsewhere. That’s a major reason I oppose global warming hysteria!

Jonathan Sarfati, Brisbane

Actually, I haven’t given my full responses so how can you say they are simplistic?

With respect to Climage Change, I reject the notion that this is a major challenge facing humanity, and my rejection is based on very sound scientific evidence. For a start, you may want to consult:
www.climateaudit.org

The suggestion that a warmer climate will introduce economic benefits displays a staggering ignorance of the effects of climate on biodiversity, the food chain, human health, water security and flooding of lowlands.

Actually, I am very well aware of the effects: they are positive on balance.

May I suggest that it is you who are displaying the “staggering ignorance”.

It is grossly irresponsible to simply label all such projections as alarmist when they are based on sound and well-established science.

But they are not based on sound and well-established science – that’s the point!

Case in point: the famous “hockey stick” curve produced by Mann which formed the centrepiece of the 2001 IPCC report. McKitrick and McIntyre so thoroughly debunked it, showing it to be misleading and fraudulent, that the latest IPCC report has dropped it.

in Africa…Overpopulation is a key factor behind poverty, hunger and disease, and these problems are not being solved by the market.

In Africa, the biggest cause of poverty is under-development, civil war and foreign aid. Read my paper on economics and you will see what the Africans themselves are saying.

Nor are they helped by the attitudes of Christian churches who stubbornly oppose education about contraception and safe sex.

Yet the most successful policy to reduce AIDS in Africa is the Christian backed ABC program, which calls for Abstenance for unmarried people, Being faithful for married couples, and Condoms for already infected people.

This program was being used only in Uganda. The result was that Uganda saw their infection rates drop from 30% to less than 5% in some areas. All other countries which simply adopted the UN approach of handing out millions of condoms all saw their infection rates continue to increase.

Andrew Kulikovsky

Another good indication that the left has it wrong on most things, is the observation that within the Christian community liberal theology and liberal politics go hand in hand, whilst those who are biblically orthodox are usually also politically conservative.

Ewan McDonald, Victoria.

In case you haven’t noticed, almost everyone is a greenie these days, and it’s no longer the pejorative term that you seem to imply it is. I would have thought a Christian would have concerns about the environment too. Doesn’t the Bible call upon Christians to exercise good stewardship over the earth?

As for science and prediction, both you and Andrew are young-earth creationists if I understand correctly. Anyone in this day and age who still thinks the earth is only 6000 years old is to be pitied. You certainly have no credentials which would allow you to provide credible commentary on scientific matters.

Steve Angelino, WA

Steve Angelino, like many greenies, claims the support of “science” for his alarmist projections. But that’s the whole point: future projections are interpretations of the scientific data in the present, based on certain assumptions. Conversely, Andrew Kulikovsky appealed to well documented history that the Medieval Warm Period, warmer than today, was a period of prosperity. This was followed by the Little Ice Age, a period of famines and plagues.

Jonathan Sarfati, Brisbane

Thanks Bill; I have not once claimed that I am not living in a way which I think is not exploitative, so no real need to put the guilt back on me. I am only too aware that I am sitting at a wooden desk! Just in case you’re interested in finding out who is exploiting the earth’s resources;

www.epa.vic.gov.au/ecologicalfootprint/calculators/personal/introduction.asp

This has been a really good discussion. I have enjoyed reading everyone’s views. “Lets keep thinking these things through…”; I agree entirely. Thanks again.

Simon Kennedy, VIC

In my article I did state that “every believer who thinks and acts politically will fall somewhere along the political spectrum, either more to the left or to the right, or some combination thereof”. That is true of economics as well. Of course there are no totally pure forms of capitalism or socialism in the world, but neither is there an economic system or theory that does not fall somewhere on the spectrum.

All economies will either be a bit more to the right (emphasising less government regulation), more to the left (emphasising more government regulation), or somewhere more in the middle (a blend of both worlds). Most economies do have a mixture, but some can rightly be called more socialistic, while some others can rightly be called more capitalistic.

But free market economic theory can be compared with statist economic theory, just as free market practice can be compared with statist practice. Then it is a question of which one, or which combination, produces the best outcomes as measured by various indicators.

As to the US, there are plenty of pros and cons that can be examined on the various “shortcomings” you find there, but this is not the place to do that.

And your other points are starting to stray much further from the original article (sex ed, demographic issues, etc.), but I cover them much more fully in other relevant sections on this website.

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch