by Linda Gilden

Over 40 years ago a major oil company consulted scientists around the world hoping to get a picture of the future. James Lovelock, a British scientist and inventor, declared the environment would be the biggest problem and went on to develop the “Gaia theory” of earth. This theory simply states that the Earth is a single organism, with all parts interacting with one another.

Much discussion ensued and scientists, politicians, Christians and others began to align either for or against the theory. Global warming has been a hot topic ever since, with much of the debate centering around whether or not humans are contributing to this phenomenon.

Lovelock continued questioning, as all good scientists do, and in recent years rethought his original position. Taking a step back from his alarmist status, he now admits that he doesn’t really know what the climate is doing – providing more for Christians to consider as they act and pray about the environment.

Lovelock’s newest book will be released next year and takes a milder look at climate change. He believes the release of carbon into the atmosphere is still a problem, but not as much as he previously thought.

Election year ramifications

In a recent Rolling Stone article, President Obama gives blame to the conservatives for raising doubts about climate change. As an important part of his campaign, President Obama promised that cap-and-trade legislation would be the answer to many of America’s energy woes. But cap-and-trade did not garner enough support to pass.

Republican candidate Mitt Romney has expressed concern about global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. In his 2010 book No Apology, Romney said he believes that “climate change is occurring…I also believe that human activity is a contributing factor.” But like James Lovelock, Romney’s position has changed over the last few months. Coming from a business point of view instead of a scientific one, Romney backed down from his opinion that humans were the major cause of the climate change. He now admits he is not sure whether or not man’s activity affects climate change.

Scriptural perspective

Fuel and energy have always been a concern. When the Pilgrims first arrived in this country, they used wood for heating and cooking. They were able to go into the surrounding forests and cut that day’s portion of wood. When men depleted the wood resource, they discovered whale oil, then oil in the ground.

God has always provided a way for His people to have the energy they need for survival and in return expects them to be good citizens and stewards of the natural resources He has given. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 24:1) You are living on borrowed soil. God has endowed humans with a beautiful Earth and given people ingenuity and creativity to find and use the natural resources needed for survival.

Biblically, Christians are trustees and mankind’s use of the Earth will end when people are gone. As demonstrated in the parables of Luke 12:41-48 and Matthew 25:14-30, the concept of good stewardship is not new. But it encourages you to carefully use the resources given “in trust” to ensure that your children and grandchildren have what they need to enjoy life here. You have a responsibility to those who will come after you to take care of the Earth.

As the election gets closer, you’re likely to hear the words global warming and climate change more often. There will be much discussion about Lovelock’s original theory and his evolving one. Though opinions on the subject differ and change, remain ever thankful for God’s bountiful provision for the United States.

Pray today for:

• American citizens to be good stewards of natural resources.
• Legislators and government officials to work together to create the best and most lasting use of energy.
• Individuals to wisely use the Earth.
• All to recognize God-given gifts of energy.

Linda Gilden is director of writing programs for CLASSeminars, Inc. She also directs two writers conferences, Carolina Christian Writers Conference and CLASS Christian Writers Conference. Linda lives in South Carolina with her family where she enjoys many of God’s natural resources.

by Bill Noles Jr.

Confronted with Congressional opposition, President Obama is increasingly resorting to executive power to move his policies forward. Recently, Obama exercised his executive power to promote measures that would safeguard veterans and members of the military against unscrupulous college recruiters.

“If Congress refuses to act,” the president said, “I’ll continue to do everything in my power to act without them.” Seeking ways to act without Congress, the Obama administration branded its unilateral efforts “We Can’t Wait.”

“Obama’s not saying he has the right to defy a Congressional statute,” said Richard H. Pildes, a New York University law professor. “But if the legislative path is blocked and he otherwise has the legal authority to issue an executive order on an issue, they are clearly much more willing to do that now than two years ago.”

Many conservatives have denounced the administration’s new approach, but Obama is certainly not the first president, Democrat or Republican, to use this tactic.

“If the president’s abuse of executive authority continues unchecked, it could set a very dangerous precedent for future presidents and seriously weaken our democratic system,” said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “Unfortunately, it appears that the president has little respect for the laws passed by Congress or the will of the American people.”

Partisan criticism aside, Obama is using executive authority after being rebuffed by a Congress controlled by the other party – like other presidents have done before him. “It’s taken Obama two years to get there, but this has happened throughout history,” said Jack L. Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor who led the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel during the George W. Bush administration. “You can’t be in that office with all its enormous responsibilities – when things don’t happen, you get blamed for it – and not exercise all the powers that have accrued to it over time.”

Obama’s approach puts him in the company of his recent predecessors:

• President George W. Bush failed to persuade Congress to pass a bill allowing religiously affiliated groups to receive taxpayer grants – and then issued an executive order making the change.
• President Bill Clinton increased White House involvement in agency rule making, using regulations and executive orders to show that he was getting things done despite opposition from a Republican Congress on matters like land conservation, gun control, tobacco advertising and treaties.
• Both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations increased their control over executive agencies to advance a deregulatory agenda, despite opposition from Democratic lawmakers, while also developing legal theories and tactics to increase executive power. One of those tactics is used by the current administration – issuing signing statements more frequently.

What is surprising now to some is that in a 2007 radio interview, Obama said that one of his first moves as president would be to “call in my new attorney general to review every single executive order that’s been issued” by then president George W. Bush.

“President Obama criticized the Bush administration before his election, but he has been quite striking in his unwillingness to give back much of the territory previous presidents, and George W. Bush in particular, captured,” said Garrett Epps, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. “I expect that trend to accelerate now that he faces a House even more hostile than the one elected in the GOP landslide of 1994.”

The separation of powers in the United States Constitution was to prevent the chief executive from acting like a king. What has happened since then is that the presidency has gradually gained power through the use of presidential directives, including proclamations and executive orders. Congress has enacted statutes that either modified or revoked a presidential directive only 239 times out of tens-of-thousands of directives, and the courts have struck down just two directives involving presidential law making.

Although many presidential directives do not violate the Constitution, such as declaring a national holiday, it is arguable that many have infringed upon the powers of another branch, such as the legislature, and violated the Constitution. “This is what presidents do,” admits Goldsmith.

This week, pray:

• That the Obama administration will use executive power properly.
• That the use of executive power, by any administration, will not infringe upon the rights of U.S. citizens.
• That the nation’s leaders will seek God’s guidance.

Bill Noles Jr. is an entrepreneur, author and writer. Married for 30 years, he is a father of two sons and grandfather of three children. He and his wife Diann live in Tucson, AZ.

The government of the United States is acknowledged by the wise and good of other nations to be the most free, impartial and righteous government of the world; but all agree that, for such a government to be sustained for many years, the principles of truth and righteousness, taught in the Holy Scriptures, must be practiced. The rulers must govern in the fear of God, and the people obey the laws.

Emma Willard, an American educator and historian, was a leader in the movement to provide higher education among women. Born in Berlin, Connecticut, the sixteenth of seventeen children, she began teaching at the age of 17. Married to John Willard, with his help she established a girls’ boarding school and later a women’s seminary at Middleton, Vermont. In a book of morals for the young she wrote:

My Dear Children and Youth –

Since, then, wisdom teaches us to rate everything at its just value, it is wise to seek the favor and fear the frown of God, rather than to seek the favor and fear the frown of men. …

Look upon the Savior’s cross…asking pardon…and the Holy Spirit’s guidance…receive the Christian’s armor.

Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) said the House will vote before the November elections to extend all of the current tax rates that are set to expire at the end of the year, hoping to avoid a “lame duck train wreck” of legislation.

The House Budget Committee approved a plan to replace across-the-board spending cuts slated to begin next year, laying down a marker in the election year on rolling back the sequester of funds.

Pray for our legislators as they deal with matters impacting the national economy.