Repent for the sin of denying global warming, says theologian
Typhoon Haiyan and even Superstorm Sandy were not simply caused by global warming. They were the result of “moral evil,” according to one theologian.

“These ‘superstorms’ aren’t an ‘act of God,’ but an act of willful disregard for God’s creation, and the neglect of the human responsibility to care for the planet,” writes Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, professor of theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary and a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress.

“There is moral evil to be seen in these ‘superstorms,’ I believe, on two levels,” she added. “First, there is the moral evil of continuing to pump fossil fuels into the atmosphere, producing global warming. Second, however, is the moral evil of climate change denial, that is, those who would continue to deny, in the face of mounting evidence, that violent climate change is upon us and it is accelerating.”

Thistlethwaite is writing in the wake of the deadly Typhoon Haiyan which is reportedly responsible for the death of thousands in the Philippines. The storm has already been attributed to global warming by UN officials and has been used as a lightning rod for activism on global warming.

However, Thistlethwaite says there is a “theological prescription” for what humans need to do to stave off planetary destruction — “confession, repentance and change.”...