Why climate change may save more lives than it costs

Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, announced earlier this week what he described as “the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.” The new ruling argues that Congress has not given the EPA the necessary authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, methane from oil and gas companies, or a host of other pollutants.

The shift stands in contrast to how the EPA has approached these issues since the Clean Air Act ostensibly established a legal basis for such regulation back in 2009. However, the basis for that law was the “endangerment finding,” which argued that greenhouse gases represent a sufficiently large threat to public health and welfare to necessitate government intervention. Zeldin and his team are questioning that conclusion.

Given the way government agencies typically function, it may seem odd for one to actively try to limit the scope of its authority. However, shortly after his nomination to lead the EPA, Zeldin stated that his goal was to drive “a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion” by going after the regulations used to support it.

And this is hardly the first time that conservatives—or even President Trump—have sought to chip away at these protocols. During his first term, Trump undid many of the regulations from Obama’s tenure in the Oval Office, only to see them reinstated by Biden. However, if the endangerment finding were overturned, then it would be far more difficult for future presidents to do the same.

But while Zeldin and others in the administration have argued the cost of these regulations outpaces the environmental gains, their primary focus is less on the science behind climate change and more on the argument that Congress took shortcuts in granting regulatory powers to the EPA in the first place. Largely avoiding the quagmire of debate around shifting temperatures and humanity’s impact is seen as an easier path to deregulation.

Whether that assessment proves accurate will be for the courts to decide, but the attempt has sparked fresh debate over both climate change in general and the government’s role in combating it more specifically. And when it comes to that debate, relying on facts over narratives is essential.

To that end, I found a recent article by Jonah Goldberg in The Dispatch to be particularly helpful.

Data-driven or agenda-driven?

In his article, Goldberg argues that—at least in the short to intermediate term—climate change may actually save more lives than it costs. He points to how, in Europe, for example, 8.3 times more people die from cold weather than from heat. If that fact is surprising, it may be because heat-related deaths get nine times more media coverage.

Goldberg is quick to clarify: “I think climate change is real and a problem—even if I think it is also overhyped and used to justify a political and economic agenda that is not entirely about dealing with the problem. So I don’t want to be too dismissive.”

However, he goes on to point out that these changes manifest more in the form of warmer winters than hotter summers, which could lead to greater crop yields, faster reforestation, and fewer cold-related deaths. Moreover, carbon emissions from heating are four times greater than the emissions from air conditioning, meaning that colder climates exacerbate the problem far more than warmer ones.

Yet, despite those factors, many continue to focus only on climate change’s potential consequences—many of which are both real and troubling—while ignoring the possible benefits. And this trend is seen most clearly in Europe, where the rising temperatures have proved particularly painful because the people there are often ill-equipped to handle them.

In Switzerland, for example, government approval is required to install air conditioning. In France, as of a few years ago, roughly three-quarters of all homes were unair-conditioned, and the prevailing narratives throughout their culture aim to keep it that way.

A recent Wall Street Journal article described how “In France, media outlets often warn that cooling a room to more than 15 degrees Fahrenheit below the outside temperature can cause something called ‘thermal shock,’ resulting in nausea, loss of consciousness and even respiratory arrest.”

As someone who has spent most of my life in Texas, I can assure you that is not the case.

But while it is easy to deride claims of “thermal shock” and an ever-evolving list of climate-related doomsday predictions—or their counterparts that claim nothing is actually changing—the truth is that all of us are tempted at times to downplay the truth when it proves inconvenient to the narrative we would prefer to believe.

And, as Christians, that is a mistake we cannot afford to make.

Itching ears and false teachers

One of the most tragic examples of this mistake in Scripture comes from the scribes and Pharisees who opposed Jesus throughout the Gospels. For the most part, these were well-meaning, well-educated, God-fearing men who dedicated their lives to helping people know how to be right with the Lord.

The problem was that their understanding of what made a person right with God was wrong. So when Jesus came preaching about the need for repentance and looking beyond right actions to focus on getting your heart right, they rejected him.

They built their lives, their ministries, and even their very identities around a false idea, and their dependence upon the lie was so strong that not even God incarnate could correct them.

But while the Pharisees are a famous example of this fault, all of us are prone to the same mistake. Moreover, it is just as damaging to our relationship with God and as easy to fall victim to today as it was two thousand years ago.

Our culture fits well into Paul’s warning that “the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

Fortunately, the advice that follows is just as relevant as well: “But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5). In short, choose what’s true no matter the cost and never waver from our calling to help others do the same.

So, what false narratives are you prone to believing today? Are there any areas of your life where your ears are itching for convenient myths over inconvenient truths?

All of us have our blind spots where we are vulnerable to that temptation. The key is knowing yours and then learning to rely on the Lord to help you choose his reality over one of your own making.

Will you ask for his help in making the right choice today?

Quote of the day:

“The word of God hidden in the heart is a stubborn voice to suppress.” —Billy Graham

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Denison Forum

 

Five ethical issues and the path to courageous faith

According to the Cleveland Clinic, mitochondrial diseases are “a group of genetic conditions that affect how mitochondria in your cells produce energy.” They can cause developmental delays in children, profound muscle weakness, hearing loss, blindness, strokes, and heart failure. Those with the worst symptoms die earliest, often before the age of three.

Now there’s a way to prevent the transmission of these diseases to the next generation.

Researchers in the UK reported recently on the birth of eight babies, each of whom was conceived using one sperm and two eggs. They took the combination of the mother and father’s DNA from a fertilized egg with sick mitochondria and inserted it into a surrogate egg with healthy mitochondria stripped of its own DNA. (Think of extracting the yoke from a chicken egg and inserting it into an egg whose yoke had been removed.)

The children produced in this way will avoid the mitochondrial diseases they would otherwise have inherited. What’s not to like about this news?

A good deal, as it turns out.

Five ethical issues

I serve as resident scholar for ethics with one of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in the country. In the healthcare context, I understand the appeal of this procedure. If we could remove malignant tumors, why not remove diseased mitochondria to produce healthy babies?

However, I see at least five issues with three-parent embryos.

First, the mitochondria from the surrogate eggs transmitted their own DNA to the children. While only 1 percent of the total, this DNA can influence brain development and affect everything from lifespan and height to kidney and liver function, blood counts, and the development of diabetes or multiple sclerosis.

And this means that the children have three genetic parents. What are the ethical implications here?

Second, we should consider the IVF procedures utilized. A large number of embryos are typically created in the lab and tested for viability; those that are not used are frozen or discarded. If you believe life begins at conception, as I do, then you see these unused embryos as human lives and their demise as a form of abortion.

Third, what are the future consequences of babies created from three parents? They will transmit their genetics to their offspring. Is the human race being altered?

Fourth, will this technique lead to customized children? Will the DNA of persons of unusual capacities (intellectual, athletic, etc.) be sought for inclusion in the future? Will this be a form of eugenics?

Fifth, will three-parent babies become the norm for lesbian couples? Using donor sperm, the DNA of one partner could be combined with the mitochondria of the other so that both are the genetic “parents” of their children.

“I don’t believe in heaven and hell”

Three-parent embryos are intended to prevent disease and death caused by genetically inherited diseases. They are an example of the fact that many people today will do nearly anything to avoid death, whatever the moral issues or consequences at stake.

A data researcher recently noted that “over the course of the last century, something has dramatically changed in how our species thinks about life and death.” Studies show that young people drink less, fight less, have less sex, and commit fewer crimes than any generation in recorded history. Healthcare spending is escalating while motorcycle ridership and extreme sports participation are plummeting.

The rise of secularism in our post-Christian culture is a clear factor here. When religious belief declines, this world becomes all there is. As George Clooney famously stated,

I don’t believe in heaven and hell. I don’t know if I believe in God. All I know is that as an individual, I won’t allow this life—the only thing I know to exist—to be wasted.

In this context, I find this comment in Hebrews 2 fascinating: through Jesus’ death, he came to “deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (v. 15). Such deliverance transformed his followers, enabling them to embrace missional purpose and significance in this life with no fear of death but only anticipation of reward on its other side.

The fisherman who cowed before a serving girl in fear later stood courageously before the very men who arranged Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 26:69–70; Acts 4:5–12). Paul could risk his life for Christ again and again (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23–33) because he was certain that “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

I have seen pastors in Cuba imperil their families and future to preach God’s word fearlessly. I watched a teenage girl in East Malaysia be baptized in the knowledge that because of her public declaration of faith, she could never go home again. I met a young boy in Singapore whose father beat him for going to church but who continued to live at home because he wanted his family to know about Jesus.

How to “be prepared to live”

Now we have a binary choice. If we are not delivered from the “fear of death,” we will be “subject to lifelong slavery” to it. We will choose sins of commission that promise temporal benefits with no concern for their eternal consequences (cf. Mark 7:20–23). We will also choose sins of omission by refusing to sacrifice in the present for the sake of our witness and our Lord (cf. James 4:17).

However, as Jesus warned, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). When we fear our death more than we fear our Lord, avoiding death becomes our lord.

Our other choice is to trust our fear of death to Jesus, asking to be freed from slavery to it and empowered to live courageously for him. Then, when such fear strikes, we can “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10; cf. Isaiah 41:13). We can claim Jesus’ promise, “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:26).

We can embrace the logic of missionary Jim Elliot’s famous declaration, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And we will learn to agree with Charles Spurgeon’s assertion:

“To be prepared to die is to be prepared to live.”

Are you “prepared to live” today?

Quote for the day:

“All the glories of midday are eclipsed by the marvels of sunset.” —Charles Spurgeon

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Denison Forum

 

Does your health matter to God? Every year, millions of people make goals to get healthy and/or lose weight. Dieting is a billion-dollar industry. As of December 2024, around 55% of Americans try to lose weight, though only 27% are actively trying. Meanwhile, the prevalence of obesity remains high—40.3% of American adults are classified as obese, including 9.4% with severe obesity (CDC, 2023 cycle).

There is no shortage of information on how to improve your health. It takes a simple Google search to find the latest science on how movement and nutrition impacts your health. Every health expert has an opinion. Every nutritionist and personal trainer has the “magic cure” to our health goals.

But what does the Bible have to say about the importance of physical health for believers?

Does your physical health and how you take care of it matter to God?

The idolatry of eating—and dieting

Your body was made intricately and deliberately. You are not just a physical being; you are a three-in-one creation. Your heavenly Father was purposeful about his creation.

So many of your internal processes are connected to one another. When you are mentally nervous, you may experience the sensation of physical “butterflies” in your stomach. That is your brain talking to your gut via the vagus nerve. When you choose to be grateful, you can decrease the amount of the stress hormone cortisol being pumped into your bloodstream.

So much of what you think and how you think affects the physical processing in your body. (In fact, your thinking plays a central role in your mental health as well. Read Dr. Lane Ogden’s article, “What does the Bible say about mental health?” for more.) That is on purpose. It is all part of the beautiful design that makes us human.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, the Apostle Paul says that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you. . . . so glorify God in your body.” This verse is a reminder of two things.

One, your purpose is to glorify your Creator.

Two, how you take care of your temple can be an external manifestation of glorifying God. It is another aspect of stewarding what you have been entrusted with here on earth. How you steward what you’re given matters; Jesus devoted many parables to this topic.

I often find that there are two types of people, two extremes, when it comes to this issue of taking care of our temples.

On one hand, there are those who are overly vigilant about their health. They exercise every chance they get, monitor every bite that goes into their mouth, and worry about fat, calories, sugar, and whatever else is currently being demonized by the nutrition world.

On the other hand, there are those who have no self-control or mindfulness when it comes to eating. They consume more than necessary in order to cope with stress and unpleasant emotions.

Neither perspective is healthy.

One turns optimal health into an idol. The other elevates food and the act of eating to a level of idolatry in the form of gluttony and/or addiction. Both extremes are dangerous.

If you say food is only for fuel and for nourishing your health, you will miss out on the enjoyment that can be had in food during times of celebration or when you need comfort. If you only choose food as comfort or a coping mechanism, you’ll miss an opportunity to turn to your heavenly Father as the true source of comfort and healing.

What does the Bible say about eating?

When you look to the Bible for examples of how to eat and enjoy your food, it is clear that food is a gift that brings pleasure, but the mindset you have about your food is also important.

For example:

• “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)
• “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.” (Proverbs 15:17)
• “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.” (1 Corinthians 8:8)
• “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
• “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.” (1 Corinthians 10:23)

From these verses, we can see that what we consume may not be an issue of morality, but how and why we consume it can be.

This lines up with the biological processes that occur in your body when you’re eating. When you’re in a state of gratitude and peace, your body digests food better. When you’re stressed or in a state of “fight or flight,” your body will shut down important processes, like digestion, in order to survive the stressor.

Stressing about your physical health, what you’re eating, or talking about “good” or “bad” food, affects the way you digest and use the nutrients you’re provided. I often say, “A body in stress will not digest.” When you turn to food as an idol, whether to see it as a savior or to soothe emotional pain, you don’t just hinder your spiritual growth. It impacts your physical health as well.

Two questions to ask yourself about your physical health

As believers, we have freedom as to what we consume and how we move our bodies. Within freedom, we have choices. There is a way to find balance in our healthy resolutions and learn to steward our physical bodies in a way that honors God.

When you feel well, you serve well. You are able to have the physical and emotional energy to do what God has called you to do. Thanks to many increasing studies on the gut-brain axis, we know that what we eat impacts our mental health and how we think—and how we think impacts every single thing we do.

This new year, instead of asking questions about what diet you should start or what eating or fitness plan you need to implement, ask the following questions:

1. How can I honor my temple without turning it into an idol?
2. How can I receive food with thanksgiving and work to restore my physical health this year without unhealthy extremes or obsession?

Five suggestions for better “temple” care

First, unprocess your diet.

God knew what he was doing when he gave us everything we needed on this earth for physical nourishment. When you consume food that is as close to its whole food source as possible, your body digests it better.

My advice? Start with five different vegetables a day.

How can you introduce more greens and more colorful items like broccoli, bell peppers, tomatoes, or squashes? When you overconsume processed foods that have been chemically altered to be more palatable or addictive (like chips, bars, and candy), you may often lose your taste for food in its natural state. You can hijack the pleasure response in your brain so that you’re constantly desiring that “hit” of sugar or processed carbohydrates that make you feel so good in the short term but can be harmful for your body in the long term.

Second, listen to the body you’ve been given.

When you chronically overeat and use food as emotional comfort, you can alter hunger hormones that help your sense of hunger or fullness. You can also warp your natural hunger hormones by adhering to strict food rules that cause you to put all your trust in some magical, one-size-fits-all plan for eating. You may overcomplicate eating and obsess over what you are or are not having. You may often take on the “last supper mentality” and eat everything in sight before starting a new eating plan because you worry that you will not get to experience pleasure from your food in the future.

Instead, let’s acknowledge that we have been given “everything we need for a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV). Trust God’s provision for you through the food you have available to nourish you and the many processes he has given you to listen to your body’s cues for fullness and digestion.

Third, be grateful.

Be mindful when you’re eating. Take time to breathe between bites and chew your food longer to help activate the digestion process. Stop stressing over the bread and start obsessing over the Bread of Life. We were not given food to replace our relationship with Jesus. Your faith in the next nutrition plan should never outweigh your faith in the Lord’s nourishment.

Fourth, make movement an act of worship.

Go on a prayer walk. Add in joyful movement, not because you have to, or because you feel forced to start a new workout routine, or because you need punishment for eating food you feel guilty about, but as another act of gratitude for the body you have.

Plenty of physical benefits come from movement, but my favorite side effect is an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Through BDNF, you can impact the growth of new pathways in the brain, repair aging cells, and protect healthy cells. When you have higher levels of BDNF in your brain, you can think more clearly, and you are even less likely to become depressed. It’s another example of the beautiful way God created our physical bodies to impact our mental and spiritual health.

Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to healthy habits that will strengthen your body and make you fit to serve his kingdom, however that looks for you as a unique individual.

Ask him to show you where you are making your health into an idol or maybe where you need to make it more of a priority. Ask him to lead you to people, resources, and information that will guide you along on your journey in the new year.

The answer to “does my health matter to God” becomes evident when we look to the Bible. My prayer for you is the same as Paul’s for the Thessalonian church two millennia ago: “May God Himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our master, Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 MSG).

Related articles:

• “A Christian response to ‘living my truth,’” Erin Kerry
• “How to practice biblical self-care,” Erin Kerry
• “Does the Bible say being anxious is bad?,” Erin Kerry
• “How does a healthy shepherd model rest?,” Erin Kerry
• “What does the Bible say about mental health,” Dr. Lane Ogden

 

 

Denison Forum