NBC’s Today on Thursday decried “sin” in America. Of course, it’s the sin of not doing enough to fight climate change. The morning show profiled an evangelical church in Washington D.C. that is lobbying Christians to take a stand on global warming. After Dr. Katharine Hayhoe talked about the responsibility to save the Earth, Al Roker marveled, “Amen to that. We are stewards of this Earth. And to not take care of it, and to not take action, is a sin.”
What if NBC had profiled a church opposing abortion? Can anyone imagine Roker cheering on their efforts to fight “sin?” Today third hour co-host Carson Daly introduced the segment by awkwardly hyping, “This morning, we're taking you to one church where scripture isn't the only thing they're preaching about.”
A church where scripture isn’t the only thing they’re preaching about? Sounds perfect for liberal journalists with a political agenda.
Jenna Bush Hager profiled Jessica Moerman and Hayhoe, “two women of faith who are hoping to get people thinking about climate change.” The three networks routinely ignore the Christian presence at the anti-abortion March for Life. They often skip threats that Christians in the Middle East face from Islamic terrorists. But if Christians talk about global warming, suddenly NBC is interested.
A transcript of the segment is below. Click “expand” to read more:
Today
12/20/18
9:52:35 to 9:56:03AL ROKER: Now it's time for the latest in our faithful series.
CARSON DALY: That's right. This morning, we're taking you to one church where scripture isn't the only thing they're preaching about.
JENNA BUSH HAGER: We met two women of faith who are hoping to get people thinking about climate change. In this Washington D.C. sanctuary, evangelical pastor Chris Moermon and wife Jessica are keeping the faith.
CHRIS MOERMAN: Welcome to Grace Capital City. We are so glad that you are here tonight.
BUSH HAGER: Teaching their church about the science behind global warming.
JESSICA MOERMAN: I'm a climate scientist.
BUSH HAGER: It's a career Jessica chose because of her faith, not in spite of it.
JESSICA MOERMAN: There's a feeling that to be a scientist you have to leave your faith at the door. I was really lucky to have key leaders within my church really show me that I didn't have to choose.
BUSH HAGER: Now Chris and Jessica are trying to set an example for other young Christians including their three-year-old son, Liam.
JESSICA MOERMAN: One of the things we've discovered in our marriage is you can be a person of faith and a person of science. While science answers a lot of questions about what and where and when, our faith answers questions about who and why.
BUSH HAGER: Jessica says the key is to start the discussion and then take the time to listen.
JESSICA MOERMAN: So, when I talk to people about climate change who may be skeptical about whether this is even happening, the first thing I do is listen. Because what I find is that often it's not an issue about the science itself or the facts of climate change itself. It's a problem with the solutions that have been offered that don't match their personal values. Our young congregation is just really hungry to have this conversation, and they're out there looking for answers.
BUSH HAGER: She's not alone. fellow climate scientist Dr. Katherine Hayhoe also hopes to get people talking about climate science.
DR. KATHARINE HAYHOE: Jessica and I are pretty much the founding members of a very exclusive club: climate scientists married to pastors.
BUSH HAGER: Both women are motivated by their faith to teach others about the global impacts of climate change.
HAYHOE: Climate change is profoundly unfair. Those who have contributed the least to the problem are those who bear the greatest impacts. We can say “I don't believe in the science,” but whether we believe in it or not, it's real. You can say I don't believe in gravity, but if you step off the cliff, you're going down.
CHRIS MOERMAN: Welcome to Dr. Katharine Hayhoe.
BUSH HAGER: Hayhoe travels around the country to congregations like Jessica's to deliver a different kind of sermon.
HAYHOE: As a Christian, if we truly believed what it says in the Bible, then we would be at the front of the line demanding action on climate because we're told in the first book of the Bible that we humans are given responsibility over every living thing on the planet.
BUSH HAGER: Hoping to show how faith and science can work together.
JESSICA MOERMAN: For me studying science is simply studying God's creation.
HAYHOE: So when people say is there a conflict between your faith and your science, I would say no. because faith is the evidence of what we don't see, and science is exactly opposite. It's the evidence of what we do see.
ROKER: Amen to that. We are stewards of this Earth. And to not take care of it and to not take action is a sin.
BUSH HAGER: It is. Okay, Dr. Heyhoe recently gave a new Ted Talk on the subject of climate change. And as for Jessica is currently completing a fellowship exploring the intersection of science, technology and policy. Awesome women.
