Bishop spreads word on environmentalism

Clergyman likens global warming to the evil of slavery

Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 7, 2006 at midnight

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Christians should consider global warming as great an evil as slavery, says Anglican Bishop James Jones, of Liverpool, England, who is in Colorado at the invitation of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in Denver.

"We look back and ask, 'How could people have done that, tolerated slavery?' The question is, will they be saying to us in 200 years time, 'Did they know they were ruining the planet?' " Jones said in an interview Wednesday.

Jones, known as a champion of environmentalism in Britain and as author of Jesus and the Earth, spoke Tuesday night at St. Stephen and Grace Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs and was scheduled to speak Wednesday night at the cathedral.

His visits are part of a movement aimed at getting conservative evangelicals passionate about environmental concerns.

The Rev. Don Armstrong, pastor of the Colorado Springs church, said Tuesday's audience of 100 gave Jones a standing ovation after his talk.

Armstrong added that the fact the bishop was so warmly welcomed at his conservative parish showed the universality of Jones' message.

"The British are over the top on the environment and the Republican administration (in the U.S.) is blind to the environment," Armstrong said. "I think Bishop Jones is trying to build a biblical perspective of Christian responsibility that gets beyond the rhetoric."

Jones said it is appropriate to liken global warming to slavery because the poor are being oppressed by climate changes that are ruining harvests.

He said individuals could change their behaviors, such as using energy more efficiently and buying hybrid cars.

He plans to call on people next year to give up using one lightbulb for Lent. Public policy changes are also necessary, but Jones said it wasn't his place to say which ones.

Jones declined to discuss the discord in the Episcopal Church USA, a member of the Anglican Communion, which many fear may split next year over fundamental differences involving sexuality and the authority of Scripture.

"There are issues in the Anglican Communion that need to be addressed," Jones said. " But I think all our problems, frankly, find their proper proportion when set against the future of the planet."

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