When The State Infiltrates Religion

Earlier this month two senior English bishops advocated an environmentally-correct 'carbon fast' during this season of Lent. Said James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool:

"Traditionally people have given up things for Lent. This year we are inviting people to join us in a carbon fast. It is the poor who are already suffering the effects of climate change. To carry on regardless of their plight is to fly in the face of Christian teaching.

He continued:

"The tragedy is that those with the power to do something about it are least affected, whilst those who are most affected are powerless to bring about change...There's a moral imperative on those of us who emit more than our fair share of carbon to rein in our consumption."

So how are we to make these sacrifices? By following a 40-day plan that calls upon Christians to take actions such as: removing one light bulb and living without it for 40 days (Day 1); checking your house for drafts (Day 2); unplugging your phone charger (Day 3); giving your dishwasher a day off (Day 10); taking a shower instead of a bath (Day 14); composting (Day 20); checking your car's tire pressures (Day 27); insulating your hot water heater (Day 35); and drawing your curtains to retain heat (Day 38).

Now, I have no argument as to the efficacy of taking these steps to be more energy efficient and saving money, or for making these sacrifices in recognition of Lent, for that matter. But to do so in the name of assuaging 'manmade global warming' is preposterous, especially given the recent disclosures from the movement's most prominent scientists that their figures were falsified (at worst) and massaged (at best). If anything, the recent news proves that anthropogenic global warming is a hoax, and in a broader sense, that the science used to peddle it as fact has been utterly politicized.

So when church leaders continue to peddle the same myth, can we not conclude that the church itself has become politicized; that the state has infiltrated religion? Where are all those sanctimonious 'Separation-of-Church-and-State' advocates nowadays, hmm?