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The Guardian finds a few, a very few, Christians it likes

Christians in MP Steve Baker’s seat pray for him to quit role on climate thinktank

Protesters gathered in High Wycombe on Friday to implore their MP, Steve Baker, to quit as a trustee of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a thinktank that has been accused of being one of the UK’s leading sources of climate scepticism.

When it says “protesters gathered”, we are not talking about the First Crusade. The gathering process probably took less than three seconds.

Those assembled, including local children and members of the local Lib Dem, Labour and Green parties,

I see something missing there.

said they hoped the MP would be voted out at the next election if he did not change his mind on net zero. Baker currently has a majority of 4,000, which means his seat could be marginal.

The MP, who is a member of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group and has called for the government to rethink its policy of decarbonising the economy using renewable energy, came out to

Smite the idolaters?

join the gathered protesters in prayer and answer their questions.

All very civilised, and these doubtless well-meaning folk, all fifteen of them, have every right to make their protest, and I am glad that Mr Baker smote them not.

But if we’re gonna be doing political prayers, here’s mine. Oh Lord, open their eyes: we need fracking and nuclear power for the sake of the poor and the peace of the world.

As Andrew Neil writes in the Mail,

While Putin was making these painful preparations to withstand sanctions, what was Europe doing? Why, increasing its exposure to Russian energy, of course.

In 2013 the European Union bought 135 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas. Six years later, despite indisputable evidence that a revanchist Russia was on the march, annexing Crimea — a 21st-century Anschluss — and occupying parts of Georgia and eastern Ukraine, the EU had managed to increase its purchase of Russian gas to 166 billion cubic metres.

Despite pouring billions of euros into wind and solar energy, the EU has also managed to import a lot more coal from Russia.

And, of course, it just can’t get enough Russian gas, hence the German enthusiasm for a new gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, from Siberia through the Baltic Sea to Germany (currently suspended — but not abandoned — in the wake of the invasion).

In a very real sense, the EU has paid for Putin’s Fortress Russia defences. With oil prices spiking at over $100 a barrel, $700 million a day in oil revenues is pouring into Kremlin coffers. Germany’s dependence on Russian energy is close to complete: 50 per cent of its coal imports, 55 per cent of its gas, 35 per cent of its oil — all from Russia.

Added later: From Tipp Insights, “Anti-Fossil Madness Funds Putin’s Ukraine Aggression”

16 comments to The Guardian finds a few, a very few, Christians it likes

  • Flubber

    Typical of organised Western religion nowadays.

    A lot more communism than Christianity.

    The current Pope being a particularly egregious example.

  • Fraser Orr

    In fairness, this is proving the leftie’s point. Fossil fuels could very well destroy the planet, and a lot more quickly than expected.

    How? Well Germany and the EU buying all that Russian hydrocarbons funds the Russian military who put us on the brink of a nuclear confrontation. One wrong step and we really could destroy the planet. How does a polar bear eat if all the seals are dying of radiation poisoning?

  • Mr Ed

    Try as I might, I cannot find any reference to ‘net zero‘ or ‘carbon‘ still less ‘carbon dioxide‘ in my King James Bible. Perhaps I have to go back to the Aramaic or Hebrew to check.

    I am fairly sure that the Guardian approves of the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Welby, who is, at least, illegitimate (viz. a bastard).

    And a lot of present day Quakers would probably be fine in The Guardian’s eyes.

    The problem that Christians have is that the Marxist Millenarian Christian heresy of ‘Heaven on Earth‘ tail has long wagged the Christian dog.

    But let’s face it, the net zero bunch are the heirs, via the Baader-Meinhof gang, of the Anabaptists of Münster.

  • staghounds

    Remember , in these stories switch “despite” to “because of”.

    Also, one of the vigiling Christians saith-

    “I was walking down the street and suddenly remembered the first line of the Bible that states ‘in the beginning, God created the Earth.’”

    Not quite….

  • NickM

    Well, I dunno much about fracking but nuclear seems so obvious it is beyond me that anyone other than arts-educated wankers who completely connect nuclear to Chernobyl and Hiroshima and will listen to nothing beyond that. That I’m a physicist by training and they specialised in gender studies doesn’t sway them – quite the reverse. They hate things they don’t understand which covers quite a wide field.

    When I was a primary-school kid in Gateshead the (Labour) council put up stickers everywhere proclaiming, “Gateshead – Nuclear Free” with a picture of a big smiling Sun. Even then I knew how the Sun was lit… I guess I was always gonna go into astrophysics… They even attempted to prevent the Queen Elizabeth Hospital getting a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance scanner. The QE just re-phrased it and dropped the “Nuclear”. Such willful pignorance! I guess, back in the day, there were similar sorts who objected to Ugg bringing fire into the cave.

    Oddly enough, as an undergrad at Nottingham, I knew this utterly brilliant bloke

    Strange how things turn out isn’t it?

  • staghounds

    “They hate things they don’t understand…”

    I think it’s more they choose not to understand things they have decided to hate. It saves work and provides a reassuring sense of moral and (mainly) social superiority.

    Like never having seen a spade.

  • Jim

    “they hoped the MP would be voted out at the next election if he did not change his mind on net zero. Baker currently has a majority of 4,000, which means his seat could be marginal.”

    The way things are going by the time of the next election energy bills will be so high that any MP who can point to his long term opposition to Net Zero will romp home with 90% of the vote.

  • bobby b

    For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain carbon, and lose his own soul?

    (Might as well be in there.)

  • tr

    Mr. Ed,
    “I cannot find any reference to ‘net zero‘ or ‘carbon‘ still less ‘carbon dioxide‘ in my King James Bible.”

    I’m sure that a more modern translation (or revision) either does, or soon will have, that terminology.

  • Mr Ed

    tr

    Of course, I await a more relevant translation with interest.

    bobby b

    I’m giving you the contract for the translation. And could you please get that ‘rope’, ‘camel’ and ‘needle’ thing sorted?

  • Paul Marks

    Notice how being “accused” of having certain opinions is now considered an offense.

    And the Guardian would claim to be an “anti” Fascist newspaper.

  • Paul Marks

    One can show the most blatant fraud, for example that past years are now presented as cold when they were hot – and officials (even the most senior officials) will still say “the evidence shows” – when one has just pointed out that the “evidence” has been CHANGED (faked).

    The position has gone from a scientific theory in the 1980s (presented by James Hanson and others) that C02, rather than changes in solar activity, was the great driver of changes in weather and climate – to a religious faith, and it does now very much use religious language (such as “denier” – with the implied claim that anyone who questions the theory is both automatically wrong, and a BAD PERSON as well).

    The doctrine (for it is a doctrine, not a scientific theory, now) makes people feel powerful. If changes in solar activity change weather and climate then there is not much that people can do – other than adapt to the changes. But if C02 emissions are the major factor in changes in weather and climate – there is a lot that governments and corporations can do, and the people who influence such decisions (and order other people about) can feel powerful – and good about themselves.

    Of course, in the real world, the People’s Republic of China continues to increase C02 emissions (as it has been doing for many decades) and now produces vastly more C02 than anyone else – with the United Kingdom producing about 1% of C02 emissions.

    This means that destroying the United Kingdom will not really change world C02 emissions at all – but it will make those with influence feel powerful (and good about themselves) so it is policy, and anyone who questions policy is a DENIER – and must be PUNISHED.

  • Penseivat

    “Those assembled, including local children….”
    ” Dad, can I go out and play football with the other lads? ”
    “No, son, you, and all the other kids are going to be dragged out to a protest meeting about something you have no concept of, to shame our elected MP into changing his mind to our tunnel visioned way of thinking.” I
    “Bugger.”
    “Mind your language and put your coat on.”
    Ah, democracy.

  • Stonyground

    Do I need to point out the looping stupidity of saving the planet from the evils of fossil fuels by not extracting your own and then buying someone else’s at exorbitant prices?

  • Flubber

    Yup. There’s absolutely no logic being applied.

    Turns out unicorn farts are quite corrosive to grey matter.

  • Paul Marks

    The Archbishop of Canterbury says the Church of England is in decline. As the British are “institutionally racist” (and “sexist” and “homophobic” and so on – odd that traditional Christian social teaching is now considered “ist” and “phobic”) I wonder why he wants the British people in his churches at all – constantly insulting people (with untruths) is not a good way to win them over. But still – let us proceed….

    Leaving aside more than a century of trying to replace Christianity with “Social Reform” (the heresy that Heaven can be created here on Earth – via lots of government spending and regulations, the false assumption being that such policies help the poor), let us just consider the last couple of years.

    Eagerly supporting the closing of churches (now he is backtracking and saying he was never eager to close the churches – that is just not true, as his statements at the time show) and then claiming that to be a good Christian one must accept the injections and so on – ignoring the danger of harm from the injections, and pushing the myth that the injections prevent transmission of the disease.

    And, indeed, Gaia is NOT Jesus Christ – Christianity is nothing to do with C02 emissions (it is not anti C02 emissions – or pro C02 emissions).

    Churches that try to replace Christianity with politics (any politics – including my own politics) do not do well over time.