Green Jobs & Green Gospel

On the first half of the program today, I will speak with Emily Belz from WORLD Magizine. I will speak with Emily about a few articles that she has recently written for WORLD including: Her coverage of the State of the Union Address (she was in the press gallery for the speech); Her story about the faith of one the Arizona shooting victims John Roll; and her profile of new pro-life congressman Tim Huelskamp.

At the bottom of the hour, I will also have a brief conversation with Dave Cruver about his company, Mist Valley Coffee. During the month of February, they are donating 50% of their proceeds to Global Grace, a ministry of Morning Star Baptist Church in Rockford, IL to help their Helping Haiti initiative.

On the second half of the program today, I will speak with Rev. Dr. James Tonkowich about his recent article in the Cornwall Alliance newsletter entitled, "Obscuring the Gospel in the Name of Creation Care".

In the article Dr. Tonkowich comments on a recent article about evangelical environmentalism in the March 2011 edition of Backpacker Magazine. The article states that evangelical environmentalists "fervently believe that true salvation can only be found in communion with nature. The path to heaven, they say, is one part backpacking and one part Earth activism."

Dr. Tonkowich responds by writing, "The "true path to personal salvation" does not lie "in nature-and in the actions one takes after encountering God there." The "true path to personal salvation" lies in encountering and receiving the grace of God through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Nature does not save; only Jesus saves."