Words of US Rep. John Shimkus (R., Illinois) in a meeting of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the US House of Representatives, March 25, 2010, transcribed from a video clip on YouTube.
The right of free speech is a great right that we have in this country,
the very few times that we use it to espouse our theological or
religious beliefs. But we do have members of the clergy here as members
of the panel, so I want to start with Genesis 8, verse 21 and 22. “Never
again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every
inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I
destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth
endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day
and night will never cease.” I believe that’s the infallible word of
God, and that’s the way it’s going to be for His creation.
The
second verse comes from Matthew 24. “And he will send his angels with a
loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of the heavens to the other.” The earth will end only when
God declares its time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This
earth will not be destroyed by a flood. And I appreciate having
panelists here who are men of faith so that we can get into the
theological discourse of that position, but I do believe that God’s
word is infallible, unchanging, perfect.
Two other issues, Mr.
Chairman. Today we have about 388 parts per million in the atmosphere.
I think in the age of the dinosaurs where we had most flora and fauna
we were probably at 4,000 parts per million. There is a theological
debate that this is a carbon-starved planet, not too much carbon. And
the cost of a cap and trade on the poor is now being discovered.
