Rev. Cizik to Speak on Creation Care at Bucknell

Richard Cizik is Vice President for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE).  He is mainly responsible for steering the association’s policy work before Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court. In addition, he serves as a national spokesman on issues of concern to evangelicals.

For the last 27 years Richard Cizik has worked for the NAE, promoting the policy issues that he has felt were most critical to Evangelicals.  But in 2002, his policy work shifted dramatically when he attended an international conference on climate change in Oxford, England.  He was moved by the scientific data presented at the conference, which to him more than proved man’s role in climate change. He realized climate change was not just an environmental issue but also a moral one; from that point on, he made it his personal and spiritual mission to educate evangelicals and others on how man can stop contributing to global warming.

Cizik sees an obvious link between evangelical principles and ‘creation care’, a fundamental belief of stewardship for the earth that stems from scripture not politics.  He emphasizes that the effects of global warming are not irreversible and that every action of every man and woman does matter.  He also recognizes that we are at a defining point in history in terms of the availability and consumption of our resources; a healthy balance can be obtained through moral decision-making, good public policy and good science.

Cizik’s recent conversion also makes him a less threatening, more approachable speaker who appeals to a diverse audience.  He is also well-situated to reach an audience skeptical of scientific evidence, especially those convinced that faith and the theory of evolution are mutually exclusive.  In his teachings of creation care, he carries a strong message of hope and morality and strives to actively engage those who have long asserted the separation of Church and Stewardship.

This is a joint effort of LAN, the Otzinachson Group of the Sierra Club, the Center for Nonviolent Living, Newsradio 1070 WKOK, and many parts of Bucknell University, including the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life, the University Lectureship Committee, the Department of Religion, the Program in Environmental Studies, the Environmental Center, and the Department of Management.