Dua poin penting menuju konsep pembangunan wilayah Batak SihutaSada: mungkinkah dapat diretas?

Guna menjamin berhasilnya pemberdayaan pembangunan dan kemajuan riel masyarakat Tanah Batak pada masa sekarang dan ke depan, perlu sekali belajar pengalaman keberhasilan "best practices" misalnya daerah/masyarakat di luar Tanah Batak. Misalnya diambil contoh Bali, Cebu-Island Filipina, wilayah kerja Grameen Bank Bangladesh, negara Thailand, Malaysia, India, RRC, Korea dan Jepang. Maka sangat perlu kita mempertimbangkan dua poin faktor-faktor mendasar menuju konsep pembangunan wilayah Tanah Batak yang benar dan dapat dipertanggung-jawabkan.

1. Pentingnya pada masa sekarang menentukan fokus peta lingkungan daerah Tanah Batak yang memiliki homogenitas masyarakat: yang sama, untuk perencanaan kemajuan. Selain memiliki kesamaaan yang sangat dekat dalam hal background adat-istiadat, yang teramat penting pemetaan Tanah Batak adalah daerah dan penduduk yang memiliki kesamaan latar belakang agama/belief. Homogenitas latar belakang agama/belief dari mayoritas daerah dan penduduk Tanah Batak yang dimaksud, pastinya secara relatif akan sangat mempermudah dalam mendukung penciptaan kesamaan (alignment, spooring) pola berpikir, pola kebijakan serta pola bertindak dari para leaders serta rakyat di bagian dari Tanah Batak tersebut. Menurut pengalaman empiris, situasi peta daerah dan penduduk dengan background agama/beliefs yang heterogen dengan segala dinamika permasalahan dan konfliknya, akan sangat sulit membuahkan kesepakatan dan komitmen membangun bagi kemajuan.
Maka dengan dasar pertimbangan ini, fokus peta lingkungan daerah Tanah Batak yang akan dirancang secara cermat pembangunannya, adalah meliputi daerah Rura Silindung, Humbang Hasundutan, Toba, Samosir dan Dairi Pakpak (bisa disingkat "Sihuta Sada", atau Tanah Batak Sihuta Sada).

2. Perlu diretas bangkitnya semangat baru bagi kesatuan tekad, semangat, cara pandang dan kesepakatan internal terutama dari para leaders (tokoh agama, tokoh adat, teolog, pendidik, lsm, birokrat, politisi, militer, pengusaha, pemerhati) dan tentunya seluruh masyarakat internal dan eksternal Batak SihutaSada. Yakni mereka yang tinggal dan berasal-muasal dari fokus peta lingkungan daerah bonapasogit Tanah Batak "Sihuta Sada", dan di mana pun di dunia (nasional-global), untuk bersatu dan bersepakat secara bersama. Secara aklamasi. Melalui kesatuan dan kesepakatan seperti ini, niscaya akan mempermudah suatu upaya penyusunan konsep utuh bagi pemberdayaan pembangunan Tanah Batak Sihuta Sada secara holistik oleh Tim Ahli Terpadu yang recognitif dan dapat dipertanggung-jawabkan kapabilitasnya. Konsep ini mungkin bisa disebut sebagai konsep pembangunan holistik (KPH) "Batak SihutaSada Na Uli".

Refleksi akhir tahun 2007 bagi pemimpin dan umat Kristen indigenous Indonesia.

Tahun 2007 sedikit hitungan hari lagi akan kita lalui bersama. Tahun baru, 2008, akan segera kita jelang. Banyak hal dalam titian perjalanan sepanjang 2007 dapat dijadikan 'lesson-learnt' untuk bekal memasuki tahun 2008.

Berikut beberapa petikan 'lesson-learnt' (BN-09) yang mungkin bisa menjadi bahan refleksi dari keseluruhan titian perjalanan 2007 umat Kristen indigenous Indonesia di tanah air. Semoga refleksi ini bermanfaat bagi umat kristen indigenous yang tinggal di bumi persada Nusantara, juga bagi yang kini tinggal di luar Indonesia.

1. Melihat perkembangan kehidupan keberagamaan dan spiritualitas kristen yang telah berlangsung sepanjang tahun 2007 ini, semakin dirasakan sangat perlunya umat kristen indigenous Indonesia bertambah matang tumbuh kembang dewasa dan berbuah. Hidup keberagamaan dan spiritualitas kristen yang sewajarnya makin mampu dihidupi dengan spirit, jiwa, moralitas, etika, sikap perilaku (behaviour) dan perbuatan sosial yang semakin cocok dan benar dengan inti ajaran kristen. Keberagamaan kristen dan spiritualitas yang diharap makin dapat dipertanggung- jawabkan, dengan kesanggupan melakukan refleksi introspeksi lebih dalam berikut orientasi pada kemajuan nyata dan terukur. Keberagamaan kristen yang berwawasan dan mencerah, jauh dari sikap picik, sindrom kecurigaan syak-wasangka dan berbagai perseteruan (menganggap yang lain sebagai musuh). Mampu makin seimbang dan integratif dalam memberikan penilaian terhadap berbagai fenomena kasus, peristiwa, pemikiran, aliran dan ketokohan. Tampil dengan performa dan kinerja lebih menyejukkan, kolaboratif, sehat membangun serta elegan dalam melakukan tugas perlombaan yang menghidupkan, bukan saling mematikan. Perlombaan sehat memperjuangkan tegaknya kebenaran, kemuliaan, kemandirian dan keteguhan bagi terwujudnya buah-buah kebaikan yang bisa dinikmati bersama.

2. Keberagamaan dan spiritualitas kristen indigenous bisa lebih giat diperjuangkan agar terhindar dari cara pandang kristen dikotomis, berbasiskan 'dualisme Platonis' yang serba keliru. Yang kerap melulu memisahkan kehidupan rohani (sakral, ibadah) dengan kehidupan sekuler dunia dan lingkungan. Antara kehidupan agamawi dan praksis hidup sehari-hari. Karena kehidupan sendiri sejatinya utuh dan holistik sifatnya. Kesalehan, sikap pietis dalam ibadah semestinya harus terwujud tercermin pada saat yang sama dalam kesalehan sosial dan hidup kolektif bersama lingkungan lannya di sekitar. Terekspresi nyata dalam karakker dan buah-buah kebaikan di berbagai sudut dan lapangan kehidupan. Sebab itulah peranan para pemimpin (leaders) kristen indigenous Indonesia, baik tingkat lokal nasional maupun global, semakin sangat dibutuhkan dan diharapkan pada masa sekarang dan ke depan. Guna melapangkan umat kristen indigenous berpeluang besar semakin memiliki jati diri serta wawasan kekristenan, kebangsaan, kesukuan yang lebih utuh, seimbang, matang dan dewasa di hari-hari ke depan sekaitan dengan pergaulan global yang sedang berlangsung dewasa ini.

3. Kristen indigenous di negeri ini sangat perlu lebih mengutamakan & memperjuangkan pola kesaksian dan pewartaan Injil kabar baik melalui cara dan pendekatan yang lebih natural (alamiah), mandiri dan dewasa dalam terang kasih dan kuasa Tuhan. Sanggup membagikan hidup berirama Injil kepada saudara-saudara rekan-rekan sahabat khususnya umat muslim dalam pelbagai mazhabnya sebagai umat mayoritas di negeri ini. Tentu, sebelum hal ini bisa terwujud, pola kesaksian dan persekutuan Injil secara internal di kalangan umat kristen sendiri dalam kepelbagaian denominasinya juga harus diperjuangkan dan diwujud-nyatakan. Meretas 'point of contact' baru, membangun relasi jaringan perserikatan, saling asah asih asuh disertai pemulihan hubungan kristen yang diperbarui, menjadi prasyarat requisite penting untuk Injil damai sejahtera terwartakan dengan baik dalam keseluruhan manifestasinya. Hal ini berlaku juga dalam hubungan kristen indigenous dengan umat pemercaya lainnya, baik pemercaya lokal, nasional dan global di era globalisasi ini. Sebab itulah, pola atau cara-cara persekutuan dan pewartaan Injil yang cendrung dan sering hanya melulu menekankan aspek-aspek sensasional, bombastis, hiperbolis, selebriti dan sarkastis disertai upaya-upaya provokatif dan 'black campaign' (kampanye hitam), mungkin perlu berkali-kali lagi dipertimbangkan kembali guna menjamin bertumbuhnya dan majunya iman keberagamaan wawasan sisi edukasi sosial dan kesadaran lingkungan umat dalam berbagai dinamika perubahannya kini dan ke depan.

4. Umat Kristen indigenous Indonesia di hari-hari sekarang dan ke depan mungkin perlu lebih lagi bersikap makin kritis, positip dan matang dalam menyikapi setiap fenomena, issue, informasi, ideologi, faham, ajaran-ajaran, model spiritualitas, model pembangunan, metodologi dan kemunculan tokoh-tokoh baru yang berasal dari luar sebagai konsekuensi logis dari begitu derasnya arus informasi global dan trans nasionalisasi yang bergerak demikian cepat. Sanggup mengambil yang pas, benar, seimbang dan baik, namun sekaligus mampu juga secara cerdas dan gesit membuang hal-hal yang jelas-jelas tidak cocok, tidak pas dan keliru hal-hal buruk, kotor atau 'jorok' serta absurd yang berasal dari luar (negeri ini).

Faham-faham ideologi yang justru membuat rapuh, lemah dan rusaknya iman kekristenan, spirit nasion dan kebangsaan dari luar, sangat perlu dikritisi, diwaspadai dan ditindak-lanjuti untuk mencari solusinya, seperti:

(a) Faham kesuksesan dan kemakmuran semu yang dibangun oleh berbagai konstruksi teologi, cara pandang dan filosofi keliru (a.l. teologi kemakmuran, teologi sukses). Yang berbuahkan faham materialisme, mamonisme, hedonisme dan individualisme sebagai turunannya yang berdampak sangat 'jelek' bagi kehidupan umat dan bangsa.

(b) Pada ekstrim sisi yang lain, faham asketisme, kemiskinan status-quo dan pemiskinan yang salah keliru dan sama'jelek'nya (seperti a.l. teologi kemiskinan), perlu untuk terus dikritisi dan 'dicounter' pandangan-pandangan teologis, cara pandang dan filosofinya; agar umat tidak terus-menerus berkanjang, terpuruk, tertindas dan terjepit dalam lembah kebodohan, kemiskinan dan ketertinggalan yang 'abadi'. Terjerembab dalam lubang dan kubangan kegelapan dan kehinaan yang sama dan klasikal, tanpa ada solusi terobosan dalam bentuk perubahan paradigma berikut penyediaan akses-akses kemajuan yang solutif, riel dan transformatif mengubahkan) .

(c) Radikalisme agama, politik agama adn politik aliran yang sempit dan picik dengan berbagai konstruksi pembenarannya yang konyol dan tidak realistis, dengan berbagai tindakan kekerasan (violenisme) serta teror massa (mob-terror) sebagai pelampiasan di luar hukum, norma dan peradaban.

(d) Pluralisme agama dengan pelbagai gerakan kepercayaan dan beliefs serba plural, serba merelatifkan dengan menafikan unsur kemutlakan dan singularitas kebenaran di era 'zaman baru' (new age) berikut sekularisme agama, pemikir bebas dan kemunculan 'super hero' 'super idol' 'tuhan-tuhan' baru yang berupaya melepaskan rasio dari iman sejati yang hidup, melepaskan eksistensi ciptaan (beings) dari Tuhan Sang Penciptanya (Being). Dan sebaliknya pula, berupaya membuktikan eksistensi Tuhan(Being)hanya sebagai manusia biasa (being) yang konon dikaji berdasar kaidah sains sejarah arkeologis yang nyatanya masih penuh kontroversi.

(e) Occultisme dan mistikisme tradisionil dengan berbagai mitosnya berkemas berversi 'campur sari' modern dan supra-modern, dalam kemasan produk ilmu teknologi dan multimedia yang masih sangat besar/kental pengaruhnya di bidang keluarga, sosial, seni budaya, masyarakat, media publikasi massa, pendidikan, bisnis usaha dan kehidupan politik negeri ini.

5. Kristen indigenous negeri ini sudah selayaknya harus bahu-membahu untuk turut berjuang bagi kemandirian kristen indigenous sendiri, pemantapan jati diri dan daya ungkit kemajuan negeri ini di bidang spiritual, theologi, lingkungan, sosial budaya, pendidikan, hukum, politik dan ekonomi. Cara yang paling efektif sejatinya adalah melalui pengayaan (enrichment) aspek kekristenan, keberagamaan dan spiritualitas umat. Meningkatkan kepekaan kesadaran umat akan lingkungan dan kekayaan warisan seni sosial budaya yang banyak diklaim sebagai buah warisan bangsa/negara lain, sambil tentunya terus melakukan adjustments transformatif. Dan yang penting lagi mengembangkan semangat kemandirian dan entrepreneurship berdasar perspektif kristen sebagai pilar kemajuan kristen indigenous sendiri secara lebih utuh.

6. Melakukan tekanan yang 'lebih keras' dan terbuka terhadap upaya pemberantasan korupsi (KKN) yang cendrung melamban dan melemah, pengentasan kemiskinan dan pengangguran, penanggulangan korban bencana alam & upaya reliefs, pengentasan kebodohan lewat jumlah, mutu strategi kurikulum pendidikan yang berdampak, penanggulangan imoralitas dan penyakit masyarakat mulai dari tingkat keluarga komunitas dan jemaat (kriminalitas, narkoba, judi, HIV/AIDs, premanisme, pungli, perceraian, free-sex, homosexual, perselingkuhan, provokasi propaganda dan keberingasan massa, tawuran, penyelundupan, pembalakan ilegal). Upaya riel mengatasi persoalan tidak terampilnya SDM dan masalah TKI dan kegagapan iptek. Terus meningkatkan kesadaran umat pada masalah hukum/hak asasi/keadilan (justice) dan arti kesehatan dan lingkungan. Pendeknya, berbagai bentuk aktivitas program, sosialisasi, jaringan dan improvements bagi solusi terobosan nyata perlu diiniasi dan diretas oleh pemimpin dan umat kristen indigenous di seluruh kabupaten/kota negeri ini. Berjuang lewat perbuatan dan karya nyata, selain juga lewat ide 'terobosan' dan gagasan transformasional mencerahkan.

7. Terkait budaya suku dan kebangsaan pada poin 5, Kristen indigenous di negeri ini harus mampu berupaya untuk menjaga dan merevitalisasi kekayaan sumber daya alam yang masih ada, serta warisan budaya seni talenta bangsa dan suku-suku bangsa yang sangat diapreasiasi dikagumi dan mendapat pengakuan dari bangsa-bangsa di tingkat regional dan global (seperti a.l. Batak, Dayak, Maluku, Sunda, Bali, Jawa, Toraja, Mamasa, Manado Minahasa, Sangir Talaud, Nias, Papua, Mentawai, Sumba, Timor, Alor, Flores, Luwuk, Poso, dll). Kebudayaan yang luar biasa, eksotik dan 'berwarna' (colorful) sebagai sumberdaya seni dan budaya SDM Indonesia yang inheren eksis di antero blantika negeri ini. Ini berpotensi menjadi "daya saing" yang luar biasa sebagai bagian jati diri dan modal talenta sosial budaya serta lingkungan yang memungkinkan bangsa termasuk generasi muda (genmud) negeri ini tumbuh dan berkembang; dalam penatalayanan dan pemberdayaan menuju kemajuan dan kejayaan yang lebih berarti, bermartabat, penuh confidence dan membangun respek ke depan dalam pergaulan internal dan masyarakat antar-bangsa.

8. Kristen indigenous di negeri ini harus terus mendukung secara intensif dan konsisten bagi akselarasi proses regionalisasi dan otonomi daerah (otda) dalam 'development strategic planning' dan 'sistem hukum perijinan dan anggaran' yang benar di berbagai daerah kabupaten/kota Indonesia. Mampu menggunakan konsep lokal-nasional- global dan pertumbuhan pengembangan daerah secara profesional dan qualified menuju pemerataan dan pertumbuhan. Sehingga kaderisasi dan suksesi kepemimpinan, kesejahteraan, keamanan, kemakmuran dan keadilan yang otentik dapat diraih. Sebab itu, kaderisasi pionir-pionir kepemimpinan generasi yang lebih muda, bersih, jujur, profesional dan cerdas menjadi keharusan guna menciptakan peluang pertumbuhan, keadilan dan kemajuan di berbagai lini kehidupan komunitas, masyarakat dan bangsa.

9. Sejalan dengan poin 5-8, Kristen indigenous di Indonesia bersama dengan komunitas dan elemen bangsa lainnya, sudah seharusnya mendukung aktif kepemimpinan yang bersih, berani, jujur, adil dan penuh keteladanan dalam jajaran trias politika dan jajaran daerah di seluruh antero negeri ini. Sekaligus mampu membangun tata hukum, keadilan, sistem kenegaraan, kemasyarkatan, tata kota, desa dan pesisir serta komunitas yang handal dalam menciptakan lingkungan negara, bangsa, daerah dan komunitas, teritori yang layak dan 'trustworthiness' .

10. Kristen indigenous Indonesia pada akhirnya sudah selayaknya secara konsisten memperjuangkan terjaminnya kebenaran hakiki dan sejati ditegakkan di tengah bangsa, negara dan komunitas; hak individual tetap dijamin, semangat kebersamaan kesetiakawanan sosial dan kebangsaan ditingkatkan, warisan seni dan budaya dijaga digalakkan direvitalisasi, ruang kreatifitas diberi tempat, pola pertumbuhan alam natural diperhatikan dan diatas segalanya otoritas Tuhan Pencipta Semesta Alam sejati bertakhta di tengah bangsa ini.

Semoga di tahun yang baru, 2008 para pemimpin, influencers dan umat kristen indigenous negeri ini dan di mana pun di bagian dunia ini, dapat memberikan kontribusi yang lebih nyata bagi suatu harapan baru, ekspektasi baru, bagi suku-suku bangsa di negeri ini, bagi bangsa tercinta ini. Harapan kemajuan di bidang keberagamaan, spiritualitas, lingkungan, keluarga, sosial budaya, pendidikan, hukum, politik/kenegaraan, ekonomi dan kemasyaratan; bagi tiap individu dan komunitas yang ada di dalamnya.

Kiranya Tuhan menolong dan selalu menyertai kita sekalian!

Membagikan hidup berirama Injil kepada rekan-rekan sahabat umat Muslim secara alamiah dalam terang Tuhan (damai Natal).

Informasi dari Transforma Sarana Media (TSM/ed.Natal 2007 -NW.09)

Dalam beberapa kesempatan dalam pertemuan-pertemuan (encounters) kristen di dalam dan luar negeri, sering saya utarakan bahwa perhatian terhadap perkembangan serta tingkat kesejahteraan umat muslim dalam berbagai mazhabnya perlu disadari oleh segenap kalangan kristen. Ini mungkin membutuhkan perubahan cara pandang dan pendekatan kristen berikut matangnya karakter attitudes khususnya dalam cara berkomunikasi dan berelasi kristen.

Hal ini bukan saja akhirnya dapat menambah wawasan umat Kristen mengenai cara pandang Islam terhadap kekristenan dan hidup kristen, namun juga akan mampu semakin menambah khasanah kristen dalam pendekatan yang benar dalam membangun hubungan, human relationship yang pas dengan berbagai golongan umat Islam sebagai umat mayoritas di negeri ini, sekarang dan ke depan.

Beberapa kalangan kristen menyebut ini sebagai penginjilan melalui gaya hidup. Namun, saya lebih merasa pas menyatakan hal ini sebagai membagikan hidup berirama Injil pada rekan-rekan sahabat muslim secara alamiah dalam terang Tuhan. Melalui terang Roh KudusNya dalam hati dan jiwa.

Memang sejatinya kita jumpai cukup banyak pendekatan yang dapat dilakukan kristen untuk pewartaan kabar baik. Sebut saja kampanye pengabaran Injil, KKR, kelompok kecil PI, kelompok sel atau basis, siaran radio, film, milist, multimedia, dll. Namun, saya ingin katakan kembali ada hal penting yang sering terlupakan dalam pewartaan. Bahwa sejatinya pewartaan sangat perlu dilakukan secara alamiah, natural. Dan membagi hidup berirama Injil memerlukan proses atau pentahapan.

Sedikitnya ada empat tahapan yang perlu dilalui yang memungkinkan kristen membagi hidup berirama Injil secara alamiah, natural:

Tahap pertama, menciptakan 'point of contact' dalam berbagai bentuknya, sangat penting dan perlu bagi umat Kristen guna membangun hubungan yang lebih baik ke depannya dengan rekan-rekan sahabat muslim. Ini perlu saya nyatakan sekali lagi, mungkin berupa pengulangan. Kristen jangan sampai meninggalkan upaya membangun 'point of contact' yang baru dengan rekan-rekan sahabat muslim. Perbedaan-perbedaan yang mungkin cukup 'mendasar' dengan rekan-rekan sahabat ini, tidak perlu menjadi halangan bagi kristen untuk mulai meretas terus 'point of contact' baru. Hanya dalam meretas hal ini, kristen seharusnya melakukannya dengan sikap yang jauh lebih tulus, lebih rendah hati, genuine sebagai sesama manusia seturut citra dan gambar Allah. Sikap kepribadian yang semakin matang dan berwawasan semakin diperlukan di era sekarang. Semuanya adalah untuk menghadirkan tanda-tanda kasih, rasa harga-menghargai (respek), semangat positif, memperpendek gap, meningkatkan persahabatan dan keberkahan (blessings) dari Allah Maha Kuasa. Sehingga kehidupan yang dihidupi bersama mendatangkan manfaat, berkat, kebaikan, ketenteraman, kesejahteraan dan kecukupan baik lahir maupun batin di tengah keluarga, komunitas, masyarakat dan bangsa di antero negeri ini.

Sejatinya yang dikenal semua agama, termasuk Islam sebagai umat mayoritas di bangsa ini adalah buah kebaikan. Buah perbuatan yang baik. Soal kebenaran (truth), mungkin bisa saja manusia menolaknya atau mempertentangkannya dalam suatu wacana, perdebatan, konflik yang kadang tiada akhirnya. Namun, soal kebaikan (goodness), hampir tiap manusia apapun agamanya, tidak menolaknya. Tiap orang sangat membutuhkan. Kasih dan kebenaran dalam perbuatan adalah kebaikan. Tentu kebaikan yang dimaksud di sini, adalah kebaikan yang ikhlas, tulus, tanpa pamrih apapun.. tanpa niat ataupun rekayasa apapun. Dengan sengaja menghindar dari spirit atau motif kepentingan, "udang di balik batu" atau "hidden agenda". Ground motives seperti ini umumnya didrive oleh kepentingan misi agamawi, ideologis, politik aliran, sektarian, bahkan ujung-ujungnya uang atau laba.

Sesungguhnya Tuhan Maha Tahu. Tuhan tak dapat tertipu dan ditipu oleh niat hati atau rekayasa manusiawi sempit. Faktanya menurut pengalaman saya, cepat atau lambat hati tiap orang akan segera tahu bilamana suatu kebaikan, pemberian, pujian, aktivitas program dan sebagainya apakah dilakukan dengan niat ikhlas tulus tanpa pamrih atau bukan. Poin ini terus terang menjadi sangat kritikal di negeri ini, mengingat bila bisa dilalui dengan mulus, maka hal ini pasti akan memampukan kristen dan islam bisa membangun sikap percaya, saling percaya, bisa bebas lepas dari kecurigaan-kecurigaan (suspicious syndromes) dan perseteruan.

So, jika pada tahap pertama ini kristen sudah berhasil membangun point of contact, hubungan relasi yang bersih tulus ikhlas tanpa pamrih sebagai sesama manusia yang saling percaya, maka untuk ke tahap-tahap selanjutnya dalam anugerah Tuhan tentu akan dapat lebih mudah kristen melakukannya.

Tahap kedua, adalah apa yang disebut sebagai upaya membangun network, jaringan. Pada tahap ini bisa diretas upaya membangun perserikatan, memorandum of understanding (MOU), friendship dan fellowship (persekutuan) yang sangat dekat satu sama lain. Dan pada tahap ini, kembali yang dibutuhkan adalah sikap keterbukaan yang konsiten, open-minded, hati yang bersih, kesediaan untuk menjadi rendah hati dari kristen terhadap rekannya yang Islam, demikian juga sebaliknya sebagai wujud nyata implementasi 'golden rules' atau 'golden principles. Isu-isu yang bisa diangkat bersama dalam membangun network sangat banyak, misalnya mengenai isu kegiatan sosial bersama, kemandirian bersama, pendidikan, program bersama pengentasan kemiskinan, isu kebangsaan, hak asasi, pelestarian lingkungan dll, yang semuanya bermuara pada upaya peningkatan mutu kehidupan bersama yang lebih baik di negeri ini, lebih luas di bumi ini.

Selanjutnya, tahap ketiga bisa dilakukan jika tahapan kedua: membangun network jaringan sudah terlewati. Tahap yang disebut sebagai tahap saling asah, asih dan asuh. Disini kristen dan islam bisa sama-sama saling menguji, mengajar, mengedukasi perihal bagian-bagian dari kebenaran (truths). Dan kebenaran di sini bukan saja yang bersumber dari kebenaran yang bersifat rasio, teoritis atau edukatif, namun juga kebenaran yang bersumber dari kitab-kitab suci (agama), moral, pengalaman empiris, hak asasi, keadilan dan aspek iman spiritual lainnya.

Jika sudah sampai pada tahap ini, perbedaan-perbedaan doktrin kebenaran yang ada antara kristen dan islam, tetap dapat didiskusikan secara terbuka; diperdebatkan sampai setajam apapun, namun karena sudah sampai tahap ketiga maka tahap ini sudah dilandasi kebaikan, ketulusan dan kebersihan hati, persahabatan, saling percaya dan saling mengasah berdasar point of contact dan jaringan yang telah terbentuk secara natural, alamiah.

Berlanjut akhirnya pada tahap keempat secara alamiah dalam terang Tuhan. Kebenaran Injil mendapatkan kesempatan yang sangat luas untuk disampaikan kristen dengan seterang-terangnya, tentu tetap konsisten disertai sikap, matang dan bersedia dikoreksi dari kristen terhadap rekan-rekan sahabat muslim.

Penyampaian blak-blakan Injil damai sejahtera pada tahap ini, sejatinya tidak akan lagi membangun atau menciptakan benci, dendam dan sakit hati. Namun, justru membangun respek karena sudah dilandasi secara alamiah oleh tiga tahapan sebelumnya. Sehingga yang ada, adalah berita yang menyukakan hati, menyentak namun sekaligus mencerahkan, membebaskan.

Pada tahap keempat ini yang dijumpai adalah kondisi serba rela. Kerelaan hati. Tidak ada lagi pemaksaan, pemaksaan manusia. Yang ada adalah situasi unity dalam kepelbagaian perbedaan. Kerendahan hati dan pelayanan. Doktrin yang dikemas dalam kasih yang utuh. Konsisten dibangun dalam semangat respek, harga menghargai satu sama lain, ketulusan, kebersihan hati, apologia yang natural dalam terang Tuhan.

Melalui uraian empat tahapan ini, saya hanya ingin menyatakan bahwa menghidupi dan membagi hidup berirama Injil bagi seorang kristen kepada rekan-rekan sahabat Islam, menjadi sebuah pelayanan dan penyerahan diri kristen dalam keutuhan secara alamiah.
Jika ini yang bisa dilalui oleh setiap umat kristen secara natural, maka perhatian kristen terhadap perkembangan dan kesejahteraan rekan-rekan sahabat muslim, akan
menjadi jembatan paling efektif bagi kristen untuk mengubahkan. Bukan saja mampu mengubahkan rekan-rekan sahabat muslim, namun juga mengubahkan hati, wawasan cara pandang, kematangan karakter dan pengalaman kristen sendiri.

Hati dan karakter yang sekeras batu karang sekalipun akan dilembutkan melalui kesaksian alamiah dan terang Roh Kudus. Wawasan, paradigma dan cara pandang sekeliru apapun akan terkoreksi. Benteng-benteng kehormatan dan harga diri akan diruntuhkan. Nilai-nilai kepalsuan akan terbongkar diganti dengan nilai-nilai kesejatian, kebenaran dan kekekalan Sorgawi.

Jika sudah demikian, tentu kelak bukan saja kristen dan islam yang sama-sama bisa saling asah-asih dan asuh, dan mampu diubahkan. Bangsa dan negara ini pun akan diubahkan, dilepaskan Tuhan dari berbagai keterpurukan.

Dengan demikian tiada jalan pendek, jalan "shortcut". Mari kita segera tekun meretas serta membangun "point of contact" di berbagai bidang kehidupan kita. Membina relasi, network, berbagai aktivitas dan program, perserikatan dan fellowship. Lalu sambil tanpa lelah kita kerjakan proses yang mungkin saja cukup panjang untuk proses saling mengajar, diskursus, saling asah asih dan asuh dalam mengungkap berbagai inti kebenaran, kesejatian dan kekekalan. Maka Injil damai sejahtera akan terbagikan, terwartakan. Injil yang mengubahkan lewat seluruh keberadaan dan eksistensi kita secara natural, alamiah: lewat perkataan, sikap, karakter, perbuatan, wawasan cara pandang, buah karya, buah hidup, pergumulan, kesengsaraan, keberhasilan dan berbagai titian perjalanan hidup kristen dalam bimbingan RohNya.

Mengenai akhirnya, para rekan-rekan sahabat muslim mau ikhlas sudi menerima Yesus sebagai Tuhan dan Juruselamat, tentu sekali lagi itu bukanlah otoritas kemanusiaan. Otoritas kristen. Tetapi itu merupakan wewenang Tuhan. Namun, yang mesti disyukuri adalah, akan menjadi kebahagiaan dan suatu selebrasi besar di Sorga jika ada rekan-rekan sahabat muslim yang berjumpa dengan Yesus, mengalami pertobatan yang sejati (metanoia) dalam kesadarannya yang meningkat tinggi. Hal yang sama berlaku juga, bahwa melalui kesadaran kristen, nama kita yang kristen tercatat pula di Sorga.

Namun bila pun tidak, tetap hal ini patut terus disyukuri, bahwa rekan-rekan sahabat muslim itu telah mengetahui dan mengerti kebenaran Injil, meskipun belum bisa menerima atau menolaknya. Menyadari, menerima dan memberi diri untuk tunduk pada kebenaran Injil sesuai Firman Tuhan, tetap merupakan bagian atau porsi Tuhan yang tak terjamah oleh kita, sesuai dengan rencanaNya yang Maha Agung.

Hal yang sama dan pentahapan yang sama seperti di atas, tentunya bukan saja berlaku bagi hubungan kristen yang membagi hidup berirama Injil dengan sesama rekan muslim, namun juga berlaku dalam hubungan dengan pemercaya yang lain. Para pemercaya dari berbagai aliran agama dan spiritualitas lainnya yang kini eksis dan berkembang di tengah masyarakat bangsa negeri ini.

Sudahkah kita mulai melakukannya? Jika belum, maukah kita mulai meretas untuk melakukannya dari sekarang (bersama saya)? Jangan lupa, lakukan semuanya secara alamiah, tanpa rekayasa yang tidak perlu.

Maka segala kemuliaan dan hormat, hanya bagi Tuhan saja.
Salam dan selamat damai Natal.

Tiga artikel tentang pandangan Kristen terhadap persoalan global warming?

"How should a Christian view global warming?"
("Bagaimana seharusnya orang Kristen memandang persoalan global warming?)
by Question@org team.

As Christians, we should be concerned about our effect on our environment. God appointed man to be the steward of this world (Genesis 1:28), not the destroyer of it. However, we should not allow environmentalism to become a form of idolatry, where the “rights” of an inanimate planet and its non-human creatures are held in higher esteem than God (Romans 1:25). With global warming, as with any other topic, it is crucial to understand what the facts are, who those facts come from, how they are interpreted, and what the spiritual implications should be.

A careful look at global warming, as a topic, shows that there is a great deal of disagreement about the facts and substance of climate change. Those who blame man for climate change often disagree about what facts lead them to that conclusion. Those who hold man totally innocent of it often ignore established facts. My experience and research leads me to believe that warming is, in fact, occurring; however, there is little to no objective evidence that man is the cause, nor that the effects will be catastrophic. I think the idea of earth “wearing out” is an apt analogy. This entire world has been continually decaying since the fall.

Global warming “facts” are notoriously hard to come by. One of the few facts universally agreed upon is that the current average temperature of Earth is indeed rising at this time. According to most estimates, this increase in temperature amounts to about 0.4-0.8 °C (0.72-1.44 °F) over the last 100 years. Data regarding times before that is not only highly theoretical, but very difficult to obtain with any accuracy. The very methods used to obtain historical temperature records are controversial, even between the most ardent supporters of human-caused climate change. The facts leading one to believe that humans are not responsible for the current change in temperature are as follows:

· Global temperature changes from past millennia, according to available data, were often severe and rapid, long before man supposedly had any impact at all. That is, the current climate change is not as unusual as some alarmists would like to believe.

· Recent recorded history mentions times of noticeable global warming and cooling, long before man had any ability to produce industrial emissions.

· Water vapor, not CO2, is the most influential greenhouse gas. It is difficult to determine what effect, if any, mankind has on worldwide water vapor levels.

· Given the small percentage of human-produced CO2, as compared to other greenhouse gases, human impact on global temperature may be as little as 1%.

· Global temperatures are known to be influenced by other, non-human-controlled factors, such as sunspot activity, orbital movement, volcanic activity, solar system effects, and so forth. CO2 emission is not the only plausible explanation for global warming.

· Ice-age temperature studies, although rough, frequently show temperatures changing before CO2 levels, not after. This calls into question the relationship between warming and carbon dioxide; in some cases, the data could easily be interpreted to indicate that warming caused an increase in carbon dioxide, rather than the reverse!

· Computer simulations used to “predict” or “demonstrate” global warming require the assumption of human causation, and even then are not typically repeatable or reliable. Current computer weather simulations are neither predictive nor repeatable.

· Most of the global temperature increase of the last 100 years occurred before most of the man-made CO2 was produced.

· In the 1970’s, global temperatures had actually been dropping since 1945, and a “global cooling” concern became prominent, despite what is now dismissed as a lack of scientific support.

· The “consensus” claimed by most global warming theorists is not scientific proof, it is a statement of majority opinion; scientific majorities have been wrongly influenced by politics and other factors in the past. Such agreement is not to be taken lightly, but it is not the same thing as hard proof.

· This “consensus”, as with many other scientific theories, can be partially explained by growing hostility to those with differing viewpoints, making it less likely that a person without preconceived notions would take on the subject for research. The financial and political ramifications of the global warming debate are too serious to be ignored, though they should not be central to any discussion.

· The data being used to support anthropogenic (man-caused) global warming is typically based on small data sets, single samples, or measurements taken in completely different regions. This creates an uncertainty in the results that rarely gets the attention that alarmist conclusions do.

While the above list is not exhaustive, it does include several of the major points that raise doubts about mankind’s actual effect on global temperatures. While no one can deny that warming is occurring, “overwhelming evidence” of any objective type does not exist to support the idea that global warming is significantly influenced by human actions. There is plenty of vague, short-sighted, and misunderstood data that can be seen as proving “anthropogenic” global warming theory. All too often, data used to blame humans for global warming is far less reliable than data used for other areas of study. It is a valid point of contention that the data used in these studies is frequently flawed, easily misinterpreted, and subject to preconception.

In regards to issues such as this, skepticism is not the same as disbelief. There are fragments of evidence to support both sides, and logical reasons to choose one interpretation over another. The question of anthropogenic global warming should not divide Christian believers from each other (Luke 11:17). Environmental issues are important, but they are not the most important questions facing mankind. Christians ought to treat our world with respect and good stewardship, but we should not allow politically-driven hysteria to dominate our view of the environment. Our relationship with God is not dependent on our belief in human-caused global warming.

A Christian Perspective on the Kyoto Protocol
(Perspektif Kristen atas Protokol Kyoto)
by Rev. Jim Ball Ph.D
(the executive director of the Evangelical Environmental Network. The organization is the sponsor of the "What would Jesus drive?" campaign)

“While I believe President Bush cares about the plight of the poor, this is not reflected in his climate policy. As a country, and as the world’s No. 1 source of green house gases, America needs to do much more. In the absence of federal leadership, many states and businesses have stepped up to help. ”

Twelve-year-old Galib Mahmud had to get to school. There was just one problem. The streets in his hometown of Dhaka, Bangladesh were flooded. While flooding in Bangladesh is a normal occurrence, last summer the flooding was extreme, causing $6.7billion in damage in Bangladesh alone and resulting in over 2,000 deaths across the region. Although it was dangerous, Galib waded to school in his crisp white shirt through waist-high dirty water, carrying his shoes and books in a bag above his head.

Young Anna Nangolol lives in northwest Kenya, one of the harshest landscapes on the planet. For generations, her nomadic tribe had been well adapted to its arid home. That’s changed over the past 30 years, however, when the droughts have been relentless and dangerous. The herds they depend on are reaching the tipping point of their existence. Anna and millions of other Kenyans are in need of food aid because of the extreme drought.

Extreme. Dangerous. These are words that fit a growing global problem -- climate change -- that I believe is already bringing extreme flooding, extreme drought, extreme weather events of various shapes and sizes. With these extremes come dangers.

Jesus said in the 25th chapter of the gospel of Matthew that what we do to "the least of these" we do to him. That’s how profoundly he identifies with the poor and their plight. It is because he came to bring the abundant life for everyone that he has a special concern for those at the bottom.

Jesus is extreme in his concern for the poor. Today Jesus Christ looks at us through their eyes, through the eyes of Galib and Anna. What we do to the least of these through global warming we do to Jesus.

As someone who has confessed Christ to be my savior and lord, I look at global warming not as an "environmental" problem, but as an opportunity to love my lord by loving what he loves, by caring for everything he created. We call it creation-care.

Climate change is not creation-care. Nor is it some abstract theory. It is now a reality that brings death in its wake. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 160,000 people die each year due to the direct and indirect impacts of global warming. (That's as many as have died in the recent tsunami, which has rightly generated an outpouring of support from around the world.)

And the impact of global warming will get much worse as the century progresses. Millions could die. God's other creatures will suffer as well. A report in Nature magazine suggests that up to 37 percent of God's creatures will be on the road to extinction because of climate change by 2050, their songs of praise to their creator snuffed out forever.

On Wednesday, much of the developed world takes an important first step to address global warming as the Kyoto Protocol, the international climate treaty, goes into effect. The United States, however, is not participating. While I believe President Bush cares about the plight of the poor, this is not reflected in his climate policy. As a country, and as the world's No. 1 source of greenhouse gases, America needs to do much more.

In the absence of federal leadership, many states and businesses have stepped up to help. California has recently issued regulations requiring a 30 percent reduction in global warming pollution from vehicles by 2016. (However, it needs to withstand court challenges and receive a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency.)

Eighteen other states have requirements for electricity to be produced by renewable energy. DuPont and BP have made major efforts to reduce their emissions and are saving millions in the process.

Many individuals are also doing their part to reduce their global warming pollution by such activities as driving fuel-efficient vehicles and taking public transportation.

Sen. John McCain, Sen. Joseph Lieberman and others are pressing for passage of the Climate Stewardship Act, which would reduce U.S. emission of heat-trapping gases and be an important first step by the federal government to address our role in climate change.

All of these efforts are good for Galib and Anna. And they also help pave the way for our eventual re-entry into the international process.

For many of the world's poor, this century will be a dark night. Yet Psalm 30:5 says, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."


Christians and Climate Change:
Should Followers of Christ concern themselves with the threat of Global Warming?
(Kekristenan dan Perubahan Iklim: Haruskah Pengikut-pengikut Kristus peduli terhadap ancaman Pemanasan Global?)
by James Sherk
www.evangelsociety.org/sherk/wwjd.html

"Jesus cares about what we drive. Obeying Jesus in our transportation choices is one of the great Christian obligations and opportunities of the twenty-first century."(1) So proclaims the Evangelical Environmental Network on their "What Would Jesus Drive?" website. The issue seems absurd, but has a serious point. If the way we choose to drive harms other people, then servants of Christ must do what they can to minimize this harm. Doing otherwise would not entail loving one's neighbor as oneself. How can an individual's transportation choices harm others? The Evangelical Environmental Network explains, "Pollution that causes the threat of global warming violates the Great Commandments, the Golden Rule, and the Biblical call to care for 'the least of these,' and therefore denies Christ's Lordship."(2) If human activities cause global warming, then Christians have an obligation to avoid contributing to the problem.

The global warming theory states that human emissions of carbon dioxide cause the earth's atmosphere to trap excess heat, unnaturally warming the planet. Among other sources, automobiles, particularly less fuel efficient SUVs, emit large quantities of CO2. If man-made CO2 does in fact excessively warm the earth, then Christians should heed the Evangelical Environmental Network's call and watch what they drive, using only the most fuel efficient cars, and carpooling or using public transportation when possible. If, however, human CO2 emissions do not contribute to global warming, then the question "What Would Jesus Drive?" becomes an utter absurdity, since then gas guzzling would then harm no one, and carpooling does nothing to help the earth or one's fellow man. Consequently, Christians needs to know the facts about global warming in order to ensure that they live in accordance with Christ's commandments.

What are those facts? Anyone who reads the newspaper has no doubt learned that global warming represents a real and pressing danger to the health of the planet, and that it places millions of lives at risk. However, stepping away from the media spin, and looking at the underlying science reveals that scientists have uncovered little reliable evidence to support the popular hype that surrounds global warming. As a result, Christians have no reason to fear contributing to global warming, and may drive any vehicle with a clear conscience.

The Historical Record
The observed climate record of the past century represents one of the major flaws in the global warming theory. During the 20th century human emissions of CO2 grew rapidly, with most of that increase following the Second World War. According to the theory, this should have caused temperatures to rise over the past century, with most of that increase coming after World War II. Surface measurements reveal that the earth's temperature rose approximately 0.6°C during the 20th century, but this warming does not match the theoretical predictions. Most of the warming, 0.4°C, took place before the early 1940's, before the release of most man-made CO2 into the atmosphere. Then, until the late 1970's, while human emissions of CO2 rose rapidly, the earth actually cooled approximately 0.1°C, only to rise by another 0.3°C by the end of the century. Surface temperature records reveal almost no correlation between human CO2 emissions and temperature increases. The majority of the temperature increase took place before CO2 levels rose substantially, then the temperature decreased while CO2 emissions rapidly rose, only to reverse the trend and slightly increase by the end of the century.(3) Understandably, the history of actual human CO2 emissions and the temperature record does little to support the global warming theory.

However, climatologists base this temperature record on surface measurements from ground stations. Scientists know that these records suffer from a systematic bias that tends to increase the temperature they record, the urban "heat island" effect. Many ground-monitoring stations are located in areas that have grown into major cities. The high volume of human activity, and asphalt, which tends to trap heat, that a city contains raises the temperature of a city several degrees above that of the surrounding countryside. Consequently, temperature measurements taken in or near a city are noticeably higher than those taken in a rural area, and this bias shows up in the surface record.(4)

Fortunately, for the past quarter century scientists have an alternative climate record unaltered by the heat island effect, the satellite record. Since 1979, satellites orbiting the globe have recorded the earth's temperature using instruments with an accuracy of ±0.01°C. These more accurate satellite sensors show that, except for a one-year warming spike in 1998 caused by El Nino, the earth's average temperature did not rise between 1979 and 2000.(5) Temperature measurements from weather balloons corroborate these findings, which cast further doubt on the global warming theory. While atmospheric carbon dioxide has steadily risen, the most accurate measurements available show that the global temperature did not increase over the past two decades.

Still, the best records available suggest that global temperatures rose slightly over the past century. However, this is hardly unusual. Global temperatures naturally change, and have done so for thousands of years before the invention of the internal combustion engine. Over just the past millennia, global temperatures swung by several degrees. During the Middle Ages, in the medieval climate optimum, temperatures averaged one to two degrees higher than today's levels. During this time, Greenland was actually green, and supported vibrant Viking settlements. Following this warm period, and lasting into the mid 1800's, came the so-called "Little Ice Age," during which global temperatures dropped noticeably below today's levels. Since the 1850's, temperatures have risen as the earth left the mini-ice age.(6) These climate swings occurred as a result of natural processes, long before humans began emitting significant amounts of CO2. The fact that the earth has warmed by half a degree centigrade over the past century hardly represents an unusual historical occurrence or evidence that human activity has altered the climate.

Climate Models
The question naturally arises why so many politicians, journalists, and scientists believe in global warming when it has so little support from the historical record. The answer is that, despite the lack of empirical support, computer programs that model the global climate and make future predictions project that increased levels of atmospheric CO2 cause the global temperature to rise. It is on the basis of these climate models, run on some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, that almost every prediction of global warming rests. The U.N.'s Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. National Assessment of Global Warming, and virtually every other major global warming study rely on these computer forecasts to prove that human activity changes the climate.

However, these models are only computer simulations, not empirical facts. The quality of the programs, and the data fed into the programs, limits the accuracy of the model's predictions. If scientists don't fully understand all the parameters in the model, then the model will produce less than fully accurate projections. Unfortunately, all current climate models suffer from severe defects that limit their usefulness in projecting future climate change. These defects do not result from bad programming or dishonest intent on the part of scientists, but from fundamental limitations in current scientific knowledge that make more accurate models impossible.

Uncertain Parameters and Flux Adjustments
Current climate models do not accurately account for the effects of clouds and precipitation on the global climate.(7) Clouds and rainfall clearly affect the climate, but scientists don't know how model them accurately. Additionally, the models simply ignore changes in the level of the solar energy entering the atmosphere.(8) To put it mildly, the sun significantly affects the earth's climate. Nonetheless, the models assume that the level of solar energy striking the earth remains constant, despite the fact that scientists know that this is not the case. Climatologists must make this assumption, however, because they do not know how to predict future changes in solar radiation. Unsurprisingly, these limitations decrease the accuracy of the models.

Furthermore, researchers simply do not accurately know some climate parameters, and must use educated guesses in their models. Physics tells scientists that a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 increases the energy in the climate system by approximately four Watts per square meter (W/m2). At the same time, the uncertainty in measuring the amount of energy reflected into space or absorbed by the earth is on the order of 25 W/m2, and scientists cannot estimate energy flows from the equator to the North and South poles beyond a 25-30 W/m2 range.(9)

Scientists must use these parameters to model the climate, but they simply do not accurately know them. Models using "best guess" estimates of the parameters predict the unrealistic cooling of major oceans and other unlikely anomalies. To avoid absurd predictions, climatologists introduced "artificial flux adjustments," on the order of 50 to 100 W/m2, that stop the models from predicting the impossible. These flux adjustments lack any theoretical basis, but climatologists need them to make the models plausible.(10) In other words, the artificial adjustments that scientists make to their models to account for unknown or improperly measured or modeled variables are twelve to twenty five times the size of the effect of doubling the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Consequently, no one has much reason to believe that the models can accurately forecast the future effect of increasing carbon dioxide on the earth's temperature.

Models Fail to Predict Current Temperatures
In fact, even the most advanced climate models cannot accurately model current weather patterns, much less those of a hundred years from now. No model currently in existence can produce forecasts remotely in line with the measured temperature of the troposphere, the lower 40,000 feet of the atmosphere.(11) Recent measurements over Antarctica indicate that major global climate models inaccurately forecast Antarctic stratospheric temperatures by 10 to 15 degrees centigrade, indicating that the models make fundamental errors in calculating how radiation disperses.(12) One of the two models that formed the core of the U.S. National Assessment of Global Warming "predicted" 300% more temperature change in America over the 20th century than actually occurred.(13) Due to systematic and unavoidable errors, even the most state of the art current climate models cannot accurately predict current weather patterns. The notion that they can predict the climate centuries from now is a stretch. Yet these models form the basis for the case that human activity unnaturally warms the planet.

No Scientific Consensus
Why, then, if the models face so many limitations, do newspapers, politicians, and advocacy groups proclaim that the scientific consensus is that the global warming theory is accurate? In fact, advocacy groups exaggerate these claims. Thousands of scientists do believe that man-made carbon dioxide emissions unnaturally warm the atmosphere, and thousands do not. Over 17,000 scientists signed the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine's petition proclaiming that "there is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of … greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate."(14) Separately, more than 4,000 scientists, including 70 Nobel Prize winners, signed the Heidelberg Appeal, testifying that science provides no reason to limit the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.(15) While many scientists believe in the global warming theory, many do not, and scientists have not come to a consensus on the issue.

Bias in the IPCC
Many reporters and politicians claim that the scientific consensus supports global warming because of the United Nation's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC. While earlier IPCC reports equivocated, in 2001 the IPCC concluded that human CO2 emissions do warm the earth. However, the IPCC does not represent an impartial cross-section of scientists. The UN resolution that created the IPCC defined its mission as being "…to initiate action leading as soon as possible to recommendations with respect to the identification and possible strengthening of relevant existing international legal instruments having a bearing on climate …"(16) Thus, if the IPCC announced that it had discovered that human activity does not change the climate, and that no further international action was needed, it would violate the very resolution that created it.

Additionally, the governments of the IPCC member nations selected the conferees; they did not serve on the IPCC purely on the basis of their scientific credentials. Furthermore, only a third of the IPCC scientists actually had training as climatologists.(17) It should not come as an overwhelming surprise that a panel of political appointees, only some of whom had proper scientific credentials, came to exactly the conclusions that the UN declared that it wanted them to arrive at.

Flaws with the USNA
The National Academy of Sciences U.S. National Assessment of global warming (USNA) has exerted just as much influence as the IPCC in influencing American public policy. The USNA claims that global warming will wreak environmental and economic havoc on the United States throughout the 21st century, and forms the scientific basis for legislation placed before Congress by, among other legislators, Senate minority leader Thomas Daschle.(18) This politicized, agenda driven report, however, has virtually no scientific justification and does nothing to support the global warming hypothesis. Indeed, the report demonstrates the extent to which global warming proponents will stretch science to make it conform to their beliefs, regardless of the facts.

Former Vice-President and known global warming alarmist Al Gore initiated the USNA in 1997, and despite serious flaws, the government published the USNA ten days before the 2000 election, conveniently just days before Americans decided whether or not to elect Gore to the Presidency.(19) The fourteen person National Assessment "synthesis team" (NAST) selected to conduct the assessment included no global warming skeptics, only two climatologists, and only one member with a doctorate.(20)

The team then selected two climate models to form the basis of the report. Of the many major climate models available, the NAST chose the British "Hadley Model" and the Canadian model to predict the effects of global warming. Both models are statistical outliers, respectively predicting that global warming will cause greater increases in precipitation and temperature than any other model available.(21) If the NAST was looking to predict a worst-case scenario, it could not have selected better models. However, they were not the most reliable models available. In fact, when it comes to predicting the effects of global warming, they directly contradict each other, predicting drought and flooding in opposite areas of America. Even the Hadley center states that its models cannot accurately predict changes in local climate conditions, only in areas of 1000 kilometers or more.(22) Nonetheless, the NAST selected the Hadley and Canadian models, and used them to predict the effects of global warming.

When the USNA report underwent peer review, the reviewers discovered a significant problem. In the words of reviewer Patrick Michaels, "The two climate models that are the core of the USNA perform no better than a table of random numbers when it comes to estimating U.S. temperatures during the period of greenhouse effect changes."(23) Even the United Nations agreed that the models were virtually useless. For all the effort that went in to the USNA, random guessing does a better job of predicting the climate than either of the models used by the NAST. The NAST commissioned its own study to analyze the models, and concluded that the reviewers were right; they also agreed that the models could not predict temperature change over the United States. Despite this, the team published the USNA anyway, less than two weeks before the election, predicting that global warming would inflict dramatic economic and ecological harm on America.(24)

The USNA received a great deal of media attention following its release, convincing many people that global warming presented a clear and present danger to America, but at best it represents a political document designed to elect Al Gore. At worst, it represented deliberate scientific dishonesty in the service of a political agenda.

Data Errors in the Hockey Stick Graph
Recently, auditors have revealed an even more disturbing case of scientific fraud in a report that promoted global warming. In 1998 Professor Michael Mann of the University of Virginia published a report analyzing the climate over the past six centuries. Since scientists do not have direct temperature records for all but the last century, Mann relied on 10 different proxy records, tree rings and ice core samples from around the globe, to discern the temperature of the earth before reliable temperature records began. On the basis of this study, Mann produced the famous "hockey stick" graph, which showed that the global climate had been relatively stable until 20th century, when temperatures rose dramatically. Based on this work, Mann claimed that the 20th century was warmer than any in the past 600 years.

It would be hard to overstate the influence of the Mann report and the "hockey stick" graph in the global warming debate. It seemed to deny the existence of both the medieval climate optimum and the Little Ice Age. It was one of the main reasons that the 2001 IPCC report unequivocally stated that humans were causing global warming, while earlier reports could not come to this conclusion. It formed the basis of Environment Canada's support for the costly anti-global warming Kyoto treaty, which the Canadian government has since signed.(25) The USNA also utilized the "hockey stick" graph in predicting dire consequences from global warming.(26) Mann's report seemed to provide supporters of the global warming theory with the empirical evidence that they had been lacking.

In 2003, Stephen McIntyre, a businessman with a strong statistical and mathematical background, and Professor Ross McKitrick of the University of Guelph conducted an independent audit of Mann's report. Analyzing the data used to generate the report, they determined that

The data set of proxies of past climate used in Mann … for the estimation of temperatures from 1400 to 1980 contains collation errors, unjustifiable truncation or extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, geographical location errors, incorrect calculation of principal components and other quality control defects. ... The major finding is that the values in the early 15th century exceed any values in the 20th century. The particular "hockey stick" … is primarily an artefact of poor data handling, obsolete data and incorrect calculation of principal components.(27)

Mann was only able to derive the "hockey stick" because of systematic errors in his data and his calculations. McIntyre and McKitrick corrected the data errors in Mann's work and produced the temperature graph Mann's research should have lead him to. This graph demonstrated that the 20th century was not unusual, that in fact the 15th century, with virtually no artificial emissions of carbon dioxide, was substantially warmer than the 20th century.

The Mann report, one of the most influential papers supporting the global warming theory, only achieved its breakthrough result through the use of poor data and erroneous calculations. Correcting those errors demonstrates that the empirical record does not support the global warming theory; it rests almost entirely on models of highly questionable accuracy.

The global warming theory has little to no empirical support, relies on highly inaccurate computer models that cannot forecast current, much less future, climate change, and is not supported by a broad scientific consensus. Key studies that support the global warming theory, the IPCC, the USNA, and Mann's 1998 report, all suffer from errors and biases. While these facts do not conclusively prove that global warming is not occurring - it is impossible to prove a negative - they certainly suggest that it is not. Consequently, Christians should not worry that their transportation choices might harm other people. Christians can choose to drive how they wish without fearing that their actions contribute to Global Warming and thus, in the words of the Evangelical Environmental Network, "deny Christ's Lordship." This does not mean that Christians do not need to consider God's desires in what they choose to drive. God clearly tells his servants not to glorify or take pride in material wealth, but to serve him first and store up treasures in heaven, and some luxury vehicles clearly express materialistic desires. It simply means that Christians have no reason to also consider the effects their car might have on the climate when purchasing a new vehicle. What Would Jesus Drive? Whatever he chose, the exaggerated hype surrounding the global warming theory would not concern him

Event SPPK bagi Para Mantan Pencandu Narkoba dan ODHA di Kota Bandung dalam rangka Hari AIDs Sedunia di Bandung, 26 Nop-1 Des 2007.

"Roh Tuhan ada di atas-Ku; Ia telah mengangkat Aku untuk mengabarkan Berita Kesukaan kepada yang miskin; Ia telah mengutus Aku untuk menyembuhkan yang hancur hatinya dan memaklumkan bahwa yang tertawan akan dibebaskan .., yang tertindas akan dibebaskan dari para penindas, dan Allah telah siap untuk memberikan berkat kepada semua yang datang kepada-Nya." (Luk 4: 18-19, FAYH).

Dalam rangka memperingati Hari AidS Sedunia yang jatuh tanggal 1 Desember dan misi pelayanan kepada para mantan pencandu narkoba dan ODHA (Orang Dengan HIV/AidS), pada tanggal 26 Nopember - 1 Desember 2007 di kota Bandung telah berlangsung event "Seminar Pembinaan dan Pendampingan untuk Kemandirian" (SPKK) yang diikuti oleh para mantan pecandu narkoba dan ODHA di kota Bandung dan sekitarnya.

Event SPPK kali ini bersifat lintas agama (interfaith) ini, terselenggara berkat kerjasama/kolaborasi beberapa lembaga: Lembaga Konsultan Kristen MAXIMA, LSM Rumah Cemara, Bandung Plus Support, BMU Bandung, BMU Margahayu dan El Trinitas Indonesia. Puluhan mantan pecandu narkoba dan ODHA yang telah dibina sejak setahun yang lalu (2006) hadir dengan antusias pada SPKK yang dipusatkan di Sany Rosa, Jln Setiabudi, Bandung. Hadir pula sejumlah tokoh antara lain dari unsur Pesantren (Pomosda), lembaga Hikam Jabar, LIPI Bandung dan lembaga internasional yang mendukung LSM-LSM HIV/AidS di Bandung.

Bpk Hans Midas Simanjuntak, Ir MM MCS, missionary pastor yang dikenal pula sebagai entrepreneur konsultan dan tokoh LSM kristen, berkenan hadir sebagai salah satu pembicara/nara sumber utama event SPKK. Topik yang dibawakan selama 4 hari berturut-turut adalah terkait dengan "Pentingnya Menata Kehidupan Lewat penumbuh-kembangan Semangat Entrepreneurship disertai Upaya Riel menuju Kemandirian" bagi para peserta. Nara sumber, pembina dan pendamping lainnya adalah Bpk Andy Nugraha, SE.Ak, MM (BMU Bandung), Ibu Ir Rusdiati R,MSc (LIPI Bandung) dan Bpk. Drs Asep Syarifuddin, MM (Lembaga Hikam Jabar). Bertindak sebagai observer, pimpinan pesantren POMOSDA Bpk Drs. B Wahyu dan Mr. M. Thilakasiri dari CCFC Sri Lanka.

Puluhan peserta para mantan pecandu narkoba dan ODHA sangat antusias mengikuti tiap sessi seminar, pembinaan, latihan praktis, games dan pendampingan SPKK yang dilakukan. Mereka yang pada umumnya berusia 20-32 tahun dan mulai dibina sejak medio 2006 yang lalu, telah menunjukkan grafik perkembangan dan kemajuan yang luar biasa selama 1 1/2 tahun terakhir. Makin munculnya kesadaran yang semakin besar untuk tidak (lagi) ingin terjun dalam "dunia lama" meskipun sulit, dan tidak (lagi) ingin menjadi beban bagi keluarga dan masyarakat menjadi hal yang sangat menggembirakan hati. Sejak tahun lalu menerima pendampingan dan pembinaan, para peserta SPKK semakin sadar dan mau bangkit menjadi pribadi-pribadi yang lebih tegar, lebih mandiri, lebih terbuka serta optimis menatap masa depan.

Sebagian peserta telah memutuskan ikut terjun dalam usaha-usaha pelayanan filantropis, menjadi aktivis LSM/foundation dan beberapa kegiatan social-entrepreneur sekaitan dengan program penanganan pecandu narkoba (drugs) dan HIV/AIDs. Sebagian besar lagi bahkan telah memutuskan untuk memulai usaha-usaha berdikari dan micro-entrepreneurs. Sebut saja usaha clothing dan fashion, web-design, bengkel motor, cuci motor & mobil, desain kaos, video-shooting, dagang peralatan olah-raga, perdagangan antar-kota di Jabar, pengumpulan & daur-ulang limbah, dll. Mereka yang rata-rata kaum muda dan dewasa muda itu, bukan saja kini mampu untuk membiayai hidup mereka sendiri. Tapi juga sebagian sudah mampu untuk menabung (saving) dan merekrut satu hingga belasan tenaga kerja baru.

Event SPPK dan kegiatan pendampingan sebelumnya ini selain telah diselenggarakan di kota Bandung, juga telah diselenggarakan pula di Subang, Sukabumi dan Tasikmalaya, Jawa Barat.

Kiranya momen kegiatan dan event seperti ini dapat semakin membawa berkat limpah dan manfaat besar bagi kelompok-kelompok masyarakat khususnya para mantan pecandu narkoba dan ODHA yang membutuhkan dan tentunya bagi masyarakat bangsa tercinta!

Hanya bagi Allah saja segala kemuliaan!! (TSM Report/AK-07).