His concerns about greenhouse gases, rising temperature averages, dying coral reefs, blistering heat waves, and increasingly extreme weather were informed by his training at as atmospheric physicist and his commitment to science. They also come out of his evangelical understanding of God, the biblical accounts of humanity\u2019s relationship to creation, and what it means for a Christian to follow Christ.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t lived up to the call to holiness,\u201d Houghton\u2019s granddaughter Hannah Malcolm explained to CT. \u201cWe\u2019ve been conformed to the patterns of this world, with the desire for wealth accumulation and the desire to increase our comforts, and that\u2019s not the demand that is placed upon us as followers of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houghton was born in a Baptist family in Wales in 1931. As a young man he realized he needed to make a personal decision for Christ, and he did. To the end of his life, Houghton described it as the most important choice he\u2019d ever made.<\/p>\n
His love for God fueled his love for science. He saw it as a way to worship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing that can ever happen to anybody is to get a relationship with the one who has created the universe,\u201d Houghton told a Welsh newspaper in 2007. \u201cWe discover the laws of nature when we do our science. So we discover what\u2019s behind the universe and if there\u2019s an intelligence and a creator behind it. What we\u2019re doing as Christians is exploring our relationship with the person who is the creator of the universe. Now that\u2019s something that is absolutely wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n "I\u2019ve heard people say he had the urgency of a prophet.\u201d <\/p>\n This Nobel prize-winning evangelical climate scientist saw sin at the heart of our ecological crisis: https:\/\/t.co\/wPB1CPyLXn<\/a><\/p>\n — Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) September 2, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n