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Since President Obama appeared in Copenhagen, where world leaders discussed climate change, some are praying that he would make policy changes, while some are hoping that he would not.

"We who join in prayer today believe the time has come, Lord," Tim Costello of World Vision Australia and Brian McLaren wrote in a prayer later posted on Sojourner's God's Politics blog. "Please guide us now, our God, at this critical moment in history, to better fulfill our role as stewards of this fragile planet. Guide the leaders of nations who gather in Copenhagen."

This past week Costello continued, praying that when President Obama arrives Copenhagen "his ability to reach across political chasms, bridging cultures from Kenya to Kansas, will nudge the process enough, building the case for a [sic] unprecedented action as a global community even in these final hours."

Other groups do not share his hopeful view of the Copenhagen conference.

For Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, the conference is not about climate change but population control.

"For years, the green team has used photos of cuddly polar bears and harp seals to cover up their real agenda of radical environmentalism: population control," Perkins said. "This week, that message is front and center at the Denmark summit, as 'climate cultists' try to force a global limit on procreation."

Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, called on Obama to oppose China's population control policies. "No proposal is more despicable and, if followed, would constitute a violation of basic human rights than the suggestion that governments should emulate China's coercive family planning program," Wright wrote in anopen letterto Obama.

Of course, some are complete skeptics of climate change. Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association (AFA)ridiculed the idea of climate change.

"Pity the poor fools who still believe man is causing catastrophic global warming … Hilariously, record low temperatures are being forecast for Copenhagen between now and Friday, perhaps an argument that God has a sense of humor and is watching the proceedings with a bemused smile on his face," said Fischer.

Last month, the AFA hosted a webcast on the movie "Not Evil, Just Wrong," a movie that denies that global warming is based on sound science.

Breakpoint founder Chuck Colson is also skeptical about the science and politics of the conference. In a recent "two-minute warning" webcast, Colson gave several reasons that he doubts the existence of global warming. For Colson, the reason for the Copenhagen conference is about "control," not climate change.

"It's about leverage to create the technocrats' vision of a better world—their idea of Utopia … the kind of control that hasn't been seen since the fall of communism," said Colson.

Opposition to the Copenhagen conference isunlikely to sway Mitch Hescox, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network. Hescox wrote in an e-mail this week, "No matter what others may say, I am willing to pick-up my cross and follow Christ, in order to care for the 100s of millions people already suffering because of climate change."

President Obama received rare praise from political advocacy groups on the Right for his Nobel acceptance speech, which defended the need for just military action in the face of evil. Obama stated that peace and nonviolence is an ideal, but this ideal must be coupled with the reality that force is sometimes needed because "evil does exist in the world."

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December (Web-Only) 2009, Vol. 53