"THE FIRE NEXT TIME"

I  find it more and more amusing when authors and advertisers use Scriptural terms in a Biblically illiterate society.  But the book by James Baldwin is different in one way--he knew exactly to what he was referring. Baldwin came directly out of a Bible-soaked culture of various black denominations; and if there's one thing besides the Gospel itself that is known most thoroughly by African-American Christians, it would be the Book of Revelation. And the title is a parallel to that book, in fact, to the entire Bible, which refers throughout to a Final Fiery End, after God promised to never flood the earth again.

Baldwin was not a Christian, but like many, used Biblical terms and concepts frequently. His fire was more referring to African-American struggles and of the "judgements" of such events as the Watts riots. Far more than the South is "Christ-haunted," to use F. O'Connor's memorable phrase. 

Nonetheless, wildfires and burning heat are certainly on many minds.  It seems ironic that no matter what view you take: that of the secular scientist or that of the Flaming Prophets of God's Word, the conclusion is that same--there isn't a problem on this planet that man has not caused, directly or indirectly. 

So where is all the water going?  The heat will evaporate it quite quickly, so why so little rain? The planet was full of greenhouse gases aeons ago, and a lot hotter than now.  There were literally no polar ice caps. "Desertification" is a problem now-but if nature is by definition good and faultless, why all the fuss?  Maybe the Bible is raising its ugly head again.

I mean "ugly" from the humanistic point of view--old fashioned humanism seems to have gone extinct, replaced by a jugger-nought so fanatically materialistic it will do anything to blame others--esp. "religions,"
just so long as the finger is not pointing back at them.

The other way for the water to go, if not up into the clouds, is to the "great fountains of the deep," inaccessible to any human driller, but obviously plenty of space and shady conditions down there. I am sitting on top of millions of cubic feet of natural gas, stored there by man for man's burning desires, because the limestone and other rock below me is so incredible porous. If we didn't pressurize these pockets with our gas, they would be, well, empty. But we are talking about a mile or more down.  (No danger of it exploding under our feet.)

I would be interested in whatever material might be out there, if possible untinged by prejudice and agendas and pure speculation like mine, that might indicate what direction the planet is likely to take.  Will the waters rise in spite of higher pressure on the ocean beds, but decreased rain in more and more areas? I am on shaky ground here--but I do agree with Baldwin and the Bible that the fires kindled by man, and the sun which is increasingly less hindered by our atmosphere; will be hotter than the weather we have now.  And it will take more than Bible cliches and mocking God and spending money we don't have, to make a dent in what seems to be inexorable.

Ad Campaign, anyone?