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Christianity

2009-05-14T21:01:18Z

Dufftron:

{{Christianity}}
'''Christianity''' is the world's largest religion, having 2.1 billion followers. It is a [[monotheistic]] religion that professes belief in [[Jesus]] as the Son of [[God]]. Christianity takes its name from [[Jesus Christ]] meaning "Jesus the Savior" and "Jesus the Anointed One". Followers of Jesus are called Christians, meaning "of Christ" or "belonging to Christ".<ref>[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=2661&dict=CALD Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary]</ref>
== Main Christian groups ==

The three largest self-governing bodies of Christians are:

* the [[Roman Catholic Church]] (approx. 1.1 billion baptized members) traces its roots back to [[Saint Peter]] who Catholic believed established the Church and the succession of the [[Pope]]s as the spiritual authority over the Christian body of believers.

* the [[Orthodox Church]]es (approx. 300 million baptized members) also trace their roots back to the beginnings of Christianity, but do not believe in the Primacy of the Pope. Different theological perspectives led to the [[Great Schism]] between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches in A.D. 1054.
[[Image:Anglican Christ Church.jpg|thumb|150px|Anglican Christ Church in Western Australia]]
* [[Protestantism]], the largest Communions are the [[Anglican Church|Anglicans]] (approx. 77 million baptized members) and the Lutheran World Federation (approx. 68 million baptized members). Protestantism has its origins in the European [[Reformation]]. It first broke away from the Roman Catholic Church under [[Martin Luther]] when differences over the nature of faith and works in the role of [[Christianity#salvation|salvation]] could not be adequately reconciled with Papal prescriptions as well as other practices that Luther saw in the Catholic Church at that time that he did not agree with. Other preachers and movements then followed Luther's example and also left the Catholic fold.
{{Clear}}

== Christian beliefs ==
Theologians, over two millennia, have debated a definitive summary of the Christian faith. While its interpretations vary drastically, probably the most commonly accepted statement of faith is the [[Nicene Creed| Nicea-Constantinopolitan Creed]] below:

<blockquote>I believe in one God, [[God the Father|the Father Almighty]], Maker of [[heaven]] and [[earth]], and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the [[Holy Spirit]] and the [[Virgin Mary]], and became man. And He was crucified for us under [[Pontius Pilate]], and suffered, and was buried. And the third day He rose again, according to the [[Bible|Scriptures]]; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the [[Resurrection]] of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.</blockquote>

[http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/1566/christianity.png Christianity Satire]

Christians and Christian denominations agree on many points of doctrine and disagree on others. According to an online Harris poll from 2003 99% of all American Christians believe in God, 96% in the [[Resurrection of Jesus Christ|resurrection of Jesus Christ]], 93% in Heaven, 93% in the virgin birth, 92% in the survival of the soul after death, 82% in Hell, 50% in ghosts, 27% in astrology and 21% in reincarnation. <ref>http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=359</ref> Note that the latter two beliefs are in opposition to the religious dogma of most Christian denominations.

Nonetheless, the Nicea-Constantinopolitan Creed offers a general overall picture of what Christian theology looks like, and serves as a useful outline.

Other creeds may prove helpful in research. See also: the [[Apostle's Creed]], [[Athanasian Creed]].

===God===
{{main|God}}
God is a triune being. Though there is only one Divine nature there are three Divine Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three Persons are collectively called the [[Trinity]] or the Holy Trinity. Christians are not polytheists because of the oneness of the divine nature (or essence). Though to non-Christians and even many Christians, it might seem like an inconsequential dogma, the doctrine of the Trinity is central to all of Christian theology and life. This is especially true in the relationship between God and human beings. The major theme of the Bible is love. In the Hebrew [[Old Testament]] the idea is expressed in the Hebrew word ''hessed'', which is variously translated as loyal love, tender mercy, steadfast love, mercy, goodness, etc. in the [[New Testament]] the same idea is expressed in the Greek word ''agape'', which is variously translated as love, compassion, charity, etc. The picture that the Biblical writers draw with these words is of a lover (God) who is entirely self-sufficient, needing nothing, and a beloved (human beings) in desperate need of salvation but unable to obtain it for himself. But God the lover is willing to suffer, knows He is going to suffer, even endure death to save those who believe in him. This love of God for human beings is an extension of the love the Three Persons in the Trinity have for each other. Each loves the others infinitely. Their love for each other and for their creation is such that the [[Apostle John]] equates God and love, in an almost mathematical way saying, "God is love."

Additionally, the God of the Christians is the creator of all things, is everywhere present, exists in all times, is transcendent, all-knowing (omniscient), just, all-powerful (omnipotent).

===Jesus===
[[Image:Jesus' Baptism.jpg|180px|left|]]
During the reign of [[Caeser Augustus]] the Son (e.g. the second Person of the Trinity) took flesh from a virgin woman and was incarnate as a man. He was born in the town of [[Bethlehem]] and was given the name [[Jesus]]. At the age of thirty he was baptized by his cousin, the [[John the Baptist|Prophet John]], and began to preach in the area [[Palestine]]. About three years after his baptism, he raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, prompting the Jewish power establishment to plot Jesus death. Jesus was [[crucified]]. He came back from the dead and was seen by over 500 people. He ascended to heaven. The four [[Gospels]] contain the records of some of what Jesus did and said, but he did much more than those four books relate, as the Apostle John said in his Gospel.
{{Clear}}

===Jesus' Self Consciousness===

Jesus, conceived of the Holy Spirit, presented a disturbing surprise to his earthly father, Joseph, knowing he had not impregnated his fiancee, Mary. She would ponder the meaning of this miracle all the days Jesus would grow and finally she would behold her son expire on the cross. But Joseph, told by the Lord who his son really was, and how he had come about, and being warned by the Lord to flee the murderous Herod, took his family to Egypt - until the death of Herod made it safe ("Out of Egypt have I called My Son") to return to Israel. The family settled in Nazareth on the elevated rim of the Jezre'el Valley where he grew well and observably no different from the other youth. But when he was about 12 years old, he was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem, and displayed his consciousness that His real Father was God rather than Joseph ("Didn't you know that I must be here about the matters of My Father?".

They returned to Nazereth in Galilee and it wasn't until 28 years later that He began to publicly show His consciousness as to who he was. This was at his baptism at the Jordan River by John, when the voice came, to him, to John, and to the people privileged to be around, "This is my Son, the Beloved, Listen (Shma'a) to Him!" Here and now, against even the desire of John the Baptizer, Jesus, knowing that sin was not in him, chose to identify with sinful mankind in this baptism of John for repentance of sin, knowing that at the end of his time on earth, he would then be giving this sinless life of his on the cross, bearing the sins of the world upon himself.
[[Image:Carpaccio Christus in Emmaus.jpg|thumb|Christus in Emmaus by [[Vittore Carpaccio]]]]
Back, now, in Galilee, he would begin to do works of mercy, miracles of compassion, healings of deliverance, and overthrowing the devastations of Satan upon the people of God's compassion - in short, bringing in the Kingdom of Heaven and of God and supplanting the Kingdom of Darkness. He began to gather around him his followers, simple fishing folk and others, spending most of his time in the area around the north shore of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). among the Jews of this Jewish area. He was bringing in the Messianic Kingdom to those who would understand it best, the Jews. But all the time, there was burning within him the knowledge that the blessings of Abraham would be extended, according to the promise, to all the peoples of the earth, the Gentiles, and there would be a new Kingdom, a new nation, transcending both Jews and Gentiles, the Kingdom of the people of God the Heavenly Father. He began his forays then into gentile areas, Phoenecia, the Decapolis, and other locales, and finding faith there such as he had not found "even in Israel".

A crossroads occurred, then, in the choice of Jesus, and consequently in the options of his disciples. It occurred in the Tetrarchy of Philip, at the foothills of Mt. Hermon, at the town of Caesarea Philipi. He knowing who he was, would force the question upon others - "Who do people say Me to be?". From the lips of Shim'on, whom he would call Peter, as leader of the others, He would hear - "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!" It was enough. Jesus would then begin imparting to them what the nature of His mission to be - not to expel the Romans from the Holy Land, but to go to Jerusalem, to be betrayed, to be spurned and rejected by the High Priests and the Elders of the People, to be hung on a Roman cross at the hands of the Gentiles, to die. Casesarea Philipi was in between, on one hand, Gentile pervaded Roman Tiberius to the southwest of the Sea, and on the other hand, anti-Roman nationalistic and zealotic Gamla to the north east of the Sea. (This latter would end their rebellion against Rome by suicide on Matzada in 73 A.D). Those two polarities were present in the minds of the disciples and Jesus began, on one hand, to divest from their minds the one, the warrior role of the Messiah against the Romans, and the other, to renew their thinking and their commitment to Him as the self sacrificing Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace and the true Messiah of Israel, on the other hand.

This took place on the long 3 or 4 day journey by foot from Galilee to Jerusalem, along the [[Jordan River]] valley, coming to Jericho, ascending to Jerusalem from the east. It was in Jerusalem that he prepared and settled the matter for the perpetuation of the Church at the Lord's last supper of the Passover, to be made palpable later by the descent of the Holy Spirit. It was in Jerusalem, in the Garden of the Oil Press, that what He had been lead to believe about his mission and the meaning and manner of his death was fully embraced and accepted with no reservation or turning back. "Your will be done, Father, if there is no other way", and "There is no other way, Your will be done Father!" It was a perfect decision and commitment, perfecting his life to be a perfect sacrifice. And it was to the west just outside Jerusalem that His teachings came to a concretization and realization on the cross. And just outside of Jerusalem that His Father would vindicate him by raising him from the dead.

"No man takes my life from me. I have power to take it and I have power to lay it down... I lay down my life for the sheep." <ref>Bible, Gospel of John, 10:18,15 http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=KjvJohn.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=10&division=div1</ref>

"Though He was in the form of God, He did not think equality with God something to grasp onto. But He emptied Himself and took to Himself the form of a servant and was made man, And being found in the form of a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. For this reason, God has exalted Him..."<ref>Bible, Philippians 2:6-9a, http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=KjvPhil.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=2&division=div1 </ref>

===Morality===
The fundamental principle in Christian moral teaching is love and forgiveness, as expressed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the New Testament. Jesus summarized his teachings in two commandments from the Old Testament:

"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 22:37-39; [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] 6:5; Leviticus 19:18)

Constant debate has resulted as to how a person should express love for God in their moral behavior. This moral dialogue found expression in the New Testament, where the [[Apostle Paul]] addressed such controversies as [[circumcision]] ([[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 2:25-29), eating meat that was sacrificed to [[pagan]] deities (1 Corinthians 8), speculating about myths and genealogies (1 Timothy 1:3-5), and observing ceremonial dates and seasons (Galatians 4:9-11).

Regardless of a person's ethical interpretations, adherents commonly point to New Testament passages John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as scriptural depictions of love. The former states that <blockquote>"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."</blockquote> The latter characterizes love, saying <blockquote>"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."</blockquote>

Jesus Christ affirmed, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

===The Atonement of Jesus on the Cross===
[[Image:Dalí The Christ of St. John of the Cross.jpg|thumb|The Christ of St. John of the Cross by [[Salvador Dalí]], 1951.]]
All Christians believe with the New Testament that the death of Jesus, along with His resurrection, is an indispensable proclamation of a crucial event for the reconciliation of lost sinners with God. There are three elements they see to understanding His death on the cross.

# Jesus having the knowledge that His path would lead to his own death, desired and willed that that take place, and persevered in that path though there was opportunity for Him to avoid it. Though there is ample recognition in the New Testament that others desired Him to die, and that the circumstances in which His path took him would bring Him to His end on earth, the mover of all these things was Himself and the will of the Father. "I have power to take my life and I have power to lay down my life. I lay down my life for the sheep."
# Jesus saw that in His death there would be a way for people to be brought back to the God from whom they were alienated and lost because of their sins. This would involve a substitution of Himself to effect that way. "For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many." How this would take place was not new to the Jews of His day from their understanding of contemporary everyday practice of substitute payment - as in redemption of the first-born (Pidyon Ha Ben), or in the understanding of what aggadic stories such as the Binding of [[Isaac]] implied (see [[Midrash]]), but it was not the prevalent view that the Messiah was to be that payment. Though while alive on earth, he had hinted at it in sayings such as "unless a seed falls and dies, it remains alone, but when it dies, it brings forth..", it was only after He had risen from the dead that He explained Scripture (the Old Testament) clearly about the necessity of His death to have taken place. The disciples would henceforth preach, and Peter among them, that the death of Jesus the Messiah and His resurrection was for-planned and for-ordained by God the Father, and foretold in the Scripture (Isaiah 53). And so, "The Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God".
# It was the belief in Scripture, that in His death a way back to God was made possible for those that were near to God—the Jews. And a way back to God for those that were far away—the Gentiles. That is why the New Testament saw in the requirements of God for Israel a fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah. He was the perfect Israel, taken out of Egypt, to redeem Israel. And that is why the New Testament saw in Jesus, a deepness to the incarnation of the Son of God, deeper than just a Jew of His time of a certain tribe. He was the "Second Adam" to redeem the sons of Adam. This encompassing perspective had further implications.

Christians of all generations have looked to the perfect Atonement, and the hope for reconciliation, accomplished by Jesus on the cross, to provide the means of understanding the solution to the vexing problems of the mind and of life itself - How can I make reconciliation with my enemies, with even the members of my own family, of race with race and people with people?; Does His death for the sins of the world include those who only partially understand, for the baby aborted, the feeble minded, and severely retarded?; For those who have never heard of Jesus, never been "enlightened", distant and remote in place and time?; Does His death for the sins of the world also include a remedy for the ills that have come as a result of those sins—certain sicknesses, ills of the mind, body and the soul? Do they "hold" for today?; Does His death make good, turn to the better, show the way, effect the way, of the illnesses that have befallen the world, not only by sin, but simply by the circumstances of life, of degeneration, of compounded dysfunction? How does the fruit of His death bring in somehow the Kingdom "among us"?

The death of the Son of God on the cross has provided the solution for sin, and it still holds its sway over the imagination and aspirations for the people of our generation.

===Salvation===
The Bible teaches that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). This is often interpreted to mean that everyone has displeased God and is now separated from him in a kind of alienation and enmity that results from the fundamental conflict between selfish human interests and God's interests (Romans 8:5-8; James 4:4).

However, Jesus offered a solution to this Biblical dilemma in that by repentance of sins and faith in him (Jesus), their sins would be forgiven. He said that "...the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] 2:10) Jesus also said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:17, and "Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men" (Mark 2:28)

Jesus Christ taught that "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" ([[Gospel of John|John]] 3:3). Protestant Evangelical Christianity often use the terms "saved" and "born again" interchangeably. Other Christians, notably the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church use the phrase ''born again'' as a synonym for [[baptism|baptized]]. "Jesus answered, Amen, amen, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)

Christians are expected to continue living by Christ's teachings (John 8:31), as is appropriate for "children of Light" (Ephesians 5:8-10). Some believe that this is necessary in order to stay saved. However, this is a common misconception of the text. It is rather referring to proving that one is a child of God by their "fruit" (things that they do and how they behave). Christians in the Reformed tradition (following the teaching of the 16th century French lawyer [[John Calvin]], as well as the faith outlined in the Belgic and Heidleberg Confessions) say that salvation is irrevocable and that it cannot be lost, if it were genuinely part of one's life to begin with. Reformed Christians (often called [[Calvinists]]) often point to Romans 8:38-39 as validation of their belief: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39; [[NASB]]). According to Calvinists, the reason it cannot be lost by natural things is because salvation was obtained through a supernatural being, namely Jesus Christ. This does not negate Jesus' human side, only that he was both one-hundred percent God and one-hundred percent man, according to the [[Council of Chalcedon]] (A. D. 451). The Bible also makes it clear that mankind cannot earn their salvation, and that it is a free gift.

== Resurrection of Jesus Christ ==
[[Image:Jesus resurrected.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"The Resurrection" by Carl Heinrich Bloch]]
The [[Resurrection of Jesus Christ|resurrection of Jesus Christ]] is critical to the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain" (I Cor:15:14). Traditionally, Christianity has believed in a physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.<ref>http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/crj0056a.txt</ref>

In recent history Gary Habermas is considered the foremost [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] for defending the resurrection of Jesus.<ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/dialog_rexperience/dialog_rexperiences.htm Experiences of the Risen Jesus: The Foundational Historical Issue in the Early Proclamation of the Resurrection], ''Dialog: A Journal of Theology'', Vol. 45; No. 3 (Fall, 2006), pp. 288-297.</ref><ref>"Wildcat" and Holding, J.P., [http://www.tektonics.org/books/lichabrvw.html Book review of "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus"], 22nd June, 2004 (Tektonics)</ref><ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Habermas-Resurrection1-CTR.pdf Jesus' Resurrection and Contemporary Criticism: An Apologetic] ''Criswell Theological Review'' 4.1 (1989) 159-74.</ref><ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/crj_explainingaway/crj_explainingaway.htm Explaining Away Jesus' Resurrection:
The Recent Revival of Hallucination Theories], Christian Research Journal / vol. 23, no. 4, 2001.</ref><ref>Habermas, Gary, [http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=/articles/historical_apologetics/habermas-nt.html Why I Believe The New Testament Is Historically Reliable] (Apologetics.com)</ref>
Other notable defenders of the resurrection include: [[William Lane Craig]],<ref>Craig, William Lane, [http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/menus/historical.html Articles: Historical Jesus]</ref> [[Lee Strobel]], [[Josh McDowell]],<ref>McDowell, Josh, [http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html Evidence for the Resurrection], 1992.</ref> [[Edwin M. Yamauchi]],<ref>Jamauchi, Edwin M., [http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/yama.html Easter: Myth, Hallucination, or History?]</ref> [[N.T. Wright]]<ref>Wright, N.T., [http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Early_Traditions.htm Early Traditions and the Origins of Christianity], ''Sewanee Theological Review'' 41.2, 1998.</ref> and [[Michael Horner]].<ref>Horner, Michael, [http://www.michaelhorner.com/articles/resurrection/index.html Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?]</ref>

===The Meaning of the Resurrection for Christians===

The Fact of the Resurrection of Christ is a key element of the preaching of the message about Jesus and an essential of Christian belief. But there are also certain effects that this belief has on the lives of believers.

1. It is because Jesus rose from the dead, that believers now can resort to a living Savior to help and deliver them from sin and from situations overwhelming for them by their own powers.

2. The New Testament sees in the resurrection of Christ a certain vindication of what apparently to the world and to all beings was a failure and an overcoming of Him by His crucifixion. He was "declared to be the Son of God" by His resurrection. This brings believers in Him to a strong confidence in the determined power of God to both vindicate in their own lives and to bring His reign upon earth.

3. The coming of Jesus back to life means to the believer that, indeed, their sins are totally forgiven. This is because believers know that His death was as a payment for sins - a "wage of death" for our sins that He received in our stead. If He remained dead, believers would know that the wage had not been fully paid. His resurrection, carries with it our knowledge that our sin with its attendant death has been totally and finally paid for.

4. It is a now living Savior that Christians know can go before them, can closely lead them through life - as He did when He was on earth. This makes following Him practical and real.

5. The New Testament reveals that it is the Risen Christ who received from the Father the Holy Spirit and He, through Himself ascended to the Father, has given the Holy Spirit to us. This gives the believer in Christ both the knowledge and the power to live a godly life, and live a life that can be an intimately and personally directed one.

6. The resurrected Christ was no mere reassembling of the molecules and particles of the Body that had been crucified. It was, indeed, a physical body, but one that was fully under the Spirit's control, guidance, and empowerment. It was a "spiritual body". Christians know that likewise, they will one day be granted the nature of a spiritual body, and full of health. They therefore are full of hope and consolations, and consider that even now in this life, there is an overcoming through Him, a restoration, and that tears, even now, are wiped away.

== Evangelism ==
In what is called the [[Great Commission]], Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to preach the Gospel (literally "good news") and make disciples.
:'''Great Commission'''
:''But the eleven disciples proceeded to [[Galilee]], to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in [[heaven]] and on [[earth]]." Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the [[#God the Father|Father]] and the [[#God the Son|Son]] and the [[#God the Holy Spirit|Holy Spirit]], teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."'' --[[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 28:16-20 [[New American Standard Bible|NASB]]

[[Image:Gleyre The Departure of the Apostles.jpg|thumb|240px|The Departure of the Apostles by [[Charles Gleyre]].]]
 

==History of the name "Christian"==
Some early Christian churches called themselves "The Way" and the adherents were called Nazarenes (after the city of [[Nazareth]] where Jesus lived). The name Christian arose in [[Antioch]] in the first century A. D. and its use spread, probably closer to mid-century since it is recorded in the [[Acts of the Apostles|Book of Acts]] (Acts:11:26)

==See also==
[[Image:Orthodox churches icon artwork.jpg|thumb|Orthodox Church's icon artwork.]]
'''Denominations or branches of Christianity'''
*[[Roman Catholic Church]]
*[[Orthodox Church]]
*[[Protestantism|Protestant]]
**[[Amish]]
**[[Baptist]]
**[[Church of England]] or ''Anglican Church''
**[[Episcopal Church in the United States of America]] (or ''Episcopal Church'' or ''Episcopalians'') (Non-UK branch of the Anglican Church)
**[[Evangelical Christianity]]
**[[Fundamentalism]]
**[[Liberal Christianity]]
**[[Lutheran]]
**[[Mennonite]]
**[[Methodist]]
**[[Pentecostal]]
**[[Plymouth Brethren]]
**[[Presbyterian]]
**[[Seventh-day Adventist]]

'''Disputed'''
*[[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
*[[Christian Science]]

'''Other articles'''
*[[Aramaic Church]]
*[[Cathedral]]
*[[Catholicism]]
*[[Christian apologetics]] (Defense of Christianity)
*[[Christianity and Science]]
*[[Church]]
*[[Conservative Christianity]]
*[[Eucharist]]
*[[Evangelical Apostolic Church of North America (Syro-Chaldean)]]
*[[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Judaism]]
*[[New Testament understanding through the Jewish perspective]]
*[[Passover Seder]]
*[[Persecution of Christians]]
*[[Red-letter Christian]]
*[[Sign of the Cross]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/christians/ What Liberals Say - Category: Christians], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Christianity| ]]
[[Category:Worldviews]]

An Inconvenient Truth

2009-05-14T20:40:13Z

Dufftron:

{{Infobox Film
| name = '''An Inconvenient Truth'''
| image = Aninconvenienttruth.jpg
| caption = Promotional poster for ''An Inconvenient Truth''
| director = [[Davis Guggenheim]]
| producer = [[Lawrence Bender]] [[Scott Z. Burns]] [[Laurie David]] [[Lesley Chilcott]] (co-producer)
| writer = [[Al Gore]] (teleplay)
| starring = Al Gore
| music = [[Michael Brook]]
| editing = [[Jay Cassidy]] [[Dan Swietlik]]
| distributor = [[Paramount Classics]]
| released = May 24, 2006
| runtime = 94 min.
| country = [[USA]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| budget = [[United States dollar|US$]]+1,000,000<ref>[http://grist.org/news/maindish/2007/03/06/bender/index.html "On a Bender: A chat with ''Inconvenient Truth'' co-producer and Hollywood bigwig Lawrence Bender"]. Grist.org. Retrieved March 7, 2007.</ref>
| gross = [[United States dollar|US$]]49,047,567 (worldwide)
}}
'''''An Inconvenient Truth''''' is a [[2006 in film|2006]] [[documentary film]] about [[global warming]] directed by [[Davis Guggenheim]], presented by former [[Vice President of the United States|United States Vice President]] [[Al Gore]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscar.com/oscarnight/winners/?pn=detail&nominee=AnInconvenientTruthDocumentaryFeatureNominee
|title=Winner: Documentary Feature, ''An Inconvenient Truth'' |accessdate=2007-03-18
|date=February 25, 2007
|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
}}</ref> The film premiered at the [[2006 Sundance Film Festival]] and opened in [[New York]] and [[Los Angeles]] on May 24, 2006. The film was released on [[DVD]] by [[Paramount Pictures#Paramount Home Entertainment|Paramount Home Entertainment]] on November 21, 2006. A companion book by Gore, ''[[An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It]]'', reached #1 on the paperback nonfiction [[New York Times bestseller]] list on July 2, 2006.<ref>{{cite news
|title=New York Times Bestsellers: Paperback Nonfiction |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/books/bestseller/0702bestpapernonfiction.html?ex=1174363200&en=aa0e9c76ef010f5a&ei=5070
|publisher=[[The New York Times]]
|date=2006-07-02
|accessdate=2007-03-17
}}</ref> The documentary won [[Academy Award]]s for Best Documentary Feature and for Best Original Song.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/342290/An-Inconvenient-Truth/awards |title=NY Times: An Inconvenient Truth |accessdate=2008-11-23|work=NY Times}}</ref>

Earning $49 million at the [[box office]] worldwide, ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is the fourth-highest-grossing documentary film to date in the [[United States]] (in [[Real versus nominal value|nominal dollars]], from 1982 to the present), after ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'', ''[[March of the Penguins]]'', and ''[[Sicko]]''.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm
|title=Documentary 1982–Present (film rankings by lifetime gross)
|publisher=Box Office Mojo
}}</ref>

== Synopsis ==

''An Inconvenient Truth'' focuses on Al Gore and his travels in support of his efforts to educate the public about the severity of the climate crisis. Gore says, "I've been trying to tell this story for a long time and I feel as if I've failed to get the message across." The film closely follows a [[Keynote (software)|Keynote]] presentation (dubbed "the slide show") that Gore presented throughout the world. It intersperses Gore's exploration of data and predictions regarding [[climate change]] and its potential for disaster with his own life story.

It weaves in events that changed his world view, including his college education with early climate expert [[Roger Revelle]] at [[Harvard University]], his sister's death from [[lung cancer]] and his young son's near-fatal car accident. For comic effect, Gore also uses a clip from the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "[[Crimes of the Hot]]" to explain global warming. Gore refers to his loss to [[George W. Bush]] in the [[United States presidential election, 2000|2000 United States presidential election]] as a "hard blow" yet subsequently "brought into clear focus, the mission [he] had been pursuing for all these years."
[[File:PaleBlueDot.jpg|thumb|The [[Pale Blue Dot]], a [[Voyager 1]] photo showing [[Earth]] ''(circled)'' as a single pixel from 4 billion miles (6.4 billion kilometres) away, is featured in the film. Al Gore points out that all of human history has happened on that tiny pixel, which is our only home.]]
In the slide show, Gore reviews the [[scientific opinion on climate change]], discusses the [[politics of global warming|politics]] and [[economics of global warming]], and describes the consequences he believes global climate change will produce if the amount of human-generated [[greenhouse gases]] is not significantly reduced in the very near future. A centerpoint of the film is his examination of the annual temperature and CO2 levels for the past 650,000 years in [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] [[ice core|ice core samples]].

The film includes segments intended to refute [[Scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming|critics]] who say that global warming is unproven or that warming will be insignificant. For example, Gore discusses the possibility of the collapse of a major [[ice sheet]] in [[Greenland]] or in [[West Antarctica]], either of which could raise global sea levels by approximately 20 feet (6 m), flooding coastal areas and producing 100 million refugees. Melt water from Greenland, because of its lower [[salinity]], could then halt the currents that keep northern Europe warm and quickly trigger dramatic local cooling there. It also contains various short animated projections of what could happen to different animals more vulnerable to climate change, like polar bears, who are drowning at a vastly faster rate because they are finding less and less substantial ice to rest on. The documentary ends with Gore arguing that if appropriate actions are taken soon, the effects of global warming can be successfully reversed by releasing less [[carbon dioxide|CO2]] and planting more vegetation to consume existing CO2. Gore calls upon his viewers to learn how they can help him in these efforts.

Gore's book of the same title was published concurrently with the theatrical release of the documentary. The book contains additional information, scientific analysis, and Gore's commentary on the issues presented in the documentary. A 2007 documentary entitled ''An Update with Former Vice President Al Gore'' features Gore discussing additional information that came to light after the film was completed, such as [[Hurricane Katrina]], [[coral reef]] depletion, glacial earthquake activity on the [[Greenland ice sheet]], [[wildfires]], and trapped methane gas release associated with [[permafrost]] melting.<ref name="Katrina">[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0978403/ An Update with Former Vice-President Al Gore (2006) (V)]</ref>

== Scientific basis ==
[[File:Mauna Loa Carbon Dioxide-en.svg|thumbnail|right|300px|Gore presents the [[Keeling curve]], which shows a pattern of steadily increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since 1958.]]
{{main|Scientific opinion on climate change|Global warming|Global warming controversy}}
The film's thesis is that global warming is real, potentially catastrophic, and [[attribution of recent climate change|human-caused]]. Gore presents specific data that supports the thesis, including:

* The [[Keeling curve]], measuring CO2 from the [[Mauna Loa Observatory]].
* The retreat of numerous glaciers is shown in before-and-after photographs (see [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850]]).
* A study by researchers at the [[Physics]] Institute at the [[University of Bern]] and the [[European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica]] presenting data from Antarctic [[ice cores]] showing carbon dioxide concentrations higher than at any time during the past 650,000 years.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Siegenthaler |first=Urs |coauthors=Stocker, Thomas F.; et al. |year=2005 |month=November 25 |title=Stable Carbon Cycle–Climate Relationship During the Late Pleistocene (abstract) |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=310 |issue=5752 |pages=1313–1317 |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/310/5752/1313 |accessdate=2008-06-13 |pmid=16311332 |doi=10.1126/science.1120130 }}</ref>
* [[Temperature record since 1880]] showing that the ten hottest years ever measured in this atmospheric record have all occurred in the last fourteen years.
* A 2004 survey by [[Naomi Oreskes]] of 928 peer-reviewed scientific articles on global climate change published between 1993 and 2003. The survey, published as an editorial in the journal ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'', found that every article either supported the human-caused global warming consensus or did not comment on it.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Oreskes |first=Naomi |authorlink=Naomi Oreskes |year=2004 |month=December 3 |title=Beyond the Ivory Tower: The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=306 |issue=5702 |pages=1686 |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686 |accessdate=2007-03-18 |doi=10.1126/science.1103618 }}</ref>

The [[Associated Press]] contacted more than 100 climate researchers and questioned them about the film's veracity. All 19 climate scientists who had seen the movie said that Gore conveyed the science correctly.<ref>{{cite news |first=Seth |last=Borenstein
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/27/AR2006062700780.html
|title=Scientists OK Gore's Movie for Accuracy
|publisher=[[Washington Post]]
|date=June 27, 2006
|accessdate= 2007-03-18
}}</ref> Professor Brian Soden, however, expressed concern about the coverage of topics for which there was not a scientific consensus, indicating "I thought the use of imagery from Hurricane Katrina was inappropriate and unnecessary in this regard, as there are plenty of disturbing impacts associated with global warming for which there is much greater scientific consensus." Gore cited [[Kerry Emanuel]]'s 2005 report in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' on hurricane intensity increasing with the increase of global mean temperatures.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.climatecrisis.net/thescience/
|title=The Science
|publisher=An Inconvenient Truth official website
|date=
|accessdate= 2009-01-04
}}</ref>

The [[U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works]], at the time chaired by [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Jim Inhofe]], issued a press release criticizing the Associated Press's findings.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.epw.senate.gov/pressitem.cfm?party=rep&id=257909
|title=AP Incorrectly Claims Scientists Praise Gore’s Movie
|publisher=[[U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works]]
|date=June 27, 2006
|accessdate= 2007-03-18
}}</ref> Inhofe's statement that "global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people"<ref name = SFGate>{{cite news |first=Zachary |last=Coile |title=Senator fights the tide, calls warming by humans a hoax |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/11/MNGEJLMT8A1.DTL |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=October 11, 2006 |accessdate=2007-03-18 }}</ref> appears in the film. The majority of climate researchers have rejected Inhofe's views.<ref name = SFGate/>
Eric Steig, a climate scientist writing on [[RealClimate]], lauded the film's science as "remarkably up to date, with reference to some of the very latest research."<ref>{{cite web
|first=Steig |last=Eric
|url=http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=299
|title=Al Gore’s movie
|publisher=RealClimate
|date=May 10, 2006
|accessdate=2007-03-18
}}</ref>
[[Michael Shermer]], scientific author and founder of [[The Skeptics Society]], wrote in ''[[Scientific American]]'' that a lecture that Gore gave "shocked me out of my doubting stance".<ref>{{cite news
|first=Shermer |last=Michael |authorlink=Michael Shermer
|url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=13&articleID=000B557A-71ED-146C-ADB783414B7F0000
|title= The Flipping Point: How the evidence for anthropogenic global warming has converged to cause this environmental skeptic to make a cognitive flip
|publisher=[[Scientific American]]
|date=June 2006
|accessdate=2007-03-18
}}</ref>

== Origins/Production ==
[[File:Al gore presentation.jpg|thumb|Gore presents his global warming slide show at the [[University of Miami]].]]
According to Gore, he became interested in global warming when he took a course at [[Harvard University]] with Professor [[Roger Revelle]], one of the first scientists to measure [[carbon dioxide]] in the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite web | last=Voynar | first=Kim | title=Sundance: ''An Inconvenient Truth'' Q & A - Al Gore on fire! No, really. | work=Cinematical | date=2006-01-26 | url=http://www.cinematical.com/2006/01/26/sundance-an-inconvenient-truth-q-and-a-al-gore-on-fire-no-rea/ }}</ref>
Later, when Gore was in Congress, he initiated the first congressional hearing on the subject.<ref>{{cite web | last=Remnick | first=David | title=The Talk of the Town | work=New Yorker | date=2006-04-14 | url=http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060424ta_talk_remnick }}</ref> Gore's 1992 book, ''[[Earth in the Balance]]'', dealing with a number of environmental topics, reached the [[New York Times bestseller list]].<ref name=biosen>{{cite web
|url=http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Albert_Gore.htm
|title=Albert A. Gore, Jr., 45th Vice President (1993-2001)
|accessdate= 2008-06-22
|author=
|last=
|first=
|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|date=
|work=
|publisher=senate.gov
}}</ref>

As Vice President during the [[Clinton Administration]], Gore pushed for the implementation of a [[carbon tax]] to modify incentives to reduce fossil fuel consumption causing fossil fuel to last longer and thereby decrease emission of greenhouse gases in the short term but not long term; it was partially implemented in 1993.<ref> {{cite web
|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72174989.html?dids=72174989:72174989&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=JUL+30%2C+1993&author=Eric+Pianin%3B+David+S.+Hilzenrath&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Hill+Agrees+to+Raise+Gas+Tax+4.3+Cents%3B+Accord+Clears+Big+Hurdle+for+Budget&pqatl=google
|title=Hill Agrees to Raise Gas Tax 4.3 Cents; Accord Clears Big Hurdle for Budget
|accessdate= 2008-12-30
|author=
|last= Pianin
|first=Eric
|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|date=July 30, 1993
|work=
|publisher=[[Washington Post]]
}}</ref> He helped broker the 1997 [[Kyoto Protocol]], an international treaty designed to curb [[greenhouse gas]] emissions.<ref name=kyotospeech>{{cite web
|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20001207090900/www.algore.com/speeches/speeches_kyoto_120897.html
|title=Remarks By Al Gore, Climate Change Conference, Kyoto, Japan
|accessdate= 2008-07-02
|author=
|last=Gore
|first=Al
|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|date=December 8, 1997
|work=
|publisher=
}}</ref><ref name=environinitiative>{{cite web
|url=http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OVP/initiatives/environment.html
|title=VICE PRESIDENT GORE: STRONG ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
|accessdate= 2008-07-02
|author=
|last=Gore
|first=Al
|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|year=1997
|work=
|publisher=
}}</ref> However, it was not ratified in the [[United States]] after a 95 to 0 vote in the [[United States Senate|Senate]]. The primary objections stemmed from the exemptions the treaty gives to [[China]] and [[India]], whose industrial base and carbon footprint are growing rapidly, and fears that the exemptions would lead to further trade imbalances and offshoring arrangement with those countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=105&session=1&vote=00205 |title= U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 105th Congress — 1st Session:S.Res. 98|date=[[1997-07-25]] |accessdate=2007-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalcenter.org/KyotoSenate.html |title= Text of the Byrd-Hagel Resolution|date=[[1997-07-25]] |accessdate=2006-11-05}}</ref>

Gore also supported the funding of a satellite called [[Triana (satellite)|Triana]], which would have provided an image of the Earth 24 hours a day, over the internet. The concept reportedly came to Gore in a dream.<ref>http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/triana_991013.html</ref> During [[Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000|his 2000 Presidential Campaign]], Gore ran, in part, on a pledge to ratify the [[Kyoto Protocol]].<ref>[http://www.ontheissues.org/News_Kyoto_Treaty.htm ''OnTheIssues.org - Topics in the News: Kyoto Treaty'']. Retrieved [[2008-12-30]].</ref>

After his defeat in [[Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000|the 2000 presidential election]] by [[George W. Bush]], Gore returned his focus to the topic. He edited and adapted a slide show presentation he had compiled years earlier, and began featuring the slide show in presentations on global warming across the U.S. and around the world. At the time of the film, Gore estimated he had shown the presentation more than one thousand times.<ref>{{cite web | last=Breslau | first=Karen | title=The Resurrection of Al Gore | work=Wired Magazine | month=May | year=2006 | url=http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.05/gore_pr.html }}</ref>

Producers [[Laurie David]] and [[Lawrence Bender]] saw Gore's slide show in [[New York City]] after the 2004 premiere of ''[[The Day After Tomorrow]]''.<ref>{{cite web | last=Booth | first=William | title=Al Gore, Sundance's Leading Man | work=Washington Post | date=2006-01-26 | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012502230.html }}</ref> Inspired, they met with director [[Davis Guggenheim]] about the possibility of making the slide show into a movie. Guggenheim, who was skeptical at first, later saw the presentation for himself, stating that he was "blown away," and "left after an hour and a half thinking that global warming [was] the most important issue. . . . I had no idea how you’d make a film out of it, but I wanted to try," he said.<ref>{{cite web
|author=Alex Steffen
|title=Interview: David Guggenheim and ''An Inconvenient Truth''
|publisher=WorldChanging.com
|date= May 4, 2006
|url=http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004388.html
}}</ref>

In 2004, Gore contacted ''Duarte Design'' to visually enhance his presentation. The design firm "condensed his material, incorporated new data and stories and employed new media, such as video and animation."<ref>{{cite web | last=Quinn | first=Michelle | title=Helping others grab an audience | work=Los Angeles Times | date=2008-09-15 | url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/15/business/fi-duarte15 }}</ref>

Duarte designer, Ted Boda detailed the extensive work that went into the creation of Gore's slides: "As a designer for the presentation, [[Keynote (software)|Keynote]] was the first choice to help create such an engaging presentation. Apple's Keynote anti-aliases its fonts and graphics, scales [[vector]] objects and supports [[QuickTime]] videos easily and without any plug-ins. Duarte used a combination of Keynote's graphics and graph tools, [[Illustrator]], [[Photoshop]], [[AfterEffects]] (for more complex animations) and dropped in numerous videos from different sources to complete his presentation. Some of the videos dropped were up to [[1920x1080]] (HD), they played and scaled extremely well and was something our team could not even begin to think about doing in [[PowerPoint]]."<ref>{{cite web | last=Reynolds | first=Garr | title=Duarte Design helps Al Gore "go visual" | work=Presentation Zen | date=2006-06-01 | url=http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2006/06/duarte_design_h.html }}</ref>

The majority of the film was shot on [[4:4:4]] [[HDCAM]]. According to director Guggenheim, a vast array of different film formats were used: "There’s [[35mm]] and [[16mm]]. A lot of the stuff on the farm I just shot myself on [[8mm]] film. We used four [[Sony F950]] [[HDCAM]]s for the presentation. We shot three different kinds of [[prosumer]] HD, both 30 and 24. There’s MiniDV, there’s 3200 black-and-white stills, there’s digital stills, some of them emailed on the day they were taken from as far off as Greenland. There was three or four different types of animation. One of the animators is from New Zealand and emailed me his work. There’s JPEG stuff."<ref>{{cite web | last=Frazier | first=Bryant | title=Shedding Light on An Inconvenient Truth | work=Film & Video | date=2006-06-06 | url=http://www.studiodaily.com/filmandvideo/searchlist/6681.html }}</ref>

== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
The film opened in [[New York City]] and [[Los Angeles]] on May 24, 2006. On [[Memorial Day]] weekend, it grossed an average of $91,447 per theater, the highest of any movie that weekend and a record for a documentary, though it was only playing on four screens at the time.<ref>[http://imdb.com/news/sb/2006-05-30/ 'Last Stand' delivers] ''IMDb'', [[2006-05-30]], accessed [[2007-01-10]]</ref>

At the 2006 [[Sundance Film Festival]], the movie received three [[standing ovation]]s. It was also screened at the 2006 [[Cannes Film Festival]] and was the opening night film at the 27th [[Durban International Film Festival]] on June 14, 2006.
''An Inconvenient Truth'' was the most popular documentary at the 2006 [[Brisbane International Film Festival]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070218082019/http://www.biff.com.au/general/libraryattachment.aspx?code=101 BIFF EXCEEDS ALL EXPECTATIONS (Adobe Reader format)] accessed [[2007-01-10]]</ref>

The film has grossed over $24 million in the U.S. and over $49 million worldwide as of June 3, 2007, making it the fourth-highest-grossing documentary in the U.S. to date (after ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'', ''[[March of the Penguins]]'' and ''[[Sicko]]'').<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm Documentary Movies] ''Box Office Mojo'', accessed [[2007-06-09]]</ref>

Al Gore has stated, "[[Tipper Gore|Tipper]] and I are devoting 100 percent of the profits from the book and the movie to a new bipartisan educational campaign to further spread the message about global warming."<ref>[http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4128989 Housewife addresses climate conference] ''Flanders News'', dated [[2006-11-16]], accessed [[2007-01-10]]</ref> [[Paramount Classics]] committed 5% of their domestic theatrical gross from the film to form a new bipartisan climate action group, [[Alliance for Climate Protection]], dedicated to awareness and grassroots organizing.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070329055319/http://www.allianceforclimateprotection.org/bios.php Governing Council] ''The Alliance for Climate Protection'', accessed [[2007-01-10]]</ref>

=== Reviews ===
The film received a generally positive reaction from film critics. It garnered a "certified fresh" 93% rating at [[Rotten Tomatoes]] (as of May 21, 2007), with a 94% rating from the "Cream of the Crop" reviewers. At ''[[Metacritic]]'', which assigns a [[normalization|normalized]] rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an [[weighted mean|average]] score of 75, based on 32 reviews.<ref name="meta">{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/inconvenienttruth | title=An Inconvenient Truth: Reviews | work=[[Metacritic]] | publisher=CNET Networks, Inc | accessdate=2008-12-09 }}</ref> Film critics [[Roger Ebert]] and [[Richard Roeper]] gave the film "two thumbs up". Ebert wrote: "In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to."<ref>[[Roger Ebert]] [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/REVIEWS/60517002 ''An Inconvenient Truth''] ''Chicago Sunday Times'', accessed [[2007-01-10]]</ref>

Film critic [[David Edelstein]] called the film, "One of the most realistic documentaries I've ever seen—and, dry as it is, one of the most devastating in its implications."<ref>[[David Edelstein]] [http://nymag.com/movies/listings/rv_52847.htm ''An Inconvenient Truth''] ''New York Magazine'', accessed [[2008-12-09]]</ref> [[David Remnick]] added that while it was "not the most entertaining film of the year...it might be the most important" and a "brilliantly lucid, often riveting attempt to warn Americans off our hellbent path to global suicide." <ref>[[David Remnick]] [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/24/060424ta_talk_remnick ''Ozone Man''] ''New Yorker'', accessed [[2009-02-25]]</ref> New York Times reviewer [[A.O. Scott]] thought the film was "edited crisply enough to keep it from feeling like 90 minutes of [[C-Span]] and shaped to give Mr. Gore's argument a real sense of drama," and "as unsettling as it can be," Scott continued, "it is also intellectually exhilarating, and, like any good piece of pedagogy, whets the appetite for further study."<ref>[[A.O. Scott]] [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/movies/24trut.html?_r=2&oref=slogin ''Warning of Calamities and Hoping for a Change in 'An Inconvenient Truth''] ''New York Times'', accessed [[2009-02-25]]</ref>

On the other hand, journalist [[Ronald Bailey]] argued in the [[libertarian]] magazine ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' that although "Gore gets [the science] more right than wrong," he exaggerates the risks.<ref>Ronald Bailey [http://www.reason.com/rb/rb061606.shtml Gore as climate exaggerator] ''Reason'', dated [[2006-06-16]], accessed [[2007-01-10]]</ref> Some reviewers were also skeptical of Gore's intent, wondering whether he was setting himself for another Presidential run. ''[[Boston Globe]]'' writer Peter Canello criticized the "gauzy biographical material that seems to have been culled from old Gore campaign commercials."<ref>Peter Canello, [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/06/06/gores_ecology_film_gets_an_inconvenient_label_of_liberalism/ ''Gore's ecology film gets an `inconvenient' label of liberalism''] ''Boston Globe'', accessed [[2009-02-25]]</ref> [[Phil Hall (US writer)|Phil Hall]] of ''[[Film Threat]]'' gave the film a negative review, saying "''An Inconvenient Truth'' is something you rarely see in movies today: a blatant intellectual fraud."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=8451 |title=An Inconvenient Truth |last=Hall |first=Phil |date=May 15, 2006 |work=[[Film Threat]] |accessdate=February 28, 2009}}</ref>

In "extensive exit polling" of ''An Inconvenient Truth'' audiences in conservative suburban markets like Plano, Irvine, Dallas and Long Island, 92 percent rated "Truth" highly and 87 percent of the respondents said they'd recommend the film to a friend.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/08/TRUTH.TMP Gore movie reaching the red states, too] ''San Francisco Chronicle'', accessed [[2009-02-25]]</ref>

=== Awards ===
The film has received a number of awards worldwide.
[[File:AlGoreWin.jpg|thumb|Gore during the Oscar acceptance speech for ''An Inconvenient Truth'' with other members of the crew]]
* The film won the 2007 [[Academy Award for Documentary Feature]]<ref name="2007_Oscar">{{cite news
|url=http://www.oscar.com/oscarnight/winners/?pn=detail&nominee=AnInconvenientTruthDocumentaryFeatureNominee
|title= Hudson wins supporting actress Oscar
|publisher=CNN
|date=February 25, 207
}}</ref> and [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] for [[Melissa Etheridge]]'s "[[I Need to Wake Up]]".<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.oscar.com/oscarnight/winners/?pn=detail&nominee=AnInconvenientTruthMusicSongNominee
|title=Oscar Night: Winner: Music (Song)
|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science
|date=February 25, 2007
}}</ref> It is the first documentary to win a best original song Oscar<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08022/851177-331.stm | title=80th Annual Academy Awards Oscar Quiz | date=[[2008-01-22]] | accessdate=2008-04-30 | publisher=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/2007/env-oscarwinners-25feb25,0,2802194.story | title='The Departed' arrives | date=2007-02-25 | first=Brian | last=Hanrahan | publisher=[[Los Angeles Times]] | accessdate=2008-04-30 }}</ref>.
* It is often erroneously claimed that Al Gore himself won the '''Oscar''' for ''An Inconvenient Truth''; in fact, [[Davis Guggenheim]] was the ''Nominee'' and ''Recipient'' of the Academy Award. The Oscar statuette was handed to Mr. Gore briefly during Guggenheim's acceptance, which may be the source of the confusion.

* The film received special recognition from the [[Humanitas Prize]], the first time the organization had handed out a Special Award in over 10 years.<ref name="thehumanitasprize">{{cite web
| url = http://www.humanitasprize.org/pdf/2006%20HUMANITAS%20Winners.pdf
| title = 2006 HUMANITAS Prize Winners
| accessdate = 16 January
| accessyear = 2007
| date = 2006-06-28
| publisher = the HUMANITAS prize
|format=PDF}}</ref>

* 2007 [[Stanley Kramer Award]] - The Producers Guild of America; recognizes "work that dramatically illustrates provocative social issues".<ref name="stanleykramer">{{cite web
| url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957742.html?categoryid=2474&cs=1
| title = Stanley Kramer Award: ''An Inconvenient Truth''
| accessdate = 18 January
| accessyear = 2007
| date = 2007-01-18
| publisher = Variety.com
}}</ref>

* The President’s Award 2007 - The [[Society for Technical Communication]] "for demonstrating that effective and understandable technical communication, when coupled with passion and vision, has the power to educate—and change—the world."<ref name="presidentsaward">{{cite web
| url = http://www.stc.org/recog/awards01_President_winners.asp
| title = President’s Award
| accessdate = 18 July
| accessyear = 2007
| date = 2007-07-18
| publisher = stc.com
}}</ref>

* For his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world’s attention to the dangers of global warming including ''An Inconvenient Truth'', Al Gore, along with the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC), has won the 2007 [[Nobel Peace Prize]].<ref name="nobelpeaceprize">{{cite web
| url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/
| title = 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
| accessdate = 11 October
| accessyear = 2007
}}</ref>

The film won many awards for ''Best Documentary'':<ref>[http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809257809/awards ''An Inconvenient Truth'' - Awards and Nominations] [[Yahoo]], accessed February 10, 2007</ref>

* Academy Awards (The Oscars) 2007<ref name="2007_Oscar"/> February 25, 2007
* Chicago Film Critics Association<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/ | title=Winners Announced for the 2006 Chicago Film Critics Awards | date=[[2006-12-28]] | accessdate=2007-06-01 | publisher=[[Chicago Film Critics Association]] }}</ref> - [[2006-12-28]]
* Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dfwfilmcritics.com
|title=DFWFilmCritics
|publisher=[[Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association]]
|accessdate=2007-06-01
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Dallas-Fort_Worth_Film_Critics_Association_Awards/2006 | title=Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards: 2006 | publisher=[[IMDb]] | date=[[2006-12-18]] | accessdate=2007-06-01 }}</ref> - [[2006-12-18]]
* Florida Film Critics 2006 - [[2006-12-22]]<ref>{{cite web
| title =Florida Film Critics Circle Awards - 2006
| url =http://www.altfg.com/awards/2006/florida-film-critics-circle.htm
| accessdate =2007-10-08 }}</ref>
* Kansas City Film Critics Awards 2006<ref>{{cite web
| title =Film Critic's Circle of Kansas City
| url =http://www.kcfilmcritics.com/
| accessdate =2007-10-08 }}</ref> January 2, 2006
* Las Vegas Film Critics Society 2006 <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.lvfcs.org/awards_listing/index.html
|title=LVFCS Sierra Award winners:
|publisher=Las Vegas Film Critics Society 2006
}}</ref> - [[2006-12-18]]
* National Board of Review<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.nbrmp.org/search/?search=An%20Inconvenient%20Truth
|title=NBR page on ''An Inconvenient Truth''
|publisher=National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
}}</ref> - [[2006-12-06]]
* New York Film Critics Online<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2007/critic_awards/NYOFC.html
|title=New York Film Critics Online
|publisher=Movie City News
|date=[[2006-12-10]]
}}</ref> - [[2006-12-10]]
* New York Film Critics Society - [[2006-12-12]]
* Ohio Film Critics Awards 2006<ref>[http://www.cofca.org/awards.php?year=2006 Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA) - Awards]</ref> - [[2007-01-11]]
* Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards 2006 <ref>{{cite web
| url =http://oklahomafilm.blogspot.com/2006/12/oklahoma-film-critics-circle-announces.html
| title =Oklahoma Film Critics Circle: Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Announces 2006 Awards
| accessdate =2007-10-08}}</ref>
* Online Film Critics Society 2006<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.altfg.com/awards/2006/online-film-critics-society.htm
| title =Online Film Critics Society Awards - 2006
| accessdate =2007-10-08}}</ref>
* Phoenix Film Critics Circle 2006<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.altfg.com/awards/2006/phoenix-film-critics-society.htm
| title =Phoenix Film Critics Circle Awards - 2006
| accessdate =2007-10-30}}</ref>
* Satellite Awards 2006 ''(Nominated)''<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2006.shtml
| title =11th Annual SATELLITE Awards - 2006
| accessdate =2007-10-30}}</ref> December 18, 2006
* St. Louis Film Critics Awards 2006<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2007/critic_awards/st-louis.html
| title =St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association
| accessdate =2007-10-30}}</ref> January 07, 2007
* Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2006 ''(Nominated)''<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.altfg.com/awards/2006/toronto-film-critics-association.htm
| title =Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2006
| accessdate =2007-10-30}}</ref> December 19, 2006
* Utah Film Critics Awards 2006<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2007/critic_awards/utah.htm
| title =Utah Film Critics Awards 2006
| accessdate =2007-10-30}}</ref> December 28, 2006
* Washington D.C. Film Critics Association 2006<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://sceneone.org/joomla/content/view/398/2/
| title =Washington D.C. Film Critics Association 2006
| accessdate =2007-10-30}}</ref> December 10, 2007

'''Best Non-Fiction''':
* National Society of Film Critics<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.indiewire.com/movies/2007/01/the_critics_hav.html | title=The Critics Have Spoken (Again); National Society Chooses "Pan's Labyrinth" As Best Film of 2006 | first=Eugene | last=Hernandez | date=[[2007-01-06]] | accessdate=2007-06-01 }}</ref> - [[2007-01-06]]

The related album also won Best Spoken Word Album at the [[51st Grammy Awards]].

== Political response ==
The documentary has been generally well-received politically in many parts of the world and is credited for raising further awareness of global warming internationally, prompting calls for more government action in regard to the climate. Several colleges and high schools have begun to use the film in science curricula,
<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=27a24986-008e-4a55-a18c-fb3fb7acf0e9&k=0
|title=Gore's ''Inconvenient Truth'' required classroom viewing?
|first=Kevin
|last=Libin
|publisher=[[National Post]]
|date=May 19, 2007
}}</ref> though at least one US school district put temporary restrictions on its use in the classroom.<ref name="FedWayBan"/><ref name="FedWayLift"/>

=== Government ===
* Then-president [[George W. Bush]], when asked whether he would watch the film, responded: "Doubt it." He later stated that "And in my judgment we need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects, and focus on the [[Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate|technologies]] that will enable us to live better lives and at the same time protect the environment."<ref name=APBush>{{cite web | title=Bush gives thumbs down to Gore's new movie | date=[[2006-05-24]] | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12930351/ | publisher=[[Associated Press]] | accessdate=2007-05-31}}</ref> Gore responded that "The entire global scientific community has a consensus on the question that human beings are responsible for global warming and he [Bush] has today again expressed personal doubt that that is true."<ref name=APBush/> White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino stated that “The president noted in 2001 the increase in temperatures over the past 100 years and that the increase in greenhouse gases was due to certain extent to human activity”.<ref name=APBush/>
* In September 2006, Gore traveled to [[Sydney, Australia]] to promote the film. Then-Australian Prime Minister, [[John Howard]] said he would not meet with Gore or agree to [[Kyoto Protocol|Kyoto]] because of the movie: "I don't take policy advice from films." Former Opposition Leader [[Kim Beazley]] joined Gore for a viewing and other [[Member of Parliament|MPs]] attended a special screening at [[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] earlier in the week.<ref>{{cite web | title=Howard isolated on climate change: Gore |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=143315 | date=[[2006-09-11]] | accessdate=2007-05-31 | publisher=[[Nine Network]] }}</ref> After winning the general election a year later, Prime Minister [[Kevin Rudd]] ratified Kyoto in his first week of office, leaving the United States the only industrialized nation in the world not to have signed the treaty.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=143315 | title=Howard isolated on climate change: Gore | date=[[2006-09-11]] | accessdate=2007-05-31 | publisher=[[Nine Network]] }}</ref>

* In the [[United Kingdom]], [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Leader of the Opposition (UK)|Leader of the Opposition]] [[David Cameron]] urged people to see the film in order to understand climate change.<ref>[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservativepartyconference2006/story/0,,1887540,00.html Full text of David Cameron's speech to the Conservative Party conference], ''Guardian Unlimited'', 4 October 2006, accessed 25 November 2006</ref>

* In [[Belgium]], [[Margaretha Guidone]] persuaded the entire Belgian government to see the film.<ref>{{cite web | title=Spitzenpolitiker sehen Gore-Film | url=http://www2.vrtnieuws.net/cm/flanderninfo.be/Nachrichten/1.22085 | date=[[2006-10-31]] | accessdate=2007-05-31 | publisher=Flanderninfo.be }}</ref>

* In [[Costa Rica]], Al Gore met with president [[Oscar Arias]], and was well received by other politicians and the local media.<ref>{{cite web | title=A GORE Flick | url=http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2006_10/daily_10_27_06.htm| date=[[2006-10-27]] | accessdate=2008-11-15 | publisher=ticotimes.net }}</ref>

* In [[Germany]], German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel bought 6,000 DVDs of ''An Inconvenient Truth'' to make it available to German schools.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,511325,00.html Inconvenient Truth to Continue Airing in Schools], ''Spiegel Online'', 13 October 2007.</ref>

* In [[Spain]], after a meeting with Gore, prime minister [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]] said the government will make ''An Inconvenient Truth'' available to schools. Gore received the [[Prince of Asturias Prize]] in 2007 for international cooperation.<ref>[http://www.fundacionprincipedeasturias.org/ing/04/premiados/trayectorias/trayectoria815.html Al Gore - The Prince of Asturias Foundation]</ref><ref>[http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=81&story_id=36238 Gore climate documentary to be shown in schools], ''Expatica'', 7 February 2007, accessed 11 February 2007</ref>

=== Education ===
* In [[Burlington, Ontario|Burlington]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]], the [[Halton District School Board]] has made ''An Inconvenient Truth'' available at schools and as an educational resource.<ref>{{cite pressrelease
|title=Screening of ''An Inconvenient Truth'' set to educate students on climate change
|publisher=Halton District School Board
|date=[[2007-04-24]]
|accessdate=2007-05-05
}}</ref>
* The film has also been made available as an educational resource in [[Argentina]] and other Latin American countries.
* The film will be science curriculum for fourth and sixth-year students in [[Scotland]], as a joint initiative between [[Learning and Teaching Scotland]] and [[ScottishPower]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1126957.0.0.php
|title=All secondary schools to see Gore climate film
|author=David Leask
|date=January 17, 2007
|publisher=[[The Herald]]
|accessdate=2007-01-26
}}</ref>

=== Other ===
* In August 2006, the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]''<ref name=GoreSpoof>{{cite web | title=Where did that video spoofing Gore's film come from? | url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115457177198425388-0TpYE6bU6EGvfSqtP8_hHjJJ77I_20060810.html | date=2006-08-03 | publisher=[[Wall Street Journal]] | accessdate=2007-06-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Slick lobbying is behind penguin spoof of Al Gore | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article700813.ece | publisher=[[The Times]] | date=2006-08-05 | accessdate=2007-06-01 }}</ref> revealed that a [[YouTube]] video lampooning Gore and the movie, titled ''[[Al Gore's Penguin Army]]'', appeared to be [[astroturfing]] by [[DCI Group]], a Washington [[public relations]] firm.

== Controversy ==

=== The Dimmock case ===
{{further|[[Dimmock v Secretary of State for Education and Skills]]}}

As part of a nationwide "Sustainable Schools Year of Action" launched in late 2006, the [[UK Government]], [[Welsh Assembly Government]] and [[Scottish Executive]] announced between January-March 2007 that copies of ''An Inconvenient Truth'' would be sent to all [[secondary school]]s in [[England]], [[Wales]] and [[Scotland]]. The UK Government's distribution of the film was challenged in May 2007 in the [[High Court of Justice]] by a group of global warming skeptics, notably [[Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley|Viscount Monckton]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/6783/ | title=Glenn talks with Lord Monckton | publisher=Glenn Beck | date=2008-03-04}}</ref> The plaintiffs sought an [[injunction]] preventing the screening of the film in English schools. They argued that schools are legally forbidden to promote partisan political views in the teaching of any subject in school and, when dealing with political issues, are required to provide a balanced presentation of opposing views.

On 10 October 2007, Mr Justice Burton, after explaining that the requirement for a balanced presentation does not warrant that equal weight be given to alternative views of a mainstream view, ruled that it was clear that the film was substantially founded upon scientific research and fact, albeit that the science is used, in the hands of a talented politician and communicator, to make a political statement and to support a political program.<ref name="dimmock">{{cite web
| title= Stuart Dimmock v Secretary of State for Education & Skills [2007] EWHC 2288
| url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2007/2288.html | date=[[2007-10-10]]
}}</ref> The film could then, on that basis, be shown, provided an accompanying explanation was given of its scientific errors, in order to prevent political indoctrination. <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/10/11/scigore111.xml Al Gore's 'nine Inconvenient Untruths' - Telegraph]</ref>

The judge concluded "I have no doubt that Dr Stott, the Defendant's expert, is right when he says that: 'Al Gore's presentation of the causes and likely effects of climate change in the film was broadly accurate.'" On the basis of testimony from [[Robert M. Carter]] and the arguments put forth by the claimant's lawyers, the judge also pointed to [[Dimmock v Secretary of State for Education and Skills#The nine inaccuracies|nine errors]], i.e. statements that he found to depart from the [[scientific consensus on global warming|mainstream]]. He also found that some of these errors arose in the context of alarmism and exaggeration in support of Al Gore's political thesis. Since the government had already accepted to amend the guidance notes to address these errors along with other points in a fashion that the judge found satisfactory, no order was made on the application.

The Minister of Children, Young People and Families, [[Kevin Brennan (politician)|Kevin Brennan]], declared the outcome a victory for the government, stating: "We have updated the accompanying guidance, as requested by the judge to make it clearer for teachers as to the stated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change position on a number of scientific points raised in the film.<ref>{{cite web
| last=MacLeod
| first=Donald
| title=Climate change film to stay in the classroom
| publisher=Guardian Unlimted
| date=October 10, 2007
| url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2188015,00.html
| accessdate =2007-12-14 }}</ref> Stewart Dimmock also declared victory but expressed dissatisfaction at the verdict, saying that "no amount of turgid guidance" could change his view that the film was unsuitable for the classroom.<ref>{{cite web
| title=Schools must warn of Gore climate film bias
| publisher=Daily Mail
| date=October 3, 2007
| url =http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=485336&in_page_id=1811
| accessdate=2007-12-14 }}</ref> A spokesman for Gore said: "Of the thousands of facts in the film, the judge only took issue with just a handful. And of that handful, we have the studies to back those pieces up."<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Breaking_News_US/0,,6990521,00.html
|title=U.K. Judge Finds Problems in Gore Film
|date=October 12, 2007
|publisher=Associated Press/Guardian
|accessdate=2007-10-15}}</ref>

=== In the United States ===
In the United States, 50,000 free copies of ''An Inconvenient Truth'' were offered to the [[National Science Teachers Association]] (NSTA), which declined to take them. Laurie David, one of the film's producers, provided an email correspondence from the NSTA detailing that their reasoning was that the DVDs would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters," and that they saw "little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members" in accepting the free DVDs.<ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/1%20NSTA%20-%20Paramount%20Emails%20-%20redacted.pdf
|title=Conversation: Al Gore/An Inconvenient Truth
|author=Laurie David
|date=October 12, 2006
|publisher=The Huffington Post
|accessdate=2007-11-04|format=PDF}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112400789_pf.html
|title=Science a la Joe Camel
|author=Laurie David
|date=November 26, 2006
|publisher=The Washington Post
|accessdate=2006-11-26}}</ref>
In public, the NSTA argued that distributing this film to its members would have been contrary to a long-standing NSTA policy against distributing unsolicited materials to its members. The NSTA also said that they had offered several other options for distributing the film but ultimately "[it] appears that these alternative distribution mechanisms were unsatisfactory."<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nsta.org/about/pressroom.aspx?id=52977
|title=NSTA Statement on November 26 Washington Post Op-ed "Science à la Joe Camel"
|author=Gerald Wheeler
|date=November 28, 2006
|publisher=[[National Science Teachers Association]]
|accessdate=2007-01-09
}}</ref> Laurie David has stated that NSTA Executive Director Gerry Wheeler promised in a telephone conversation to explore alternatives with NSTA's board for advertising the film but she had not yet received an alternative offer at the time of NSTA's public claim. She also said that she rejected their subsequent offers because they were nothing more than offers to sell their "commercially available member mailing list" and advertising space in their magazine and newsletter, which are available to anyone. She noted that in the past, NSTA had shipped out 20,000 copies of a 10-part video produced by Wheeler with funding provided by ConocoPhillips in 2003. NSTA indicated that they retained editorial control over the content, which David questioned based on the point of view portrayed in the global warming section of the video.<ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laurie-david/crooked-curriculum-oil-c_b_35829.html
|title=Crooked Curriculum: Oil Company Money Scandal at Nat'l Science Teachers Association Deepens
|author=Laurie David
|date=December 8, 2006
|publisher=[[The Huffington Post]]
|accessdate=2007-11-04
}}</ref>

The [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] publication ''ScienceNOW'' published an assessment discussing both sides of the NSTA decision in which it was reported that "David says NSTA's imprimatur [i.e. endorsement or sanction] was essential and that buying a mailing list is a nonstarter. 'You don't want to send out a cold letter, and it costs a lot of money,' she says. 'There are a thousand reasons why that wouldn't work.'"<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1130/3
|title=An Inconvenient DVD
|date=November 30, 2006
|publisher=ScienceNOW Daily News
|accessdate=2007-11-05
}}</ref>

In January 2007, the [[Federal Way Public Schools|Federal Way (Washington State) School Board]] voted to require an approval by the principal and the superintendent for teachers to show the film to students and that the teachers must include the presentation of an approved "opposing view".<ref name="FedWayBan">{{cite news
|url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/299253_inconvenient11.html
|title=Federal Way schools restrict Gore film
|author=Robert McClure & Lisa Stiffler
|date=January 11, 2007
|publisher=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]
|accessdate=2007-01-11
}}</ref> The moratorium was repealed, at a meeting on January 23, after a predominantly negative community reaction. <ref name="FedWayLift">{{cite news
|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003538775_federalfilm.html
|title =Federal Way School Board lifts brief moratorium on Gore film
|author=Cara Solomon
|date=January 24, 2007
|publisher=[[Seattle Times]]
|accessdate=2007-04-16
}}</ref>

Shortly thereafter, the school board in [[Yakima, Washington]], calling the film a "controversial issue", prevented the Environmental Club of [[Eisenhower High School (Yakima, Washington)|Eisenhower High School]] from showing it, pending review by the school board, teachers, principal, and parents.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=5986566&nav=menu484_2
|title=School Delays Viewing of Global Warming Documentary
|author=KNDO
|date=January 24, 2007
|publisher=[[KNDO]]
|accessdate=2007-01-24}}</ref> It lifted the stay a month later, upon the approval by a review panel.<ref>{{cite web | title=Wash. high school club cleared to watch Gore film | publisher=[[Associated Press]] | date=February 3, 2007 | accessdate=2007-10-12 | url=http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/%5Cnews.aspx?id=18089 }}</ref>

== Criticism ==

{{see also|Global warming controversy}}


[[List of scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming|Global warming skeptics]] were critical of the film. [[Richard Lindzen|Richard S. Lindzen]] wrote in a June 26, 2006 op-ed in the ''Wall Street Journal'' that Gore was using a biased presentation to exploit the fears of the public for his own political gain. <ref>Richard S. Lindzen [http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB115127582141890238.html There Is No 'Consensus' On Global Warming] ''Wall Street Journal'', accessed [[2007-01-10]]</ref> [[Roy Spencer (scientist)|Roy Spencer]] wrote an open letter to Gore criticizing his presentation of climate science in the film, asserting that the Arctic had a similar temperature in the 1930s before the mass emissions of carbon dioxide began.<ref>[http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=052506C Questions for Al Gore by Roy Spencer] ''TCS Daily - Questions for Al Gore'', [[2006-05-25]], accessed [[2007-03-13]]</ref> [[Timothy F. Ball]] rejected Gore’s claim that there has been a sharp drop-off in the thickness of the Arctic ice cap since 1970, stating that the data was taken only from an isolated area of the Arctic and during a specific cooling period.<ref>[http://www.epw.senate.gov/pressitem.cfm?party=rep&id=257909 U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works]</ref></blockquote>

[[William M. Gray|William Gray]] said of the movie: "We're brainwashing our children. They're going to the Gore movie ''An Inconvenient Truth'' and being fed all this. It's ridiculous."<ref>{{cite news | last=Lytte | first=Steve | title=Gore gets a cold shoulder | newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald | date=2007-10-14 | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/gore-gets-a-cold-shoulder/2007/10/13/1191696238792.html }}</ref> While discussing the companion book to the movie Gray said, "This is a slick propaganda book. The pictures are very good. But there are factual errors."<ref>{{cite news | title=The Skeptic | first=Alan | last=Prendergast | date=[[2006-06-29]] | url=http://www.westword.com/2006-06-29/news/the-skeptic/full | publisher=[[Denver Westwood News]]}}</ref>

A March 13, 2007 article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on concerns among some scientists about the tone and the accuracy of the film, noting that they "argue that some of Mr. Gore’s central points are exaggerated and erroneous." Gore's discussion of a rise in sea level of up to {{convert|20|ft|m}}, while not stating a timeframe, appears in contrast with a report from the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC), which predicts a maximum rise of {{convert|23|in|mm}} this century, excluding non-linear effects on ice sheets; although that too discusses the possibilities of higher rises if the ice sheets melt. The article also states that "a report last June by the National Academies seemed to contradict Mr. Gore’s portrayal of recent temperatures as the highest in the past millennium."<ref name="NYT1">{{cite news
| publisher=[[The New York Times]]
| title=From a Rapt Audience, a Call to Cool the Hype
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/science/13gore.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5070&en=d615dc2ef256727f&ex=1175832000
| first=William J.
| last=Broad
| date=[[2007-03-13]]
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Don't believe the Hype
|first=Richard
|last=Lindzen
|authorlink=Richard Lindzen
|date=[[2006-08-02]]
|url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008597
|publisher=[[OpinionJournal.com]]
|accessdate=2007-05-31
}}</ref>
The article quotes both defenders and critics of the film; Gore responds that scientists may disagree with him on some details, "but we do agree on the fundamentals."<ref name="NYT1"/>

The [[documentary film]] ''[[The Great Global Warming Swindle]]'', broadcast on [[Channel 4]] in the UK in 2007, brought together skeptical scientists and others who disagree with the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] position regarding human-caused global warming. The film claims that Gore misrepresented the data in ''An Inconvenient Truth'', and contends that the actual [[Attribution of recent climate change#Warming sometimes leads CO2 increases|relationship between carbon dioxide and the temperature]] is the other way round (that is, rise in temperature preceded an increase in carbon dioxide in the [[ice core]] samples and therefore does so today). The claim that CO2 increases lag temperature increases in the historical ice core record is not disputed. The inference that the same relationship holds today, have been disputed by believer scientists and others such as [[John T. Houghton]],<ref name=Houghton>{{cite web | last = Houghton| first = John| coauthors = | title = The Great Global Warming Swindle| publisher = The John Ray Initiative| date = | url = http://www.jri.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=137&Itemid=83 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-12}}</ref> the [[British Antarctic Survey]],<ref>[http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/about_bas/news/news_story.php?id=178 BAS Statement about Channel 4 programme on Global Warming]</ref> [[Eigil Friis-Christensen]],<ref>[http://folk.uio.no/nathan/web/statement.html NR+EFC Statement]</ref> and the [[Royal Society]].<ref>{{cite web|title = The Royal Society’s response to the documentary "The Great Global Warming Swindle"| url=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/news.asp?id=6089 | publisher = [[Royal Society]] | date= 2007-03-11 | accessdate = 2007-04-03}}</ref> The UK media regulator [[OfCom]] has since upheld some complaints against the programme (while rejecting others and declining to investigate the majority).<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7517509.stm Climate documentary 'broke rules']</ref>

== Influences on popular culture ==
* The film inspired an [[An Inconvenient Truth (opera)|Italian opera]] adaptation by [[Giorgio Battistelli]] set to premiere at La Scala in 2011.
* Prior to ''An Inconvenient Truth'' being released, Al Gore was parodied in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode “[[ManBearPig]],” which ends with Al Gore exclaiming his intention to make a film starring himself in which he will try to save the world from the ManBearPig, a "half man, half bear, half pig". Gore laughed off this sensationalized depiction of him, saying "Their comic sensibility is aimed at a different demographic than the one I inhabit, but I still find a lot of what they do hilarious."<ref>{{ cite news | url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060505/ai_n16358218 | title = Gore promotes his 'ultimate action movie' | publisher = Chicago Sun-Times | date = 5 May 2006 }}</ref> Gore makes a second appearance on ''South Park'' in the episode "[[Imaginationland Episode III]]", where he argues that the American government must nuke Imaginationland (where all the imaginary characters live, including ManBearPig) in order to destroy ManBearPig.
* During the movie, Al Gore shows a clip from the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "[[Crimes of the Hot]]" dealing with global warming; Al Gore was a guest star in that episode (though not present in the clip.) While not the credited author of this episode, his daughter, [[Kristin Gore|Kristin Gore Cusack]], was on the ''[[Futurama]]'' writing staff and worked as a story editor. In addition, Gore stars in a faux trailer made by the ''Futurama'' cast and crew titled, ''A Terrifying Message from Al Gore''.<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://www.ifilm.com/video/2748863 | publisher = www.ifilm.com | title = A Terrifying Message from Al Gore }}</ref>
* [[Stephen Colbert]], on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'', also parodied ''the critics'' of ''An Inconvenient Truth'' on 19 July 2006. Entitled "The Convenientest Truth", Colbert created his own presentation that argued for the positive effects of global warming, using his signature humor tactics to satirize the conservative response to Gore's presentation.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=71953 | publisher = ComedyCentral.com | title = The Convenientest Truth }}</ref>
* In ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'', ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is parodied when [[Lisa Simpson]], presenting dangers of the pollution of Lake Springfield to Springfield's residents in a style similar to Gore, fails to properly operate a scissor lift intended to lift her up in order to show a spike of data on a projected graph regarding global warming. The title of her presentation is ''An Irritating Truth''. [[Mayor Quimby|Mayor Quimby's]] initial response was to buy a new scissor lift until Lisa revealed that she put the polluted lake water in the audience's drinking glasses, convincing them to immediately fix the pollution problems.
* Although the phrase “an inconvenient truth,” or variations thereof were in fairly common use before the film, it has become a common descriptive expression in the [[English language|English]] vernacular since the film's title was announced, appearing in journalism<ref>{{ cite news | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/13/raw.politics.foreman/index.html | title= Analysis: Candidates won't risk votes as troops risk lives | publisher = CNN | date = 13 January 2008 }}</ref>, blogs<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.democrats.com/ron-paul-shocks-gop-with-inconvenient-truth-about-islamic-terrorism | title = Ron Paul Shocks GOP With the 'Inconvenient Truth' About Islamic Terrorism | publisher = Bob Fertik | date = 16 May 2007 }}</ref>, and elsewhere.

== See also ==
{{Portalpar|Sustainable development|Sustainable development.svg}}
* [[List of documentaries]]
* [[The Age of Stupid]]
* [[Live Earth]]
* [[Paramount Classics]]
* [[Participant Productions]]
* ''[[The 11th Hour (film)|The 11th Hour]]'', a film regarding the same subject
* [[The Great Global Warming Swindle]]
* [[Timeline of environmental events]]
* [[United Kingdom Climate Change Bill]]

== References ==
{{reflist|3}}

== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|An_Inconvenient_Truth.ogg|2006-11-18}}
* {{official|http://www.climatecrisis.net/|An Inconvenient Truth}}
* {{amg movie|1:342290|An Inconvenient Truth}}
* {{imdb title|0497116}}
* [http://www.hokeg.dyndns.org/AITruth.htm Unofficial Transcript]

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{{Al Gore}}
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[[Category:2006 films]]
[[Category:Al Gore]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Action on climate change]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Paramount Vantage films]]
[[Category:Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Films shot in Super 16]]
[[Category:Global warming]]
[[Category:Documentaries about environmental issues]]

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[[da:En ubekvem sandhed]]
[[de:Eine unbequeme Wahrheit]]
[[et:Ebamugav tõde]]
[[es:Una verdad incómoda]]
[[eu:Egia deseroso bat]]
[[fr:Une vérité qui dérange]]
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[[id:An Inconvenient Truth]]
[[it:Una scomoda verità]]
[[he:אמת מטרידה]]
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[[sl:Neprijetna resnica (film)]]
[[fi:Epämiellyttävä totuus]]
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