Seeing as it is Earth day today, I thought I'd share with you a part of an essay I wrote a few weeks back on "What does the Bible have to say about Environmentalism?"
It reads....
Does the Bible have anything to say about environmentalism? This is a good question and I think many people struggle with it. First, there is a difference between the biblical view of the environment and the political movement known as "environmentalism." The Bible is clear that the earth and everything in it was given by God to man to rule over and subdue. "And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth'" (Genesis 1:28). God also commanded us to be good stewards of the earth. (I haven’t seen any hugging-of-trees mentioned in the Bible. Am I missing something? ☺). Stewardship, from a biblical perspective means caretaking not abusing, and intelligently managing the resources. Also, more than this, we are called to appreciate the functionality and beauty of the world, for indeed God poured into this world his grace, power, and creativity. However, according to the secular humanist, environmentalism (also which can be defined as a social movement) seeks to influence the political process by lobbying, activism, and education in order to protect natural resources and ecosystems. They recognize that humanity is a participant in ecosystems, and thus the environmental movement is centered on ecology, health, and human rights. (This is where the tree hugging comes in) It does not recognize this as God’s world or that mankind is not the enemy of the world, which many environmentalists consider. Remember, too, Doug, that it takes a certain amount of arrogance for a few people to think they, and they alone, can change a planet that God created. We can change our little bit of the environment with air conditioning, etc. But, to change an entire planet’s heating/ cooling, spinning in the atmosphere is something God can do, not man.
The environmental movement is consumed with trying to preserve the planet forever, and we know this is not God's plan. He tells us in 2 Peter 3:10 that at the end of the age, the earth and all He has created will be destroyed: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up." There are also some in the secular humanist ecology movement who do not consider man (humans) any different that any other living creature. They even want to extend “human rights” to other animals. They do not recognize that God made man “in His image” or gave man a conscious, thought, a spirit, and free will. We are the only creature that has this.
Carpenter,
To God Be the Glory!
9:45 PM on the 22nd of April in The Year of Our Lord 2009
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