christian environmentalism

If you were surprised by this header, I'd consider it upsetting. But don't be. I'm not alone.

(Watch the surprisingly good documentary "Is God Green?"
Also, take a moment to read a commentary by Greg Koukl.)

That's becoming quite clear of late as we hear increased talk of "global warming" and "climate change," but even more as we see environmental damage affect us personally. All of a sudden, many who have, for whatever reason, been silent in the past are now sitting up and taking notice that something is wrong.

When I was a kid, we heard a lot about acid rain, turning off the water tap and light switch, and always cutting your six pack plastics before throwing them out so ducks wouldn't get stuck in them. But environmentalism was often considered a movement of the fringe–those who were just trying to make life difficult for the rest of us. It became a political struggle, just like everything else, between those battling for the planet and those fighting for industry.

Now I realize, as with anything, some folks take things too far. And, usually, those are the ones who get the media attention. But that's not everyone. There are a lot of people who genuinely care that we are doing serious damage to the only planet we've got (despite the ideals of individuals like Stephen Hawking, who would have us "boldly go" elsewhere). And many of those who care are also followers of Jesus Christ.

In reality, this is only fitting, as our Lord is the One who created it all.

"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." -John 1:3

So for the Christian, environmentalism has nothing to do with worshiping the creation, and everything to do with worshiping our Creator by respecting all that He made.

I often ask, what type of future do we expect for the generations who follow us? For those who believe in the sanctity of human life, this should be an especially important question. Is our life of ease more important than clean air and water, safe places to spend time in creation and healthy food? Or do the conveniences of our "now" overshadow any consequence for tomorrow—for everyone including ourselves?

When I think of this, I consider Jesus' answer to the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:35-40:"Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Everything we do that knowingly and willfully harms the environment also disrespects the Creator. (And we can no longer say "we didn't know.") Therefore, for the Christian, caring for the planet should be as much about "loving the Lord our God" as anything else we do.

Everything we do that affects the environment also affects everyone else around us. Therefore, for the Christian, doing our part to care for the planet should be as much about "loving our neighbor" as anything else we do.

Christian, don't get hung up in all the "love your mother" (as in "mother earth") statements. Love your Heavenly Father and your brother and sister in Christ instead.

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why it's wrong - the embryonic debate

Since this is such a big deal, especially in Missouri of late, I figured I'd address it too. I've heard people, even those who claim to know Christ, say that things like embryonic stem cell research and abortion are not wrong for reasons such as "it's just political" or "the Bible doesn't talk about it" or "it will help people." Trust me, if I thought this was merely political, I wouldn't care much. Of course I vote and know the issues, but politics is just not fun, and I try not to waste my time on silly debates.

But to say the Bible doesn't talk about it, well that's a bit of overlooking on their part. The Bible doesn't include the words "embryonic stem cell" or "abortion" because they didn't use language like that at the time. But does it say anything about hurting babies, and even the unborn? Definitely yes.

Now as a basic, most people know the command, "Do not murder." This is repeated over and over again throughout. That should speak for itself, but somehow we are in a society so twisted that it actually takes time to redefine things like "murder" and "person" and so on.

If you still have questions, there are many times that murdering children is spoken against. And this gets a bit graphic.

In Leviticus 18:21 for instance, God says, "'Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord." Molech was a man-made god of the Ammonites. They had fashioned a horrific metal statue with cupped hands which was heated by fire. They would then throw live babies into the hands of this "god" and sacrifice them in hopes of receiving some "blessing" or another.

The LORD said, "NO." And more than once. He threatened to withdraw from the people who were doing this on more than one occassion, as His people were being sucked into the culture around them.

Still not convinced?

God never takes kindly to oppression of the helpless, no matter how young or old. He states this repeatedly in the book of Amos. In chapter 1:13, God says, "Thus says the Lord: 'For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.'"

Did you catch that? Read it again. I'm not going to repeat it.

There's plenty more you can research on your own. And if you are not one to be convinced by Scripture, that's fine. There's nothing I can do about that. But I will say this... I agree 100% that we should continue to do research and search for cures, and use of adult stem cells is fine—not to mention that only adult stem cells have proven truly effective for cures. Most of my family is diabetic. I had a great college prof. who died rather quickly of a muscular disorder. I have lots of friends with lots of physical problems, myself included. However, there is never a reason to improve a life by taking a life. People are created in the image of God (Genesis 9:6), and we do no justice in "helping" one image by destroying another, nor does the Creator allow such a thing. (And before you suggest God was never like an embryo, remember Jesus Himself came to us as a baby.)

This may come as a shock to some, but I'm also not saying that I agree that those embryos should have been created and abandoned in the first place, and I realize there are much deeper roots to this issue that no one wants to address. But clearly with everyone trying to "play god" all these many year, we have now come to this. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.

The Gospel tells us Jesus died to save, profoundly and in the deepest sense, those who trust in Him. He will eventually return to fix the physical too, eliminating the pain and suffering in this world, but we all will experience suffering just as He did until He makes things new. I pray we will stop trying to control this on our own, attempting to "fix" problems while leaving a wake of suffering and death for others in the process. I pray we will trust Jesus, the One who will make all this right again.