An Evangelical Crusade To Go Green With God
Just read this fabulous article from NPR: An Evangelical Crusade To Go Green With God.
YES! YES! YES!
Who is the evangelical in question? Dr. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Baptists going green? That breaks down a few stereotypes.
Now, personally, I’m not sure what level of government involvement I’m comfortable with — If I have to accept a political label (I detest political labels), the closest one is libertarian. But I’m not 100%. It really depends on the issue and situation at hand. I’m glad to see that Moore is taking a stand to say that “conservative” (essentially “conservative evangelical Christian”) shouldn’t put a person in a political box. He is advocating thinking through each issue from a Biblical standpoint, not simply accepting whatever the “conservative” political party says. YES!
Moore’s reasoning for going green is the same as my own:
The reason to rally for a green movement is literally all around, Moore says. “God cares about the Creation. He displays himself in nature, and so the more that people are distanced from the Creation itself and the more people become accustomed to treating the Creation as something that is disposable, the more distanced they are from understanding who God is.”
Moore has another reason: “People are designed to be dependent on Creation and upon the natural resources around us. In order to love future generations, in order to love cultures, we have to love the ecosystems that support those things.”
Individuals will always disagree on how a problem should be solved, but we should at least all agree that it is a problem.
“Human flourishing means a healthy natural environment, and it simply isn’t good for ourselves or for our neighbors to live in a world that is completely paved over and in which every piece of green land is replaced with a Bed, Bath, and Beyond,” he says. “That’s not how God designed human beings to live.”
I couldn’t agree more with the end of this article:
It’s hard to say which argument individual evangelicals will be drawn to, but Moore says being pulled in different directions is a good thing “if being pulled in directions means that we’re thinking through issues from a biblical point of view, rather than from a purely political point of view.”
“And just because we agree with some of our political allies on some very important issues, that doesn’t mean we agree with those allies on every issue,” he adds. (Emphasis mine)
“Evangelicals can’t simply be anybody’s interest group. We’re going to have some disagreements, but we have to have that conversation. And it has to be more complex than simply parroting slogans.”
What do you think?
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While I couldn’t agree more with the assertion that we must approach not only political issues, but everything in life with a Christ-centered, Biblical perspective, I must strongly dissent with the first reason given for this “going green movement”. The primary way we must study and come to know and understand who God is, is through Scripture, where He reveals His character in detail. While it is true that through creation we can learn much about God, Rom. 1:20 “For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” I do not believe that we must be closer to nature in order to understand God, or that the more we distance ourselves, the less we understand of God. I cannot find support for that in Scripture. I fully support the preserving of certain natural parks and wildlife areas for our own edification through His creation and for the good of some animals. However, i WILL NOT align myself with a movement which strongly consists of individuals who value the earth, environment and lives of animals above the lives of human beings. And who are also willing to sacrifice the livelihoods and liberty of others in order to achieve their goals. This movement is based largely on a hoax, and is largely without merit.
Right on! I’ve oft said that saving the earth is a complex process. No one seems willing to wrestle with complexities. What do you do upon seeing an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?
Interesting times.
Right on! I’ve oft said that saving the earth is a complex process. No one seems willing to wrestle with complexities. What do you do upon seeing an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?
Interesting times.