The books, magazines, journals, articles,
television and radio programmes that spotlight the world's environmental
problems and global ecological issues are seemingly endless. The
ever-growing Internet reveals sites whose concerns are universal,
very informative, urgent and collaborative. Though the efforts
to inform the public, governments, corporations, and other bodies
questionably capable of taking appropriate action seem readily
available in the Western world, the will to do what
could be done is lacking, nor are the practical efforts particularly
encouraging.
When the Earth Summit
closed its June, 1997, session in New York the U.N. General Assembly
president said that 'the 173 participating nations are at the
mercy of special interests and lack the "political will to
tackle critical issues" as set out at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro
Earth Summit.' Likewise, the Kyoto Summit, scheduled
for December, 1997, will not bring encouraging results, perhaps
excepting well-managed propaganda.
UNIVERSAL QUESTIONS:
ANSWERS THAT MUST BE GIVEN
This and two subsequent papers will
show, from the Scriptures, that mankind will not co-operate on
these global issues. In fact the developing international culture
precludes viable answers. In consequence the monster-like machinery
that is driving the global political/economic/cultural ideologies
has apocalyptic end results.
The Western world's dominant system
of belief, purportedly Christian, is apparently based on the syncretism
of various traditions (Judaic, ante-Nicene, the Cappadocian Fathers,
Augustine, et al), and evolving interpretations of Scriptures
(e.g., neo-Platonic, anti-Judaic, mystical, anti-apocalyptic).
Gerald Barney asks: We humans have begun asking questions about "sustainable
development." This is an important question, but it does
not go deep enough. We must also begin asking questions about
"sustainable faith." Agreed.
Such questions need answers. Does your faith withstand questioning?
Is your faith defined as the Faith of the biblical patriarchs,
prophets, apostles, and Jesus Christ (Mt 4:4; Eph 2:20; Is 8:20;
Rev 12:17)? Is there a faith tradition in existence today
that is practicing a way of life that provides "progress"
for the whole community of life, not just the human species? Is
there a faith tradition such that if everyone on Earth suddenly
adopted it, the human future on Earth would be assured? Are
we of the Faith that God wants everybody to be a part of (1Tim
2:4; 2Pet 3:9; Tit 2:11-4)? What would happen if we all were?
Would that be the answer? I do not know enough about the faith traditions
of the world to provide a well-considered answer to this question,
but on the basis of my limited personal experience, I doubt that
there is a faith tradition on Earth today that can provide the
moral foundation needed for the 21st century.
Does each of us have moral and sound philosophic foundations
that withstand every assault and give good, enduring answers to
vital questions (Job 38:1-8; 40:6-8; 1Pet 3:15)? Specifically, I do not believe my own faith,
Christianity, is a sustainable faith -- at least not as it is
generally understood and practiced. The Bible, especially the
New Testament, is a weak document on the subject of mutually enhancing
human-Earth relations.
The Bible, including its relationship
precepts, is too often misunderstood because the nature of God
is not understood (Jn 17:3; Ex 19:4-6; Rev 1:6; see also: Gal
4:8; 1Thess 4:5; Ps 18:31,32; 79:6; Is 45:4,5; Jer 4:22; 9:3;
10:25; Hos 4:1; Rom 1:18-25). This series will show that idolatry
so persistently described in Scripture applies today. The dogma
of the Trinity, evolved from the Council of Nicaea of 325 A.D.,
is biblically insupportable, logically absurd, philosophically
untenable and is the basis for much irrationality [e.g., "God
died on the cross", yet 'God cannot die'] with consequent
Biblical exposition that misrepresents God's teachings.
Admittedly, there are a few scattered texts
in the Bible (especially the Old Testament) that suggest "stewardship"
of resources and concern for the land.
There are in fact many texts - as this series will amply
illustrate - that give God's views on the subject! I will show
that OT and NT are mutually consistent.
To make matters worse, the institutional manifestations
of Christianity have shown little or no serious interest in a
mutually enhancing human-Earth relationship. With perhaps a few
exceptions, churches are not prime examples of excellent stewardship
of resources; they are generally as wasteful and environmentally
thoughtless as any other human institution.
How wasteful, thoughtless, neglectful is each of us with respect
to the use of resources such as plastics, paper, water, electricity,
and petrol? Self-evidently, these are personal responsibilities.
Why is this? The God I know cares a great deal
about Earth and is not at all pleased with what we humans are
doing to Earth and to each other. Why then is the sacred text
of my faith such a weak source of inspiration and guidance on
caring for Earth and on the stewardship of the gift of human fertility?
The Bible is a superb source for guidelines to the care of
the earth, but this is nevertheless a very good and challenging
question.
NEW REVELATIONS
First, it
has been revealed that among the most destructive forces on Earth
today is hatred between the followers of different faith traditions.
Of the fifty plus armed conflicts in progress currently, the majority
are motivated in significant part by hatred of the followers of
one faith for the followers of another faith. The arms industry
- the largest industry in the world, larger even than illegal
drugs and oil - is supported in significant part by the hatred
of the followers of one faith for the followers of another faith.
Stories of interreligious hatred and violence
are found on page after page of our history books and now almost
daily in our newspapers. There are so many that it takes an extraordinary
one to catch our attention. An extraordinary one appeared recently
in the National Catholic Reporter under the headline "Torture,
Rape, Murder Outlaw Love in Bosnia:"
The Serbians have taught me to hate.
For the last two months, within me I have only hatred, no pain
or bitterness. Emptiness.
Not so long ago I taught my students
only love. But my Serbian neighbor's only son, Zoran, who was
also my pupil, urinated in my mouth. While wild-bearded vagabonds
were roaring with laughter, Zoran told me: "You are good
for nothing, you stinking Muslim woman."
I don't recall if I heard a scream or
felt a blow to my body. This colleague, a physics professor who
yelled like a maniac at me, began to beat me continuously. My
mouth filled with blood. .....
You ask what they have done. They raped
my mother before my eyes, my good-beyond-beautiful old mother.
The second revelation comes from a meditation
on Earth that has been continuing for about 1500 years, a meditation
we usually call "science." From this meditation we (think
we) know that Earth is the product of a 15-billion year journey
from the first burst of creative energy.
Like most intellectuals Gerald Barney has an evolutionary perspective
of life and this earth. Evolution, as generally understood, denies
the Creator God [Is 40:28; Mal 2:10; Eph 3:9; Rev 4:11].
A third revelation derives in part from
the second: we know now that the characterisations of man and
woman, male and female, in the origin stories and traditions of
many faiths are factually wrong and socially destructive.
True. Who has given us an accurate and logical explanation
for Gn 3:15,16? Where have we heard a logical and coherent exposition
of the great significance of these verses. They speak of the Church
and not pregnant women having difficulty in delivery. They speak
of civilisations having social mores that oppress women. And they
speak of the death of the Redeemer, His resurrection, and the
ultimate crushing of the power of Satan, the instigator of institutionalized
evils [Eph 6:12; Rom 16:20; see also 1Tim 2:15 cf. Gn 3:16].
The fourth revelation is that we humans
have become co-creators of the future with the Divine. We
humans - not as individuals, but as a species - will exercise
an enormous influence on the future of Earth. Five billion of
us individual humans, both poor and affluent, are acting today
in ways that are destroying the life-sustaining capabilities of
Earth and thereby destroying our own prospects. There is little
question that we humans can destroy our species and many others
with us. We can create an Earth future without humans. Now, nothing
survives - no person, no species, no lake, no river, no ocean,
no forest, no soil, no mountain, not even the atmosphere - unless
we humans will it to survive.
No efforts of mankind, without the true God's input,
will bring global resolutions to man's and earth's dilemmas, which
the Bible reveals.
This fourth revelation is of some considerable
import, but to my knowledge, no faith tradition has prepared us
for it. No faith anticipated the development of human power over
Earth's future, this enormous responsibility. To my knowledge,
no faith tradition has prepared us to know ourselves not as individuals
but as a species. To my knowledge, no faith tradition has provided
moral precepts to guide inter-species behavior, to decide which
species should cease to exist, to understand which new species
should be created through genetic engineering (and then patented)...
These are fundamentally spiritual questions,
and they are being raised openly today in many communities, by
scientists and economists, by philosophers and theologians, by
historians and anthropologists, by religious and secular leaders
alike. Such questions are in the hearts of ordinary men and women
who wonder about the future for all life and wonder how to answer
their children's questions.
Without the knowledge of the true God true answers and wholesome
solutions can not be forthcoming. The true God describes the nature
and outcome of all relationships!
WHAT SHALL WE DO?
People need to be taught to reject
anti-biblical ethno/pseudo-religious cultural mores. This principle
is also implicit in Rom 1:20: Since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.
An example of gross error is the
fishing patterns of the Taiwanese, Japanese, and others in the
coastal waters of N.E. Australia. The giant triton (its flesh
a delicacy to some), which feeds on millions of young eggs of
the crown-of-thorns starfish, is fished off the sea-floor so that
it is virtually non-existent in some reefs. With the prolific
growth of the crown-of-thorns these creatures devour the life
out of parts of the coral reefs. The corals disintegrate leaving
a desert landscape on the sea-floor. Since this is controversial
among scientists, please see this Internet site and others:
What should be the Christian perspective,
a perspective that results in good fruits, with respect to immediate
and global environmental issues? One of the finest pieces of information
I have come across is from the Millennium Institute,
headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA, whose president
is Gerald Barney. He was director of the Global 2000 Report
in 1980 for US President Jimmy Carter. He wrote the following
in an article entitled: Global 2000 Revisited: The Role of
Faith Traditions. It is probably deliberate that he
chose his words 'faith traditions' on the basis of personal belief
that the Bible does not answer the hard questions he asks. Nor
do more than 20,000 groups, sects, cults, denominations professing
Christianity seem to offer answers convincing enough to cause
large-scale solutions.
But if gathered together, such texts would
scarcely cover a single page of the Bible.
We will see that the Bible has much to say on this! There
is no unequivocal commandment, "Thou shalt not destroy Earth."
What does Rev 11:18 say as Gerald Barney just cited? Furthermore,
the only biblical guidance on the stewardship of the gift of human
fertility is: "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28),
and such limited and inappropriate guidance on this critical matter
is not adequate for a sustainable faith.
The sacred texts (the Bible) are misunderstood, misinterpreted,
corrupted, misrepresented. Events will bear this out.
The God I know is still speaking, and there
have been at least four new revelations.
You ask me my name? So the entire world
can witness my shame? Just write: female Muslim, 35 years old,
professor of literature. As for my newborn son, I have simply
given him the name Jihad ('Holy War'). The first time I
ever nursed him I said, "If you ever forget, may this milk
curse you, so help me God."
How should a Christian feel? What
should a Christian think in terms of prayer and action in hearing
of such atrocities? Such situations reveal the moral cowardice
in leadership and UN troops, which after all are "following
orders" from higher up. Have I heard that in recent history?
1. What are the traditional teachings - and
the range of other opinions - within your faith on how to meet
the legitimate needs of the growing human community without destroying
the ability of Earth to support the community of all life?
2. What are the traditional teachings - and
the range of other opinions - within your faith on the meaning
of "progress" and how it is to be achieved?
THE ORIGINS OF PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE
RESPONSIBILITY
Our belief system must be based on
revelation by the Holy Spirit (1Cor 2:10-4). It's a priceless
gift of the Almighty. By His Spirit He reveals precious truths,
resolves gigantic problems, provides wisdom and clarity of discernment,
gives realistic solutions. Let's consider what God tells us about
our roles on this earth.
Gn 1:25-31
God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock
according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along
the ground according to their kinds [Heb. min, species,
kind, family, order (see TWOT 1191; Strong's Hebrew
Dictionary: 4327)]. And God saw that it was good.
God indicates that breeding to
produce varieties is good. We observe that happening in nature
and should heed that instruction from nature (Rm 1:20,21). We
note that Jacob bred varieties of sheep (Gn 30:31-43). But we
should also notice that breeding methods which produce varieties
that are self-obsolescent should not be used.
Lev 19:19 You shall keep My statutes.
You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind.
You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall
a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.
Such verses are invariably taken
'literally' and hence we lose the principles intended. It is my
belief that the three examples here deal with the concept of planned
obsolescence. Hybridisation, as in St. Bernards, and in numerous
hybrid flowers and vegetables, is developed to such a degree that
fertility diminishes, or is non-existent other than by laboratory
means, or as with the dogs their hips break readily and they
cannot mate naturally. Mixing cloth of incompatible fibre strengths
and properties causes faster deterioration. In the case of cotton
and wool, one fibre cuts the other. The Bible is not forbidding
breeding or mixing of qualities, but doing things in such a way
that deterioration is increased, i.e., planned obsolescence. Modern
civilization feeds on anti-principles (law of the jungle).
Gn 1:26 Then God said, "Let
Us (the Elohim: the Mighty One(s), the Heavenly Council,
headed by the Father [Ps 82:1; 89:5-9; 95:3; 96:4-6; 110:1,2;
Dan 7:13,14; Rev 1:6; 5:8-10]. Whenever 'Elohim' is used
in reference to the true God the verbs, adjectives, pronouns associated
with it are singular. The singular is used not because
of the concept of Divine majesty, the opinion of most scholars,
but because the Godhead speaks in total agreement since the Holy
Spirit fills all [1Cor 15:28; 12:6,4]. Pagan pantheons, Satan's
counterfeits, are warring parodies of the Holy Assembly and the
Godhead) make man in our image, in our
likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds
of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all
the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created
man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male
and female He created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them,
"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and
over every living creature that moves on the ground."
The Hebrew for subdue
is kabash [SHD 3532; TWOT 951]. The word means to bring
into bondage, keep under, force. The Theological Wordbook
of the Old Testament has this to say: "'subdue'
in Gn 1:28 implies that creation will not do man's bidding
gladly or easily and that man must now bring creation into submission
by main strength. It is not to rule man. However, there is a twistedness
in humanity which causes us to perform such a task with fierce
and destructive delight. Try as we might, we cannot subdue this.
But it can be subdued and this is the promise of Mic 7:19."
Micah 7:18-19
Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the
transgression of the remnant of His heritage? (i.e.,
those who survive the fallout in apostasy, the by-products of
desertions of Truth by the shepherds, and the scatterings prophesied
[2Thess 2:3,10-2; 2Tim 3:13; 2Pet 2:1-3; Jer 23:1; Ezk 13:1-6]).
The question to ask is: "How
does God subdue our iniquities?" With love, mercy, incredible
creativity, patience, consistent goodness! Can mankind then treat
the creation differently to what God expects? Man does not do
things as God would have them done, and is therefore bringing
irreversible disaster upon the whole earth! Nature, created by
God, has self-regulatory constraints on populations. Man, who
has free choice, must take personal responsibility and self-regulate
human population, and follow the cultural precepts and principles
of Scripture.
He does not retain His anger forever,
because He delights in mercy! He will again have compassion on
us, and will subdue our iniquities!
Gn 1:29 Then God said, "I give
you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and
every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours
for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds
of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything
that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for
food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and
it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning
We are left in Gn 1:31 with the clear
implication that whatever man does in the environment, when he
steps back to view it, he too must be able to say: "The job
is finished! It is wonderful, coherent, balanced, and with proper
maintenance will produce only good." Whatever your hand finds
to do - do with all your godly might (Eccles 9:10).
Gn 2:7,8,15
The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became
a living being. 8 The LORD God planted a garden (in ecological
balance, and therefore to be maintained in ecological balance)
eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
This gives us a good idea of how
God defines for us what subduing means.
15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of
Eden to tend and keep it (i.e., to care for, alter,
maintain according to the knowledge of God who is the creator.
Man can change things, but he must be able to stand back and recognise
that all is well, and that ecological balances are extant in the
environment with which he is involved).
Ps 104:24-31
How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom You made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast
and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number - living things
both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and the
leviathan, which You formed to frolic there. 27 These all look
to You to give them their food at the proper time.
So man should look to God and study carefully the complex systems He established that
cause us to awe and wonder as we observe such marvels of nature.
Then whatever man does to nature must always maintain the glories
that are evident in these balanced symbioses and ecological environments.
When man fishes on a large scale the abundances must be maintained.
Psalm 8 is cited in part in Hebrews 2:6-8. A considered reading of these verses shows that Jesus Christ will 'subdue' the earth and all that is in it (1Cor 15:28).
This is illustrated in the prophetic description given in Daniel 2 and is constantly upheld in other prophecies as will be shown.
Some Current Internet Websites Providing Environmental Information:
http://www.igc.apc.org/millennium/index.html
http://www.igc.org/igc/econet/
http://www.gcrio.org/ocp98/toc.html
http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/GCWEBPGS.html
http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/pr970523.html
http://www.unep.ch/earthw.html
http://www.un.org/News/Press/GA9276.html