For some strange reason, many Christians today think that environmentalism is against the gospel and of concern for the church. It bewilders me. Once, my brother in law was talking about buying land in West Virgina because he said that the land was extremely cheap. I told him to be careful where he was buying the land because the mountain top mining was ruining land value in some places. He asked why, and I explained about the drinking water and a couple other things and then said, just make sure you own the top of the mountain. my aunt looked at me and said, “What are you some kind of tree-hugger?” “Well,” I replied “if wanting to drink clean water and keep my land value high is being a tree-hugger, then yes.” We are all Christian and it seems every time we all get together there is some mention of environmentalism in a negative way. I see it in blogs and definitely in the media. Thank you Ann Coulter. What I don’t understand is when did responsibility over become ‘we must destroy’? Ann Coulter has said, “God said so: Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, and rape the planet — it’s yours. That’s our job: drilling, mining and stripping. Sweaters are the anti-Biblical view. Big gas-guzzling cars with phones and CD players and wet bars — that’s the Biblical view.” And many people believe it! My mother in law included. Does anyone read their bible enough to know that God does not command us to ‘rape the planet’? I’m just not sure anymore.
Why does the command to be in charge of the planet suddenly equal destroy the planet? It is very clearly un-biblical. It’s exactley opposite of the progression seen in Scripture.
Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, ‘Let us 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.’ (NIV)
Leviticus 25:23-24 – The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. (NIV)
Ezekial 34:2-4 – Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. (NIV)
Isaiah 24:4-6 – The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. (NIV)
Jeremiah 2:7 – I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. (NIV)
Revelation 11:18 – The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great — and for destroying those who destroy the earth.
I don’t understand how the denial of our responsibility to take care of the earth by Christians can continue to be entertained. It’s ridiculous, it’s un-biblical, and completely twisted. But hey, it sells plenty of books that I hope people will immediately recycle.
Sacred Struggler 
Excellent post.
Here are the two things I’ve run into with Christians who are anti-environment. A: it is a threat to jobs. For example, when the government said that the use of private jets was environmentally irresponsible then companies who wanted to look green stopped using them. Private jets make up 80% of the economy in Wichita KS. Suddenly 500,000 people have a reason to hate the environmental movement. Cole miners, truckers, farming…they all feel threatened.
B: climate change is real but we aren’t being honest about how much of it is “man-caused”. The climate has been fluctuating since the beginning of the earths existence. Atmospheric gases changed before we were involved, natural disasters spawned by environmental change happened before we got here too. Also the idea that other countries would get to penalize us for our “environmental impact” irritates a lot of people.
So it is not as though people are anti clean water or trees. They are anti losing their jobs and paying more taxes. They are anti being blamed for changes that we are a small part of, changes that have gone on for millions of years. Most people just want to work their job and keep their money, all religion aside, and that makes them anti-environment.
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I understand why people are anti-environment (pro-business, money, freedom to do whatever you want) politically, but the correlation between the religious right and anti-environmentalism is kind of undeniable. It’s quite important to me that as Christians we make political decisions for biblical reasons. I am opposed to side choosing and what I see as the worship of money over morals for Christians that I see in the religious right. Do they make some moral decisions? Absolutely! But the culture of the conservative Christians who are tying themselves to the religious right or to the whole of the left actually, are (in my opinion) placing a higher value on politics than on what God says. That’s what I have a problem with. And Ann Coulter’s heresy in general. lol.
Miss-information plays into highly of course, and most who make the decision not to support green laws or restrictions are simply focused on what will be lost immediately and have no sight of the future. But a big part of it, (again in my opinion) is that many people sit and drink up the crazy things that pundits like Ann Coulter spit out and take them to be true. Uh. Rant over.
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In South Africa, I don’t recall any Christian here openly taking an anti-environmentalist stance, although I have heard a few who feel we “have a right” to use the earth’s resources (when they really mean ‘exploit’). Of course there are many who are surreptitious litterbugs, thoughtless users of energy and water, but the general feeling in all the churches in South Africa, to the best of my knowledge and experience, is that the national Christian community is aware of a responsibility to care for creation. Perhaps the fact that rhino-poaching and similar eco-destructive activities are so much in our media has helped? (If so, that would be the first time I have come up with any benefit to it!)
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It’s definitely a predominately American Christian cultural issue. Our media has taken over our religion.
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Seems the Bible clearly supports the idea of taking care of this gift we were given.
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Sure does, doesn’t it.
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