A Pure Faith and a Clean Earth

Genesis 2:15
“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

The first book that urged us to take good care of the earth was the Bible. The Bible also reminds those who would be careless about their responsibilities that there is a Creator who is going to hold us accountable for how we carry out our responsibilities. Why, then, does Christianity always seem to be taking the blame for destruction of the environment?

The answer is that many of the leaders of the so-called green movement consider Christianity itself to be a form of pollution.

One of the primary goals of the green movement is to change Christianity’s focus from Christ to earth as our creator and savior. A group, called the Joint Appeal by Religion and Science for the Environment, brings together Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians and the world’s tribal religious leaders into a single coalition. Their goal is to make religion supportive of green policies. The group met with 270 governmental leaders during the U.N. conference on the environment in Rio de Janeiro. They are also encouraging U.S. church leaders to speak up and make their churches more active for the environment. As a result of these activities, many diverse American church bodies are issuing special prayers, holding environmental conferences, and trying to justify New Age Gaia spirituality within the Christian framework.

We Christians recognize our responsibility to be good stewards of the earth. We also have a responsibility to carry forth our witness of the true Creator and the true Source of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Prayer: I pray, dear Lord, that Your people would be more knowledgeably alert to the many ways in which the world, the devil, and our own flesh seek to silence the truths revealed to us in Your Word. Give us a well-informed, confident, bold faith and witness. Amen.

Author: Paul A. Bartz

Ref: Saving the earth. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 13, 1992. p. 10E. The sunflower. Courtesy of RS3. (CC BY-SA 3.0)