It's not easy being green: Religious attacks against environmentalism

Houston Chronicle ^ | December 22, 2010 | Kate Shellnutt

[ZGuy]

Decades ago, if you heard that a group of family-focused Christian conservatives did a lecture series called Resisting the Green Dragon, you might have thought it was part of the war on drugs. But today, the attacks are against a 21st-century threat: Environmentalism.

The campaign targets groups like Greenpeace and environmental lobbies who, they say, make nature a priority over people and are taking over classrooms, political bodies and society as a whole.

"Today's environmentalism isn't a neutral set of ideas that can be tacked onto the Christian faith without theological compromise," said Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, the founder of the Cornwall Alliance. "Instead, it promotes its own worldview and its own doctrines of God, creation, humanity, sin, and salvation. And those doctrines aren't Biblical."

Environmental policies should harness human creative potential by expanding political and economic freedom, instead of imposing draconian restrictions or seeking to reduce the "human burden" on the natural world. Suppressing human liberty and productivity in the name of environmental protection is antithetical to the principles of stewardship and counterproductive to the environment.

In the Resisting the Green Dragon series, speakers from groups like the American Family Association, Focus on the Family, National Religious Broadcasters and other socially conservative Christian groups focus on the scriptural call to meet human needs as a priority.

[Story includes video links]

[ponygirl]

Well, “environmentalism” is a religion. So this isn’t an attack, it’s a theological debate.

[IronJack]

Secular humanists see the earth as our master. Christians believe it was a gift from God, to serve his needs but worthy of his stewardship.

[rj45mis]

Ditto to both of your posts.

[FlingWingFlyer]

It's not easy being green: Religious attacks COUNTERATTACKS against environmentalism

[Impala64ssa]

The enviro weenies, from time to time, try to combine their beleifs about global warm... OOPS now it’s called climate change into the Judeo-Christian ethic. If you beleive their propoganda, Jesus was an enviromentalist and a vegan. That’ll boost their credibility.

[dog breath]

This is interesting, thanks for the post. My grandfather an avid hunter, fisherman and outdoor enthusiast was a good Christian and a solid businessman. He made me understand the difference between sensible conservation of the land and unrealistic pipe dreams. Land conservation should be done with respect toward the people living on and using the land as well as the animals. The extremists often have weird political agendas which are not only wrong headed but sometimes bad for the very things they claim they are protecting.

[cripplecreek]

Conservatives are far more effective environmentalists.

[Cicero]

Back when most people were at least vaguely Christian, environmentalism and Christianity were reconcilable.

Now, environmentalism has gone berserk. Their bottom line is support for abortion and population control, including forced population control. They believe that people are bad, and the more that can be killed off (themselves excepted), the better. Impoverish people, kill off third world children, starve excess population. Those are some of their mantras.

[bray]

Environmentalism is an atheistic cult being used to enslave us into communism.

Merry Christmas

[thulldud]

The extremists often have weird political agendas which are not only wrong headed but sometimes bad for the very things they claim they are protecting.

I've heard their agenda summarized as "Cage the people, let the animals run free."

Remember that when you see another park path closed off to hikers, while dangerous predators are deliberately reintroduced into areas that used to be safe, for ex.

[IronJack]

Ah yes, the Clintonian tactic of triangulation. Pretty transparent when done by amateurs. And not very effective against anyone who’s read the Bible.

[IronJack]

Some of the most conscientious stewards of the land in my experience are farmers and hunters. To them, the earth is a very real part of their being, even their survival. They study it in the living laboratory.

Aside from a couple of Imax specials and an annual reading of “Silent Spring,” what do urban-dwelling ivory-tower pontificators know about Nature?

[TXConservative25]

There are promises in the Bible over what will and what won't happen. Armageddon is not going to be environmental. We have been promised the earth will not flood again.

Environmentalism directly contradicts the Bible in it's predictions. Perhaps not a big deal ... until you start to infringe upon the livelihoods of people of average wealth and in poverty. (Let's not forget how many more people died of malaria after DDT was banned.)

Being a good steward of your resources does not mean to be an enviroNazi.