What is it?
It is without question one of the most important things supporting Christianity in history. Indeed, without it, there probably would be no Christianity whatsoever. We need to recognize this fact, so that we can protect it, and make sure Christianity is not destroyed by our own carelessness. What is it?
The earth.
One of the most striking expressions of the notion of human sin as in itself a pollution of the earth is to be found in the kanon for October 26, commemorating the earthquake that struck Constantinople in 740. ‘See how we all have erred; and the earth which has done no wrong is terribly punished,’ we sing; and again, ‘The earth voicelessly cries out, groaning: Why do you all pollute me with many evils? Sparing you, the Master scourges me all over. Perceive this, and by repentance propitiate God.’ Pre-scientific ideas about the causes of earthquakes, we might say. But are these verses not also telling us something more profound? They remind us that the well-being of the world around us cannot be separated from our relationship with God.
—Elizabeth Theokritoff, Living in God’s Creation: Orthodox Perspectives on Ecology (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 178-9).
Please, remember to treat the earth right. Go and sin no more. Abuse of the earth and its destruction starts with our own sin. But the more we sin, the more we get careless and destroy the world around us. It’s a sign of great spiritual decay to see the world in a sorrowful shape — for it reveals we, as humanity, have abandoned our role as stewards on the earth, for we are meant to be mediators of God’s grace to the earth itself. Our task is not to look to the earth for what it can give to us, but what we can bring it to be for the glory of God. Then and only then can all creation sing!
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All well and good, but it is my experience that the majority of people and efforts to enforce the earth love has very little to do with our sin and everything to do with political power and class envy.
In other words, sin can be masked in ecology just as well as in pollution. How many of the earth lovers are willing to say that Jesus Christ is their Lord?
Come back when that answer changes.
Dan,
I don’t need to “come back,” because the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church — both find it necessary to point out our duty to the earth cannot be ignored. Whether or not others who work with us see the full picture and the place of sin as it helps destroy the earth is not of consequence here; there are multiple levels of sin, including the kinds which have developed out of the consumeristic lifestyle. Though many who work with ecology don’t see it as “sin,” they, along with us, see it as wrong; and so we can work there — and point out how we have a wider understanding of the causes of the earth’s destruction. We must counter the structures of sin on all levels. Careless destruction of the earth for the Christian shows someone who has no concern of God’s creation, which should point out what such people think of God!
I love the earth and recognize my need for good stewardship of the resources God gives from the earth and the reason I do it is because I love Jesus the Lord (not just my Lord; no “me & Jesus” theology here for I come from a Catholic theology background)!
I bet I am not the only one! I am guessing these folks would agree… http://conservation.catholic.org/
peace to all
I believe that the current spate of global awrming denialism is influenced by paganism. It is the religion of materialism, plus the American exceptionalist creed that captures the right to consume as much as one wants, heedless of consquence. And one of the “doctrines” of this religion is that man-made global warming is a conspiracy.
“In other words, sin can be masked in ecology just as well as in pollution.”
Unfortunately, Dan, sin can be masked in the purported practice of anything good– included revealed religion. You and I, I am sure, fail all the time in this regard. Thanks be to God for the grace he provides us to get up and try in our humble and feeble way.
This does not mean that we should abandon all efforts at the good until we clear the board of all hypocrisy or failures at complete understanding of the realities involved.
“And one of the “doctrines” of this religion is that man-made global warming is a conspiracy.”
If you do a little research you will find that the global temperature as decreased steadily for the last 5 years. Conspiracy? I don’t think so.
I do my best to be a good ecological steward, but the stuff going on politically is all about land grabs and us vs. them and has nothing to do with facts.
You can be faithful to a cause and not swallow the whole package. I like to sort out what is true and what is not.
Dan, where are you getting this silliness? See here: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2008/.
If you look at the data and not just the pretty lines you will see what I said. Since 2005 the temperature and been going down. You need to look at the years.
And try this: Pick two arbitrary points on one of your graphs. Depending on what points you pick you can make it go up or down.
Point being those who said the warming and cooling has more to do with solar activity are exactly right. We are in a cooling trend now and this makes perfect sense. However if man is causing the warming it makes no sense.
Also consider that the Finger Lakes here in NY (where I live) were formed by warming many years before you or I were born. Go get some coffee.
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/
Silliness is not realizing the MIT told Gore to take part of his presentation out of his show because the formulas were wrong. No matter what data they put in the results was always hockey stick. Just another Gore lie.