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If this is your first visit here, please take a moment to peruse the posts and comments. Try to see things from the vantage point of someone who does not know God.
The "Red Cell Thoughts" are not to be taken as a position of this blog- they are meant to stir thought. Please feel free to post other thoughts, questions, and possible answers. All posts are anonymous, but feel free to provide your name if you so desire. The Red Cell facilitators reserve the right to edit comments that are rude or offensive. Having said that, a little bit of offensiveness may be allowed- because if we offend no-one, then we might not be working hard enough! Remember, the Christian religion was founded on questioning the prevailing wisdom of the day and the Protestant Reformation continued that tradition. Don't be afraid to question all your assumptions.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Was Jesus an environmentalist?
But, should we be environmentalists? To me, much of the environmental agenda has turned political and thus ideological. I think there's a tremendous difference between cutting your consumption, cutting off lights, and recycling- and trying to make the world colder (I'm sorry, I'm a "We can do anything about Global Warming- cynic"). I have plenty of faith that humans can make the environment bad, but not much faith we can reverse macro trends.
What is more interesting to me is, at the macro level, what would Jesus be for? Would He have sided with Al Gore or would he have belitted a "Tower of Babel"-type idea: this turning the world colder?
I really do think He would have been for micro-level environmentalism- just as Reverend Bingham talks about. But I also think that Jesus would have not been interested in macro-level politics. I think He was focused on the spiritual side of things and the Afterlife. "Render unto Caesar" could well have been "render unto Al Gore"- which I would take to mean to not get involved in the debate- at least not on religious terms.
But, if you believe that macro changes emerge from micro changes- then perhaps everyone turning "greener" will be a good thing overall for the planet. And while we might not get colder, maybe we can at least keep from getting any less healthy. And I would submit that would be in keeping with Jesus' teachings.