Blogotional

Well I know when I've been called out. In a post this morning, SmartChristian says:

I expect to hear from you John on this.

Well, I can take a hint. Andy links to an "open letter" from the National Council of Churches on environmentalism. He also points to some great comments by Alcaide's Cafe on that NCC document.

I find myself torn between an immense desire to simply mock the NCC and the need for serious response. Alcaide's Cafe has already done a pretty good job of tearing the thing apart, but I will add my two cents. Five ways this "open letter" is bad or suspect.

It Is Socialistic

...the special responsibility that falls to those of us who are citizens of the United States. Though only five percent of the planetÂ’s human population, we produce one-quarter of the worldÂ’s carbon emissions, consume a quarter of its natural riches, and perpetuate scandalous inequities at home and abroad.

I have said before that environmentalism often expresses itself as socialism, but this is one of the most blatant examples I have seen. There is a Biblical case to be made for Christianity being socialistic, but there is an equal Biblical case to be made that it is capitalistic. Given that the church seems to thrive in capitalistic environments, I choose capitalism every time.

It Is Based on Bad (Agenda) Science

Alcaide's Cafe did such a good job of tackling this point, I'll just give you the link again and let you read it.

It Exhibits Bad Priorities

...other creatures should not be treated merely as instruments for our needs and wants. Other species have their own integrity. They deserve a fair share of Earth's bounty- a share that allows a biodiversity of life to thrive along with human communities.

I defy anyone to show where in scripture other species are granted "their own integrity." They are given us for our dominion. Yes, we have a responsibility to treat them well, but that is a far cry from their "own integrity." Jewish scholar, Dennis Prager, is fond of posing a question, "If you have a choice between saving a stranger and saving your dog, who would you save?" Can anyone tell me where is scripture you could justify saving the dog? Owing kindness to other species is a far cry from granting them their "own integrity."

It Exhibits Bad Theology

To continue to walk the current path of ecological destruction is not only folly; it is sin. As voiced by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has taken the lead among senior religious leaders in his concern for creation: To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God's creation . . . for humans to degrade the integrity of Earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands . . . for humans to injure other humans with disease . . . for humans to contaminate the Earth's waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous substances . . . these are sins.

Would you please find that particular sin for me from this list:

Deut 5:6-21
6 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 7 'You shall have no other gods before Me.

8 'You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 9 'You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

11 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

12 'Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13 'Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; {in it} you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 'And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

16 'Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you.

17 'You shall not murder.

18 'You shall not commit adultery.

19 'You shall not steal.

20 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21 'You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'

The NCC Is A Bad Organization

If there is a wacko cause the NCC has been in it. Just look at what they are concerned about for 'justice.' See Terri Schiavo's name there anywhere? Hummm?


Bad Science, Bad Theology, Bad Organization. Sounds like a 'hat trick' to me.