THE DISPUTATION: Of Al Gore, Global Warming and God

Wow, what a debate. There is a certainly a healthy range of opinions on this Forum.

This seems to be a classic case of people being Republicans first and Christians second. Who has taken the couple hours to see "An Inconvenient Truth"?

Here's another article to consider for a contrary Christian viewpoint. People should consider that one political party doesn't have a monopoly on morality. Certainly on the issue of the environment the Democrats are more in line with respect for God's Creation than the Republicans and that's why the Republicans put out baseless propaganda like the articles posted earlier.

Is Christianity anti-Environmental?
by Rich Deem
Introduction

The charge has been made that Christianity is anti-environmental. In fact, there are those who blame the ecologic "crisis" on the "Judeo-Christian tradition."1 Much of the misinformation that Christianity is anti-environmental came from some widely publicized statements by professing Christians. For example, James Watt, who became U.S. Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s, in his article, "Ours Is the Earth,"2 and other articles, made it clear that he viewed the earth as "merely a temporary way station on the road to eternal life...The earth was put here by the Lord for His people to subdue and to use for profitable purposes on their way to the hereafter."3
God's involvement and pleasure in the earth and its creatures

However, none of these charges of anti-environmentalism stand up to scripture found in the Bible. The Bible begins with a description of the events of creation. God's personal involvement in the process is evident from the second verse, when God came to earth to personally direct its conversion to a world suitable for living creatures.4 One of the features of the creation account is God's pleasure at each step of the process. Six times God affirmed that the creation was good in His sight.5 The idea that man is free to destroy God's creation is at odds with God's obvious enjoyment of His creation taught in Genesis one.
The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord, not humans

Both Old and New Testament affirm, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."6 According to God, "every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.7 I find it amazing that God personally knows every creature, not just every human.
God cares for and provides for the needs of His creatures

Not only does God own everything and know every creature, but He cares for and provides for the physical needs of His creatures. For example, Psalm 104 says that God provides the water from the mountains for "all the beasts of the field and the wild donkeys [to] quench their thirst."8 These waters provide for nesting places for birds, grass for cattle, and food for man. The psalm goes on to describe the "trees of the Lord" and the "cedars of Lebanon that He planted." Also described are the stork, wild goats, lions that "roar for their prey and seek their food from God", and the creatures of the sea, large and small, that exist "beyond number." After listing all these creatures, the psalm goes on to say that they all rely upon God to "give them their food at the proper time" and that "they are satisfied with good things." Psalm 104 indicates quite clearly that God cares for the earth and His creatures.9 Likewise, in the New Testament, Jesus affirmed that God loves His creatures and provides food for them.10
God gave humans dominion over the earth to care for it

At the creation of man, God commanded that humans in Genesis 1:28 take control over the earth and rule over the animals.11 Having dominion doesn't mean to pillage and plunder, but to take care of the earth and its creatures and resources. Immediately after creating Adam, God put him into the garden of Eden that He had planted and put him to work in "taking care" of the garden. The Hebrew verb translated "to take care" (shamar - Strong's number H8104) is also translated "preserve", "keep", "watch", "maintain", "defend", and "attend." The nature of man's dominion of the earth is clarified in Psalm 8, which says that man is to have dominion over all of God's works on the earth, including the birds, domesticated herds, and the wild beasts of the field, and the fish and other life of the sea.12 Protecting God's creation is not just the responsibility of secular organizations, but should be the responsibility of evangelical Christians, as well. According to the National Association of Evangelicals:

Just as we show our love for the Savior by reaching out to the lost, we believe that we show our love for the Creator by caring for his creation. Because clean air, pure water, and adequate resources are crucial to public health and civic order, government has an obligation to protect its citizens from the effects of environmental degradation. This involves both the urgent need to relieve human suffering caused by bad environmental practice...13

God will judge those who destroy the earth

The Old Testament indicates that the animals and birds have perished because the people who live in the land are wicked.14 The Bible says that Jesus will return to earth to judge people for their sin. What most people don't realize is that part of this judgment is going to be executed against "those who destroy the earth."15 God cares very much for His creation and will judge those who have no regard for it.
Conclusion

The Bible declares God's pleasure in His creation and His care for all the created things on the earth - both plants and animals. God has given man the task of caring for and protecting His creation on the earth. The Bible says that those who destroy God's creation will be judged and destroyed themselves. Therefore, the Bible encourages wise stewardship of the earth, its resources, and its creatures. Many Christians have reacted against the environmental movement, probably because of the tendency by many environmentalists not only to protect the earth and its creatures, but to actually worship the creation instead of the Creator. This kind of misdirected loyalty by many environmentalists is clearly condemned in the Bible,16 since we are to worship God alone.17

As Christians, we should be doing everything Jesus commanded, including taking care of our families and all the resources He has given to us. Personally, our family recycles glass and plastic and we try not to waste energy (turn off lights, close doors, etc.). I am currently involved in a fight with Vulcan Materials, who want to tear down our local mountains in the San Gabriel Valley (Southern California). If you live in the San Gabriel Valley, please join us! I want my three boys to be able to enjoy nature the way God created it. I enjoy hiking in the wilderness and am saddened when I see litter, burned out areas, and other acts of carelessness by people. God is a God of order and beauty. Take a look at the description of heaven (Revelation 21). It will be great to be there someday - there is no pollution there.