There was a recent article on Bloomberg.com that told of a California Hotel that was taking all the Gideon Bibles out and putting in their place a copy of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Global Warming seems to have become the religion of the left. It is accepted as proven fact by the media and many of the "educated elite" of the world.
However, there are many who completely disagree with the Global Warming crowd. William Gray, a Colorado State University researcher, has stated in an article posted on The Daily Telegraph that he believes the earth will cool on its own in five to 10 years. He attributes the warming trend to ocean currents. Dr. Gray is one of the foremost experts on hurricanes. Richard S. Lindzen, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote a recent article on MSNBC.com saying that there is no perfect temperature of the earth. Just this past week,a meteorologist stated publicly that within five to ten years Global Warming will be a joke. In other words, this debate is not over by a long shot!
Where should the Christian stand in all of this. It is not this writer's intention to dictate where one should stand in the global warming debate, but a Christian perspective of the enviroment can be given. There are three general philosophies toward the environment. First, there is Despotism. A person who holds this view sees the environment as something to be used and abused. They feel mankind is a despot over the world. Second, there is Preservationism. Those who hold this view see man as being the only evil part of the environment. This world should be preserved in its pristine form at all times. Third, there is Conservationism. Conservation simply means "wise use." In other words, mankind can and must live in this world and respect it while also making "wise use" of its resources. Conservation is basically the Christain (or biblical) perspective.
God created the world and saw that it was very good (Genesis 1:31). He gave human beings dominion over the earth and all that is in it (Genesis 1:28; 2:15; 3:23). The earth belongs to God, but He has given mankind a responsibility to use it properly (Psalm 115:16). This is the Stewardship principle. Therefore, we must accept our responsibility to care for the earth. This does not mean we are to worship the earth for it is simply a part of God's creation (Romans 1:25). We must worship and glorify only the Creator rather than the creation.
There are two motivating factors concerning Christains and the environment. First, we must have respect for God. God created and owns all that is in the earth (Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Corinthians 10:26). Therefore, we should respect His property. The second motivating factor is love for mankind. The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) applies to responsible conservationism. We should want to leave the world as beautiful and fruitful as it was when we came into it. If nothing else, we should want our children and grandchildren to have this kind of world. To refuse this factor is utter selfishness.
Yes, there are environmental problems on this earth, and as Christians, we should do what we can to remedy the situation. However, that does not mean we must fall for any hyped up theory or assertion that comes along. There will always be doomsday scenarios. The Christian has faith that God is still in charge of this universe and He still upholds it by His hand. Nevertheless, this does not take away from our responsibility to be good stewards of the environment.
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