Plotting in Vain 4-6-08
America’s religion of the elite, environmentalism, reached a new low point this last week when Billionaire Ted Turner announced that the world would soon (within 30-40 years) descend into mass starvation and cannibalism if the agenda of the environmentalists was not implemented immediately. This apocalyptic message joins the prophecies of former Vice President Al Gore’s message of ten years until the Earth burns up (as of this writing, we only have 7 years and 9 months left). These words of warning join those of the past (Newsweek ran an article on April 28, 1975 titled The Cooling World) that seem to be in conflict – global warming as opposed to global cooling – but are really about one thing: nature is supreme and the only morality is that which is imposed by man.
The environmentalist movement is not really about the environment so much as it is an anti-Christian movement. If it were about the environment, then its adherents would not accept leaders who fly abroad in highly fuel-inefficient private jets and who live lifestyles with “carbon footprints” that dwarf those of the people to whom they preach “use one sheet of toilet paper”. This hypocrisy is tolerated by the environmentalists because the movement is about amassing power; this power is not the power to clean the planet, but the power to force others to change their lives and beliefs (especially Christian beliefs).
So, what do we do about it? As Americans, we should be very worried about the political, social, and economic upheaval that these people are causing (not to mention the grave national security concerns). But what about us Christians? There’s not much we really have to be worried about. Why? Because there is a God who created the universe and who is watching over us.
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:1-6 NIV)
Like all others, these environmentalists plot and conspire, figuring that if they can remove Christianity from our national identity, then they will be able to remake this land like what their kind did to Western Europe. But like all others, only God decides when rulers rise up and when they fall, and only God determines when a nation will stand and when it will fall. There is only one permanent kingdom, and its King rules from on high – Jesus Christ.
When the Earth burns up, it will not be from too many SUV’s on the road, or because the US didn’t raise the fuel efficiency standards high enough, or because of a hole in our ozone. The Earth will burn, but because the LORD will cause it:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10 NIV)
That is not a tale of global warming, but rather a tale of global redemption because Peter goes on to tell us that there is a new heaven and earth – he calls it the “home of righteousness”. You see, this is the biggest difference between the Christian and the environmentalists. When they hear statements such as 2 Peter 3:10, all they can think about is a need to reduce carbon emissions and trust in the planet to heal itself. When I read 2 Peter 3:10, all I think about is that I need to be ready, because my Lord and Savior has not forgotten me, but is coming back to bring me home.
When you read 2 Peter 3:10, are you afraid for the Earth, or are you looking forward to the one who made the Earth?
-Charles Peterson