Christianity And The Enviroment

[The Sage Nabooru]

Did anyone's church have a particular stand on the enviromental issues?

 

While it seems that most churches don't take a strong belief on it, it seems that they mostly believe that the Earth and its soulless animals are here to exploit, per God's command. Man's domination over his earthly domain takes a front seat to any kind of caring for the enviroment. In my church it was particularly looked down on to become a vegetarian or express a feeling for animals' pain. The animal, like the plant, did not have emotions; it was like a machine invented for mankind's use and whatever practices were used upon it - factory farming, the fur industry, etc. - were all approved of in the eyes of God.

 

While my church was not a "Rapture-Ready" one, I understand that many churches preach that enviromentalism is a pointless practice, since Jeezus will be coming back soon anyway. Why care for this sinful earth and its satanic nature when it's going to be wiped out in the next few years?

 

At any rate it seems that while Buddhists and Hindus are mostly happy to support the enviroment, Christianity generally would only do so begrudgingly. I think this is also due, at least in the US, to the large conservative Republican vein running through Christianity, in which the owners of those factory farms and shareholders of oil companies pressure the faithful that God wants exploitation to continue.

[AKR]

i went to 5 different churches for at least a year each, and not once did i hear a single thing mentioned about respecting the environment. i think the general consensus is that the earth is here for us to use and abuse. they don't think about the fact that animals feel pain-emotionally and physically. the bible says to rule over all creatures; it doesn't say to disrespectfully and needlessly destroy them, in a ruthless manner. but as usual, people only hear what they want to hear.

[Jun]

Did anyone's church have a particular stand on the enviromental issues?

 

While it seems that most churches don't take a strong belief on it, it seems that they mostly believe that the Earth and its soulless animals are here to exploit, per God's command. Man's domination over his earthly domain takes a front seat to any kind of caring for the enviroment. In my church it was particularly looked down on to become a vegetarian or express a feeling for animals' pain. The animal, like the plant, did not have emotions; it was like a machine invented for mankind's use and whatever practices were used upon it - factory farming, the fur industry, etc. - were all approved of in the eyes of God.

 

While my church was not a "Rapture-Ready" one, I understand that many churches preach that enviromentalism is a pointless practice, since Jeezus will be coming back soon anyway. Why care for this sinful earth and its satanic nature when it's going to be wiped out in the next few years?

 

At any rate it seems that while Buddhists and Hindus are mostly happy to support the enviroment, Christianity generally would only do so begrudgingly. I think this is also due, at least in the US, to the large conservative Republican vein running through Christianity, in which the owners of those factory farms and shareholders of oil companies pressure the faithful that God wants exploitation to continue.

 

I have had this very argument with many Christians.

[Thurisaz]

At any rate it seems that while Buddhists and Hindus are mostly happy to support the enviroment, Christianity generally would only do so begrudgingly. I think this is also due, at least in the US, to the large conservative Republican vein running through Christianity, in which the owners of those factory farms and shareholders of oil companies pressure the faithful that God wants exploitation to continue.

 

To be fair I have to point out that over here, churches are much more likely to support environmental protection than look down on it.

So much for christians and christians and the mind-boggling differences between christianity and christianity...

[LosingMyReligion]

My Churches stance was:

 

Be fruitful and multiply. Man was made to be the master of Earth. And god put everything here to be at our disposal...

 

Amen.

[D Laurier]

Everything from ("Might as well use it all up 'cause jesus is coming soon anyways") To ("Use it up and god will give us more")

But never a single admonition to conserve or protect.

[woodsmoke]

This is actually one of the few areas in which I agree with the Mormon church. They actually purport to embrace the "stewardship" angle, and growing up therein I was always taught it was our God-assigned duty to care for the Earth, as God would come back much like the master in the parable of the talents and "grade" us on how well we'd taken care of his estate.

 

'Course, in practice, an awful lot of Mormons are your typical conservatives who've convinced themselves environmentalism is just so much dope-induced hysterical rubbish that hippies love to prattle on about, but that's really to be expected. I don't know any who accept that global warming is real, but at least out here there are quite a few Mormons who really do embrace conventional (mostly wildlife) conservation. That probably has at least as much to do with the fact they're sports/outdoor enthusiasts as anything motivated by their religious beliefs, but I'll take what I can get.

[Unknowing1]

Actually the church I attended did talk about environmental issues. The youth group will once a year pick up trash from roadways. The minister does occasionally do a blessing of the animals. The outreach is more about caring about the feelings/emotions of others and their physical well being instead of making disciples. But of course I was attending a more liberal open minds, open hearts, open doors church.

[RedFox]

I had a xian roommate who just moved out. He would toss recycleable things like bottles and cans into the trash, even when another xian roommate was collecting cans to redeem. The trasher xian was the same one who thought that the other xians had been raptured when I told him that I was searching the bottle collecting xian without success and soon we found that he was just visiting another xian.

[Ramen666]

My former Church talk about enviromental issuess....never

[smellincoffee]

The only time the people in my former church brought up enviromentalism was when they spoke of those "crazy scientists" who believed in global warming. Same people who will tell me it used to snow and get so cold the ground cracked open back in the Alabama of their youth...when I can usually go outside in shorts during the Alabama winter.

[The Sage Nabooru]

The only time the people in my former church brought up enviromentalism was when they spoke of those "crazy scientists" who believed in global warming. Same people who will tell me it used to snow and get so cold the ground cracked open back in the Alabama of their youth...when I can usually go outside in shorts during the Alabama winter.

 

Same thing here. When I was a kid, the holiday season brought snowfalls up to a foot deep. Right now I could go outside in my short sleeves without a jacket and be comfortable.

[Lycorth]

My old Cathoholic church in NJ didn't talk too much about the environment. The usual dogmatic stuff was more important. They did support Big Momma Church™'s stweardship concept, though - meaning that Da Lard gave us the good earth and we have to take good care of it.

 

I didn't attend other churches in NJ so I don't know how they stand. Some other Cathoholics I knew were very supportive of environmentally-friendly behavior, but I think this is because they, like me, came from a socially liberal area where environmentalism is much more common.

 

Big Momma Church™ has to roll with the times, eventually, which is why any Cathoholic (or Xian, period) would have any environmental awareness. Overall, human society is becoming more concerned with the earth, hence, that will trickle down to many churches - kind of like how gay rights have found favor in some churches.

 

The churches are no longer in a place to dictate social custom and policy, so either they live in bubbles where they still pretend they can, or they end up being influenced, however slightly, by the world around them.

 

When I was a fundygelical, I never heard (to the best of my memory) anything about stweardship or caring for the earth. It was all about Jebus, faith, fighting "persecution", and the Rapchah (which was about to come any day, now). Catholholics get more of an earth-friendly stance from their sect than hardcore fundies.