Today's post is from an e-mail chain between my uncle and me.
If you're at all familiar with Shawn's World, you should know that I tend to separate people into one of three categories: 1. My favorite people on the planet; 2. My fellow airline passengers; 3. People upon whom I wish no ill will but would not mind if they left earth in a peaceful and dignified manner.
My uncle is definitely one of my favorite people on the planet.
I recently sent out one of my mass e-mails on the great Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean. He, a conservative Christian pastor in New England, asked, in a tounge in cheek sort way, whether I thought evolution would ever develop a creature which could eat all those plastics.
I could have laughed it off...but my brain doesn't work like that. Naturally, I overthought.
BTW, if you want a good, realistic look at the garbage patch problem, not a hyped up one, take a look at these guys, http://algalita.org/, who are doing some very good research.
Enjoy:
The photo could be staged. I suppose someone could have stuffed all that trash into a carcass. It's feasable that trash washed into the carcass after it decomposed. It's also possible that the bird ate a bunch of trash and died. I don't know.
The short answer to the evolution question is obviously no. Evolution, just like communism, started out as a really neat idea on paper. The ability to adapt to environmental changes is as obvious as the color of our skin. Communism souds reasonable because everyone is equal and entitled to same benefits. However, neither of them account for man's fallen nature. Once they got into the hands of humans they became destructive and nearly unstopable.
The long answer to the evolution question is also no. God has given every creature the ability, over generations, to adapt to its environment. A sparrow in Iraq isn't the same as a sparrow in Maine even though they're both still sparrows. A man from Africa isn't the same as a man from Alaska even though they're both still men. They've been exposed to different climates and diets and predators. All this took place over the last several thousand years since the flood. Both men and sparrows had generations to adapt as their climates got hotter or colder, or their food and water became more scarce or abundant.
Over the last hundred or so years, since the start of the industrial revolution, we've invented modern polution: milk bottles, diapers, cell phones, batteries and whatever else is in the average trash can which won't be decomposed by next summer. The Creator simply didn't design nature to adapt to that sort of thing in that sort of timeframe. Nor was nature ever intended to absorb the artificial leavings of modern man. No beetle will ever develop which will crave and collect candy wrappers. Only time, in some cases as much as a thousand years, will allow the earth to reabsorb all the plastics and artificial leavings of man.
A lot of conservatives and Christians out there seem to downplay the effect of man on the environment. Here's a quote from Jerry Falwell: "The Rev. Jerry Falwell...boast[ed] that not only did he drive a Suburban, but 'if I ever change, I might get a Hummer.'" (http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol6No1/What%20Would%20Jesus.htm) I think this pretty much sums up a lot of conservative views on the issue. It seems a lot of Christians view environmentalism as a form of modern paganism and don't want to be associated with it. In fact, judging by the Rev. Falwell's comment, I would guess a lot of Christian conservatives want to be completely opposed to environmental issues. However, in my experience, there are only a few extreme cases of environmental paganism. My guess is that the overwhelming majority of environmentalists aren't pagan but simply want to live on a clean planet. This really isn't any different than wanting to have a clean house. Cleaning my house doesn't mean I'm worshiping my house. But if I let it stay dirty, and keep making it dirtier, there are health risks involved for me and my children. So is it paganism or sensible to be environmentally savvy?
Genesis 2:15 (KJV) says, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." This was man's first job - to take care of the garden God had planted. Of course, Adam botched it pretty soon after and was booted out of the garden, but the task never went away. God didn't say, "OK, you messed up so now you're fired and I'll find someone else to take care of things." Instead, God simply made it harder for man to scrape a living from the earth. From this I think it's reasonable to surmise that taking care of the planet isn't a form of modern paganism but a true act of worship and obedience to the One who created it.
Personally, I think it's time for Christians to get out in front of environmental issues for three primary reasons. First is because of man's calling from the very start to take care of the planet. Second is because it's just a sensible thing to keep things clean to avoid making ourselves sick. Third, and far more important than the other two, is the opportunity to reach out to non-believers.
Rev. Falwell's comment disturbs me, not because he didn't care about belching toxic gasses into the air, but because of all the non-believers who said, "Aha, see! Christians don't care about the environment. And, by extension, don't care about us!"
This is exactly what the Apostle Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 8 where he talked about eating meat sacrificed to idols. To him it was only meat and he could eat it or not eat it because, since the idol is just a carved rock, the meat was just meat. But he also realized that not everyone saw it that way. He would rather starve to death than keep even one person from coming to Christ because they saw him eat meat which had been sacrificed to idols. But what is also in this passage is Paul's desire to have every believer grow to a point where they realize that meat is just meat whether sacrificed to idols or not. He wants them to see that none of these trivial things we worry about really matter. He wants believers to see that the only thing that really matters is Christ crucified, raised from the dead and ascended to Heaven.
And this is how modern Christians need to approach several modern issues, but the environment in this case. We need to be able walk this thin line of taking care of our planet, reaching out to non-believers, helping young believers grow, and teaching mature believers how to carry on. Can we do this by joining Green Peace or PETA? Probably not. But it wouldn't hurt us to be aware of what these people are fighting for and be sympathetic to it rather than critical. Or should we all become evolutionists and sacrifice our intilect? No. But it wouldn't hurt to see what some of these people are learning and be able to put our passions aside and discuss it inteligently from a creation point of view. Will recycling or planting a tree win anyone to Christ? Probably not by itself, but it's a great ministry tool. Remember, the farmer wasn't a particularly good seed spreader, he just let the seed fall and God took care of the rest. If someone sees a Christian on the forefront of environmental issues and asks why, it gives the believer a chance to share the purpose of man on this planet and to share our Savior's love with the lost.
Sorry to carry on so long but this is a subject that has pricked my heart. I also appologize if I seem disrespectful at all. I speak about putting passion aside but don't practice it well.
For our King.
Shawn.
The short answer to the evolution question is obviously no. Evolution, just like communism, started out as a really neat idea on paper. The ability to adapt to environmental changes is as obvious as the color of our skin. Communism souds reasonable because everyone is equal and entitled to same benefits. However, neither of them account for man's fallen nature. Once they got into the hands of humans they became destructive and nearly unstopable.
The long answer to the evolution question is also no. God has given every creature the ability, over generations, to adapt to its environment. A sparrow in Iraq isn't the same as a sparrow in Maine even though they're both still sparrows. A man from Africa isn't the same as a man from Alaska even though they're both still men. They've been exposed to different climates and diets and predators. All this took place over the last several thousand years since the flood. Both men and sparrows had generations to adapt as their climates got hotter or colder, or their food and water became more scarce or abundant.
Over the last hundred or so years, since the start of the industrial revolution, we've invented modern polution: milk bottles, diapers, cell phones, batteries and whatever else is in the average trash can which won't be decomposed by next summer. The Creator simply didn't design nature to adapt to that sort of thing in that sort of timeframe. Nor was nature ever intended to absorb the artificial leavings of modern man. No beetle will ever develop which will crave and collect candy wrappers. Only time, in some cases as much as a thousand years, will allow the earth to reabsorb all the plastics and artificial leavings of man.
A lot of conservatives and Christians out there seem to downplay the effect of man on the environment. Here's a quote from Jerry Falwell: "The Rev. Jerry Falwell...boast[ed] that not only did he drive a Suburban, but 'if I ever change, I might get a Hummer.'" (http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol6No1/What%20Would%20Jesus.htm) I think this pretty much sums up a lot of conservative views on the issue. It seems a lot of Christians view environmentalism as a form of modern paganism and don't want to be associated with it. In fact, judging by the Rev. Falwell's comment, I would guess a lot of Christian conservatives want to be completely opposed to environmental issues. However, in my experience, there are only a few extreme cases of environmental paganism. My guess is that the overwhelming majority of environmentalists aren't pagan but simply want to live on a clean planet. This really isn't any different than wanting to have a clean house. Cleaning my house doesn't mean I'm worshiping my house. But if I let it stay dirty, and keep making it dirtier, there are health risks involved for me and my children. So is it paganism or sensible to be environmentally savvy?
Genesis 2:15 (KJV) says, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." This was man's first job - to take care of the garden God had planted. Of course, Adam botched it pretty soon after and was booted out of the garden, but the task never went away. God didn't say, "OK, you messed up so now you're fired and I'll find someone else to take care of things." Instead, God simply made it harder for man to scrape a living from the earth. From this I think it's reasonable to surmise that taking care of the planet isn't a form of modern paganism but a true act of worship and obedience to the One who created it.
Personally, I think it's time for Christians to get out in front of environmental issues for three primary reasons. First is because of man's calling from the very start to take care of the planet. Second is because it's just a sensible thing to keep things clean to avoid making ourselves sick. Third, and far more important than the other two, is the opportunity to reach out to non-believers.
Rev. Falwell's comment disturbs me, not because he didn't care about belching toxic gasses into the air, but because of all the non-believers who said, "Aha, see! Christians don't care about the environment. And, by extension, don't care about us!"
This is exactly what the Apostle Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 8 where he talked about eating meat sacrificed to idols. To him it was only meat and he could eat it or not eat it because, since the idol is just a carved rock, the meat was just meat. But he also realized that not everyone saw it that way. He would rather starve to death than keep even one person from coming to Christ because they saw him eat meat which had been sacrificed to idols. But what is also in this passage is Paul's desire to have every believer grow to a point where they realize that meat is just meat whether sacrificed to idols or not. He wants them to see that none of these trivial things we worry about really matter. He wants believers to see that the only thing that really matters is Christ crucified, raised from the dead and ascended to Heaven.
And this is how modern Christians need to approach several modern issues, but the environment in this case. We need to be able walk this thin line of taking care of our planet, reaching out to non-believers, helping young believers grow, and teaching mature believers how to carry on. Can we do this by joining Green Peace or PETA? Probably not. But it wouldn't hurt us to be aware of what these people are fighting for and be sympathetic to it rather than critical. Or should we all become evolutionists and sacrifice our intilect? No. But it wouldn't hurt to see what some of these people are learning and be able to put our passions aside and discuss it inteligently from a creation point of view. Will recycling or planting a tree win anyone to Christ? Probably not by itself, but it's a great ministry tool. Remember, the farmer wasn't a particularly good seed spreader, he just let the seed fall and God took care of the rest. If someone sees a Christian on the forefront of environmental issues and asks why, it gives the believer a chance to share the purpose of man on this planet and to share our Savior's love with the lost.
Sorry to carry on so long but this is a subject that has pricked my heart. I also appologize if I seem disrespectful at all. I speak about putting passion aside but don't practice it well.
For our King.
Shawn.
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