{"id":27295,"date":"2021-03-01T11:33:59","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T19:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=27295"},"modified":"2021-03-01T12:10:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T20:10:42","slug":"apocalypse-never-can-eco-theolgy-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/apocalypse-never-can-eco-theolgy-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Apocalypse Never: Can Eco-Theolgy Help?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the book Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, <\/em>the author Michael Shellenberger, a self-proclaimed environmental activist, tries to bring a voice of reason to an emotional explosive topic. His desire is to not only protect the environment but obtain what he states as \u201cuniversal prosperity for all people.\u201d He believes all scientists and activists have the central responsibility to accurately and honestly explain the environmental issues, even if it reduces public urgency.[1]<\/a> \u00a0His challenge is to separate fact from fiction, allowing the reader to decide where they stand. For me, the journey that led me to writing my master thesis on Eco-theology, started when I was young. The writings of Aldo Leopold, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson became familiar companions during my adolescent years. It was my love for the outdoors and my faith in God that led me to seek to understand how to better steward God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n

In 1966 Lynn White Jr. at the meeting of the American Association of the Advancement of Science stated, \u201cBy destroying pagan animism, Christianity made it possible to exploit nature in a mood indifference to feeling of natural objects.\u201d[2]<\/a> Prior to Christianity, many native cultures had superstitions that prohibited the exploitation of nature. The destruction of the belief that individual items in nature having living souls, opened doors for the exploitation of nature. According to White, Christianity is the \u201cmost anthropocentric religion\u201d in the world. White believed that the creation story was designed to serve humanity, claiming man was created in the image of God, not just part of nature, leading to an intentional exploitation of our natural resources.[3]<\/a> \u00a0White further believed that until there is a deliberate rejection of the Christian idea that nature\u2019s primary purpose is to serve mankind, there is no possible way to address the environmental issues of the day.[4]<\/a> Interestingly, White also admits \u201csince the roots of our trouble are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially religious.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Francis Shaeffer, in his book Pollution and the Death of Man,<\/em> seems to agree with White\u2019s assessment that Christianity has a world view that allows man to exploit and abuse nature for man\u2019s benefit. Shaeffer sees in the influence of Plato and his philosophy, that the material world is lower and of less value than the spiritual world, and has hindered us from seeing that God made creation correctly. The natural world, according to Shaeffer, has great value because God created it and saw that it was good. Since there will be a total redemption of both humanity and creation when Christ returns, Christians should steward nature as God intended.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Lynn White feels that the answer to the environmental crisis of America is to reject the Christian perspective of nature. In contrast, Shellenberger points out that when looking at the definitions of religion from William James and Paul Tillich, the religion of choice for environmentalists is nature.[7]<\/a> I am intrigued that this approach rejects the creator yet embraces his creation. \u201cEnvironmentalism today is the dominate secular religion of the educated, upper-middle-class elite in most developed and many developing nations. It provides a new story about our collective and individual purpose.\u201d[8]<\/a>\u00a0 Shellenberger points out that environmentalists reject the idea that humanity should have dominion over the earth. \u201cOne the other hand, Apocalyptic Environmentalism is a kind of new Judeo-Christian religion, one that has replaced God with nature.\u201d[9]<\/a> The author believes that Apocalyptic Environmentalism provides the same sense of purpose that Christianity does. Religions have provided people with meaning and purpose and can guide us to ethical behavior. The author refers to Jonathan Haidt\u2019s (a professing atheist) comments on the fact that religious believers in the United States seem to be happier and more generous than secular people. The problem Shellenberger points out is that Apocalyptic Environmentalism is often destructive and is weakened by the extreme actions of its members.<\/p>\n

Though Shellenberger is not without his critics, his belief in a well-ordered realistic approach is well appreciated. Answers to the environmental issues and mindsets that affect us on a daily basis will not be simply reached. Are we willing to take the issues we face seriously enough to seek a mutual solution that best resembles a form of stewardship that God may have intended? Are we willing to create a place for all views and concerns to be discussed with the same level of respect and concern? Can a solid eco-theology help us maneuver the many opinions?<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Michael Shellenberger, Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All<\/em>, (New York: Harper Collins, 2020), xii-xiii.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Lynn White Jr., \u201cThe Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis,\u201d in The Care of Creation: Focusing Concern and Action, <\/em>ed. R. J Berry, (Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 2000), 38<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Lynn White Jr., \u201cHistorical,\u201d 37<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Lynn White Jr., \u201cHistorical,\u201d 40-41<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Lynn White Jr., \u201cHistorical,\u201d 42<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Francis Schaeffer, Pollution and the Death of Man: The Christian View of Ecology<\/em>, (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1992, 12<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Michael Shellenberger, Apocalypse Never<\/em>, 261<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Michael Shellenberger, Apocalypse Never, <\/em>263<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Michael Shellenberger, Apocalypse Never<\/em>, 263<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the book Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, the author Michael Shellenberger, a self-proclaimed environmental activist, tries to bring a voice of reason to an emotional explosive topic. His desire is to not only protect the environment but obtain what he states as \u201cuniversal prosperity for all people.\u201d He believes all scientists […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1963,1883,1962],"class_list":["post-27295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-apocalypse-never","tag-dmin-lgp10","tag-shellenberger","cohort-lgp10"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27295"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27297,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27295\/revisions\/27297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}