For the beauty of the earth

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

Father unto Thee we raise

This our sacrifice of praise.

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale and tree and flower,

Sun and Moon and stars of light

Father unto Thee we raise

This our sacrifice of praise.

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child.

Friends on earth and friends above

For all gentle thoughts and mild

Father unto Thee we raise

This our sacrifice of praise.

For each perfect gift of Thine

To our race so freely given

Graces human and divine

Flowers of earth and buds of heaven

Father unto Thee we raise

This our sacrifice of praise.

By Fulliott Sandford Pierpoint (1835-1917)

There are those who think that the modern environmentalist has come to rescue us all from the evils of human civilization, and particularly from the evils of Christian civilization. It’s all the fault of us Christians that individuals, companies and nations have been enormously greedy, destructive and exploitive.  There are even those who think that it’s high time humans were dethroned as the ruling species on earth, and greatly diminished in number so that animals can rule “again”.

Wait a minute, don’t environmentalists believe we are animals too, like slugs or ducks or chimpanzees? Don’t they believe in natural selection, survival of the fittest and all that? Haven’t we proved to be the fittest? Isn’t there a little hypocrisy going on?

I remember that when I was age eleven my school was exposed to some over-population propaganda, which suggested that we would all be stepping on each other’s heads by the new millennium. When we hear environmentalists and politicians talk of overpopulation, as Mr. Hitler did and used it as part of his excuse to wipe out several million people like flies (see “Mein Kampf”), it’s interesting to get one or two things into perspective.

The Republic of Ireland, a very small nation, covers 32, 595 square miles.If you don’t know, it’s that little part of the above map that I’ve colored yellow. If you could persuade everyone on earth to be friendly enough (and if the Irish didn’t mind), every person on earth could fit into Ireland and have over 129.8 square feet of space each. If you’ve ever flown over a big country and looked out of the window, you’ve been hard pressed to see any signs of human habitation at all. Yes, some cities are overcrowded, and yes there is a  managable limit to the resources, but the world is a big place.

I’m inclined to agree with those conspiracy theorists who insist that governments increase their control over us and over our money by drawing our attention to a crisis – real, perceived or invented – exaggerating it to scare us with the help of the media which has a similar agenda to those in power, and with the help of those who stand to benefit financially from grants etc., and then offering or forcing the “solution”. The “facts” of  man-caused global warming and climate change have been questioned and denied by many scientists, but dissenters are ignored or silenced, and fear the loss of their positions.

I distinctly remember at the age of fourteen hearing and seeing news reports telling us that we were entering an ice-age.. Just in case you didn’t know, it hasn’t happened, yet.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for being responsible in the way we live, and the way we treat and use our environment and our planet. I’m very much in favor of leaving large parts of the earth in original, unspoiled condition (without stopping humans from enjoying it). I almost agree with Tolkein that the worst thing to happen to the world is the internal combustion engine.

However, long before we are all treading on each other’s heads, The Environmentalist is going to come and put all things right. Who on earth can I mean – some power mad, regulation-addicted control- freak government bureaucrat wanting to count the number of times you pass wind so that he can tax you for it or put you in prison: some self-righteous NGO zealot wishing to hand over three quarters of the earth to “other” animals?  Well actually no: The Environmentalist I’m speaking of is in heaven, and this is a  part of His plan for the future:

“The time has come…for destroying those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11: 18).

Wow! What a twist! God made the earth, it belongs to Him, and by golly, HE’S the one who’s going to straighten it up and give it a very serious spring clean! And according to that God of the Bible, it’s not just a nasty whiff in the air and a two degree fluctuation in the temperature that’s going to be His focus of attention!

Our culture and our society are as much our environment as is the ocean or the air, and these things concern God far more than whether some of the glaciers have melted or not.

These are the things that defile and destroy God’s creation:

Immorality and the perversion of human relationships instituted by God;

The sacrifice of millions of innocent, helpless little humans;

Greed and selfishness;

Violence and bloodshed;

Occultism and witchcraft (not the pointy hat variety);

Failing to treat the land with respect;

The worship of  nature and man – made gods instead of the Creator;

Sin in general, and

The rejection of His Son.

The Bible describes very graphically what The Environmentalist has planned for the earth:

“…the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 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).

Now that’s global warming!

But fear not, because those of us who have gone in repentance (actively turning from our sin) to the Son of God, for mercy and forgiveness, are going to live forever in the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21: 1).

This will be a perfect, pristine environment physically, aesthetically, morally and spiritually. However,

“…the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur…” (Revelation 21:8).

Here is one tune for the hymn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGI2mu_9EB8

• APOLOGETICS
• BIBLE PROPHECY