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LINK Why Is It Difficult to Get Christians to Care About the Earth? | Sojourners

It's my opinion that m,any Christians want to see the world destroyed, because they think it will force god's hand to make Jesus return.

snytiger6 9 Apr 23
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11

They hold onto the belief that “god will provide” and refuse to deal with reality.

8

Hypothetically, it could be the side effect of neglecting this life in favor of the promised second one. How well are you gong to maintain your old car if you "know" you're getting a brand new fifty million dollar vehicle any day now?

Delusions.

7

I wish that was all it was, but I think it is much deeper than that. First the Bible is the ‘word of god.’ and so much of the Bible can even be interpreted in different ways. Anything outside scripture does not measure up...to what that Bible says! Then these religions people will fall back on, ‘if it is god’s will,’ to them god is in charge of everything! They don’t have to worry about anything...want matter anyway, since it is ‘god’s will!’ They even live their daily life like that... this is how I see them, and I am still in some of their families.

Also above the point was made that religious persons are often just concerned with the next world, and treat this world as if it doesn't matter. "What is a lifetime compared to an eternity?" Many construct their values and actions around that question.

@snytiger6 it just gets sadder, the deeper we go!

6

Many years ago I was bored in a laundramat and picked up a book by rush limbaugh. I was curious about what he said about this when I noticed a chapter written on this exact same topic. Basically he just said god made this planet and would protect it from people, so no worries. Personally, I think when people cling to death denying delusions, they devalue life in this world. After all, economist will tell you what makes something valuable is it rarity. If your life isn't rare (once you're in, you're in for good) then you will not value life in this world as much. I'm sure you've all heard xtians say things like "kill them all and let god sort them out." They just don't value life, their's or anyone elses. Other animals included.

Rush Limbaugh is an idiot.

@BufftonBeotch a big fat idiot. Oh yeah, and a pillbilly.

@Pariah Yeah I think the pills are why he needed the cochlear implant a few years back.

Rush Limbaugh is hardly an authority on religion or the views of what god, asuming he actually existed, would want. He is a serial adulterer, a drug addict, and he makes his money telling peopel what they want to hear. Which is basically, "You don't ever have to change your life. Everything wrggn in your life is caused by other people who want to change things, or who are changing things"

It's a well to peopel who are too lazy to think or make any effort to make their lives better. It is easier to blame others for their woes, than to take some personal responsibility for themselves.

6

The same reasons it's difficult to get them to care about anyone who isn't them.
They do not care. Period.

You got it.

There shoudl be a differentiation between the loud conservative Christians and the more humble liberal Christians who aren't so loud and vocal. I'd say a goo drule of thumb is the louder hey are the less they care about anyone other than themselves. There are those who loudly proclaim to be Chrstian, and then there are those who live a quiet Christian life I dont' believe either to be right, but I can at least have some respect for the more quiet group.

5

Good question. What happened to "we should be shepherds of nature. We should guide, protect, and nurture nature"?

5

I think liberal Christians are much more ecologically proactive than conservative Christians.

Unfortunately the liberal Christians ae not really all that vocal, as they take the idea of humility as a virtue. So, the conservative Christians, who are far from humble, are louder.

Mayor Pete will be a challenge to the conservatives because he is liberal and well spoken enough to disarm the loud arguments made against him. I like him, more because he will provide a great contrast between those those who claim Christianity and those who actually live it. However, I still dont' like him as a top pick, as of yet.

5

Some groups have taken on the role of trying to send a message that we are stewards of the earth and, as such have an obligation to protect it. I was once a member of such an organization called "Earth Ministry". [earthministry.org] Even though I no longer believed I did feel this group was doing some good. Besides there was a large group of Unitarians involved. However, my late partner felt uncomfortable with this and wanted nothing to do with any religious organization so I left. The philosopher, Ken Wilbur has stated that the religionists always have their heads turned skyward and whatever they do is for their eventual salvation. I agree. Protecting the environment will always be a program for them not a goal.

Religious liberals are usually good stewards of the earth. Religious conservatives are more concerned with the afterlife than beign stewards in this one.

5

It's not exclusive to Christians by any measure, though some genuinely do not care if it ends. Those are likely in the minority though.

I think we've collectively marketed the environmental crisis we face poorly. We keep talking about the Earth, and how we're damaging the planet and yadda yadda.

Except, we're not really. We're doing some things to the atmosphere that will affect the crust, and doing some additional things to parts of the crust. But ... we're not actually bothering our Mother all that much.

We might change the circumstances, but the planet will live regardless of any issues we contrive.

However, while the crisis isn't much bother to the mother, it will kill her offspring. Namely us. We're not killing the planet, we're slowly killing ourselves.

I agree but need to add we are changing the planet which will and is affecting a lot of other species. If there was a nuclear which brings on a nuclear winter many other species will go extinct. Yes, the planet will survive but it will take a long time to undo the damage we have caused.

5

If the purpose of your life is to be with jebus forever in paradise, then you might try do whatever it takes to make it happen.

4

That is really sad. In general about 25% of the people on this planet really care about Earth at some level. That just shows some christains are mentally ill.

i would question the use of "some" in this instance

4

At the end of the Romanesque Period in Europe, Christianity embarked on a new movement (800-1200 CE). This new movement ushered in the era of the large cathedrals (eg. Notre Dame and Chartres). It was a major paradigm shift. Open and airly architecture became the norm with the vaulted ceilings, great ornamentation with scupltures and stained glass.

No to the real point. With this shift came anorher paradigm shift. The church not only suddenly saw itself, and declared itself separate from nature and the beasts of the Earth. Where previously Christians had viewed themselves as a part of nature, now with this new vaulted perspective, they viewed themselves separate from Nature. Nature was below them as they were made in God's image afterall.

Christians declared that all of God's creatures and all his vegetal bounty was put there for his use. God put everything on Earth for mans exploitation. There was no need to conserve, no need to protect as God would forever protect his chosen species.

That is why Christians do not respect Nature, do not believe in husbanding Nature. The see it as inferior to humankind and therefore it is not a sin to exact the atrocities upon Nature that they do. This is the stated paradigm of most Evangelicals today. Pense has stated such on more than one occasion.

4

God gave humans dominion over the earth and animals. No where in the bible does it indicate mankind has the responsibility to care for and preserve the ecosystem.

4

Because cut stones in beautiful shapes and formations is more important.

There was a landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar just today.

50 are feared death.

4

Why do people trash hotel rooms?

Not all people.

Shitty people.

3

It is actually not difficult to get Christians to care about the environment -- or to not care. It just depends on what concepts from the Bible you cherry pick / emphasize.

Fundamentalists are generally Dominionists, and believe the earth is theirs to use as they please. They also believe in a fearful, vengeful, all-powerful deity who they say controls the environment in much the same way that their ancestors thought the deity responsible for weather events. As such, this all-powerful deity would never cede control of the environment to humans, and besides, humans are far too puny to change the weather (this is one of the ways they conflate climate and weather, but I digress).

So it is to them just an expression of godless hubris that wretched humans could "control" the "weather".

On the other hand, many, maybe even most, cultural Christians are taught that the environment and the earth and the animal kingdom are not a dominion for us to rule over, but a stewardship for us to be responsible for. This implies that we could fall down on the job and that we would fail the living things that depend on us not to fall down.

So in my town for example you have the Episcopalians and Unitarian-Universalists having all sorts of kum-by-yah moments about saving the environment, the latter even chaining themselves to the entrance gate of a local fracking facility in protest. While across town the conservative Baptists are as I describe above and the Presbyterians are somewhere in between, representing the clueless corporate types who are focused on making money, not on what the knock-on effects might be.

Or to put all the above another way: Christians are all over the place on the environment just like everyone else -- only for even more irrational reasons.

3

They believe in life after death, which is infinite and with lots of fun, so they think that this world is temporary and the real life is after death so that is why they do not care about earth and life.

NR92 Level 6 Apr 24, 2019
3

I think that is very much the case with those who strongly believe we are in the "End Times."

Use it up while you can.

3

I don’t believe there is a correlation

Remember that Doritos add campaign? Eat all you want. We'll just make more! My hardcore xtian nephew had the same attitude regarding natural resources. "He'll just make more!", he said, regarding god taking care of us and we not having to care about our consumption.

@Count_Viceroy I have actually heard a wing nut say that g-d would make more oil.

@BufftonBeotch
We need more dinosaurs

If you look at Christians overall there may not be a real correlation. However if you look at the more vocal and outspoken Christians (almost invariably the more conservative groups), then you find a huge correlation. Liberal Christians tend to be more quiet and humble.

As the saying goes "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", and to the loud (conservative) Christians are the ones paid attention to, and generally that groups is more concerned about the next world than keeping the current world a livable place.

3

It seems more likely that they call this place sinful and base, while their idealized world is perfect and there is a bottomless blue bubble-up. Sadly just maybe if they actually thought about it they could determine that 'god' worked on it for 4.8 billion years and as a bonus they can almost do what they want with it. Sadly they have taken it for granted like the rest of creation and have mucted it up. Time to step up and love the place maybe for the first time

Actually 6,000 years, so they say. But who's counting....

@twill That 6,000 years thing kills me.

@BufftonBeotch I wonder what that is based on

@twill Their made up begat list.

2

Yes!
The rapture is too carry them away to the promised heaven and land!

Like everyone else on the planet, they do not understand that no one gets out of here alive!

Exactly, why bother looking after earth as Jeebus is coming shortly to whisk all the faithful of to paradise., and of course it could be that they are a bunch of greedy self serving assholes.

2

when you put power in heaven instead of on the earth, you don't care too much about the earth..and the "heavenly" power then becomes the realm of the earthly powerful..

2

For too many, this life is insignificant.

2

Try this tack; My ex is Jewish and always kinda said "so what" when I brought up the extinction of so many species. Then she went to see the film "Noah". As we talked I asked "Well if god wanted to save all those animals whats changed now? I mean I don't remember him saying "That was so that millennia""
Now it does not matter if you believe the great flood crap or that if they just think its symbolical. What is important that their god put elephants on a boat to keep them on our planet and soon there won't be any because of us.

2

Probably small brains, or no brains.

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