Ecology vs. Religion: Why Traditional Christians and Eco-Activists Have Polar Opposite Views on the Nature of Man by Tim Kirby for Strategic-Culture
Public speaking at major forums and conventions is very good for one’s career in analysis (as is writing for the Strategic Culture Foundation) although often these events can be time consuming for little or no payment. But, when I was presented the chance to be part of a panel on the bizarre topic of “Religion and Ecology” at the 5th International Christian Forum in Moscow I simply could not resist. Everyone talks about the dynamics between the US vs. Russia, Trump vs. the Deep State, and the SJWs vs. Reason, but what is the dynamic between Religion (especially Christianity) and Ecology?
After a few nights of ponder and research, I put together my speech, the core argument of which is that traditional Christians and Eco-activists have polar opposite views on the nature of man, thus there will always be a massive unfillable gorge lying between Orthodoxy and today’s Green movements.
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We love helping others and believe that’s one of the reasons we are chosen as Ambassadors of the Kingdom, to serve God’s children. We look to the Greatest Commandment as our Powering force.
Christianity says that God is good, absolutely pure righteous good, and that we are made “in His image” and that we are “His children”, however, we are also heavily flawed and damned by Original Sin. Despite having the potential to be good and holy origins we will all commit sinful acts but by following the teaching of Christ/The Church we can rise towards a state of piety becoming at least less sinful than we were. From the Christian perspective humanity despite some brutal moments in history is NOT inherently evil, just inherently sinful, which can be atoned for or forgiven, or minimized through the grace of God and a lot of hard work by the individual Christian in question.
Environmentalism teaches us the opposite and paints a very different picture of the nature of man. The Green/Vegan/Eco crowd see humans as an all-consuming pestilence on the planet. Each one of us through our modern life style consumes and thus destroys the planet that they claim to love. From an Eco worldview every human is a detriment to nature and there is really no repentance for this status. We consume, consumption is harmful to nature, thus we are all evil.
The great dreams of our ancestors: quick transport, light at night (besides candles), automatic heating/cooling and maybe most of all abundant food are nightmares to those Ecologically minded. All of the triumphs of man, that would make our lives look kingly to a Medieval peasant are “bad for the environment”, as their infrastructure is space and resource consuming and is bad for animals/animal habitats. The more we customize the world to suit us, the worse it gets for plants and animals which do not fit the human habitat mold.
This view of things is the reason why you will never meet a hardcore Green that isn’t absolutely convinced that the world is “over populated” even if he is from a small European country with a declining population. This desire to “cull the herd” is a deep inalienable component of the Eco mindset. They need humanity to dwindle down to save the planet and so this type of worldview is hardcore pro-abortion. Feminism has more-or-less destroyed the family which makes it a key component of Green movements all over the planet – no traditional family = no more children. The whole LGBT thing also works out for Ecology as sex that does not lead to procreation for them is the only good kind.
Christianity on the other hand needs a stable flow of new Christians being born and sees children as a blessing so it is strongly anti-abortion and always pushes some kind of pro-family agenda, as a good family is the factory that produces children. Traditional religions gain the most new members through birth + indoctrination, thus any religion which rejects this position is doomed to extinction.
The Christian doctrine preaches that man is NOT an animal and is the superior form of life on Earth. God made man in His own image, not cows or dogs. Additionally, God gave us domain over the planet and it is up to us to maintain this prime piece of real estate, but ultimately “it’s a man’s world” and we will determine how it shall be damned by the opinion and feelings of other inferior forms of life.
Environmentalists believe that man IS an animal and that we are no different and no better than say dairy cows, endangered parrots or house pets. In fact since humans are the only beings capable of polluting and destroying the Environment we are actually WORSE than animals to Green thinking individuals. The concept of “Animal Rights” could have never come from traditional Christianity as putting man and rat as equals under God is blasphemous Satanic nonsense, but since rats are incapable of destroying the planet from cattle farming and using too many fossil fuels they are at least our equal (if not superior) in the dogma of the church of Environmentalism.
What I have written above may sound shocking or conspiratorial, so it is my duty to provide some examples of how Environmentalists see man as evil to support my claim. If you take 15 minutes of your time you can find many more articles that support the views presented in this short list.
- Should We Make Mars More Like Earth?
A group of adult men with degrees seriously discuss if humans will ruin the “environment” of extraterrestrial planets from their colonization/terraforming. The question “will humans ruin Mars?” is actually a fairly popular topic and shows how those concerned with preserving nature see contact with mankind as a disaster. - Empty half the Earth of its humans. It’s the only way to save the planet
This piece argues that we not only need to reduce the population but shove everyone into cities Judge Dredd style in order to lessen our impact on the Environment. Essentially man in a concentration camp has far less impact on the Earth so in you go! Your desires and will mean nothing. - Environmental groups that support abortion
Many Greens support abortion for the reasons I stated above and no one hides this fact. If you see humans as harmful then abortion is a form of global help. - The LGB community is working hard to save the world: New research finds that gay men and lesbian women are disproportionately represented in the anti-war and environmental movements.
Again, non-procreation oriented sex is preferred when one is committed to reducing human population and there are many links between environmentalism and LGBT. This is NOT a conspiracy but a natural ideological overlap.
In closing, I would like to transform this piece from an interesting intellectual exercise of comparing two ideologies that I have never seen compared before into something of value. The main thing we should take away from this is that we need a pro-Human environmentalism, that tells us that we humans are an amazing rarity that may be truly unique in the universe and that we need to maintain our planet, colonize and maintain others so that the glory of our flame will never be snuffed out. Man is good, he is just a bit irresponsible and at times sinful.
