Biblically speaking, he was more focused on humans than anything else.
He created it. Then He was willing to do things to it just to make a point. So probably not. When you make something, I suppose you are entitled to use it as you intended.
God?
He gave humans the control and dominion of the earth…told us to take care of it. Not treat it as a shrine, just take care of it.
He is the ulitmate enviromentalist, as he created it all!
If the guy’s such an environmentalist, why’d he come up with electrosmog and green house gases? And what about the polar bears? Would god really destroy the polar bears’ natural habitat?
God hates us.
hmm what justbygrace said
heh, if he existed, he would be, i’m sure.
If God wanted anything, it would be. God must not like the environment, ’cause it’s going DOWN.
Ha. No. Every church I’ve been in has few windows, and most are painted so that no light gets in, so they have about ten lights on for the two hour service. And it’s 10 am. If they let more of God’s light in, they wouldn’t need the electric lights, and they could help the environment.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
ha i never thought about it.
maybe?
Yes.
I’m confused, masarhi. It wouldn’t be God’s fault that the windows in your church don’t let light in, so why blame him?
YES. =]
well he created everthing….so yeah
Why must you make us think when the weekend is so near?
And no, He could always just make another one…
Global warming is the interlude to Jesus’s second coming.
Yes.
Considering he created the environment, I’d say he probably is!
yes..
I think that if he existed, he would be. Why not care about something you created? Especially something that can be as beautiful as the Earth.
It is his place so yes, but would he be what a modern environmentalist, would call an environmentalist?
No.
Reason: the Ice Ages.
God is effffing awesome omg omg lyke christ powR 4 lyf
No, God is not an environmentalist.
God doesn’t really care what we do with the environment. We can trash it, or take care of it. People don’t really believe that like most of the species on the planet, someday the human race will be extinct too.
That is the way the system works. The system God made.
Impermanence. Nothing is forever. Spin spin spin away…
why god? why not us?
this
does
not
compute
Of course he is! why wouldn’t he care about his own creation
sure. does it matter? humans are going to keep screwing up the environment either way.
Think of it this way.. suppose there is a God. Earth is kinda like God’s other house.. a summer home..
I don’t know about you, but if I had a summer home, I wouldn’t want people wrecking it.
He clothes the fields with the beauty of lilies and knows when a sparrow drops to the ground. The only reason the environment is screwed up, is because He entrusted its care into the hands of man, and well, the rest obviously goes without saying as 98% of us are morons.
He told us we were to be the stewards of this earth. Hummm, guess He does care.
If He builds it, they will come . . .
haha of course!
I must say, this is one of the oddest questions ever.
But I would have to say yes.
Trying to put God in a box? ;P
Uhm, that depends on your defenition of “environmentalist”
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<TD vAlign=top>an expert on environmental problems.
<TABLE class=luna-Ent>
<TBODY>
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<TD class=dn vAlign=top>2.
<TD vAlign=top>any person who advocates or works to protect the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.
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<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD class=dn vAlign=top>3.
<TD vAlign=top>a person who believes that differences between individuals or groups, esp. in moral and intellectual attributes, are predominantly determined by environmental factors, as surroundings, upbringing, or experience
If asserting the idea that any god is an environmentalist means more religious people are going to make an effort to keep the earth from going to shit: yes.
awww man.. I messed that comment up. Sorry.
I don’t like when people say “God said…” and don’t provide a resource from which such an account is derived.
How’s about this: Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” 10 He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
God [Jesus] created the earth which will perish; it will wear out like an article of clothing. No matter what happens to the Earth, though, God will remain the same. His teachings won’t change, contrary to what the Catholics would have you think. God isn’t so much concerned with the environment as much as keeping people ou of hell. Do you know where you’re going to go when you die?
I was wondering why I couldn’t see the “t” on my “out”. It wasn’t there!
I think he wants us to care for what he created.
His teachings won’t change, contrary to what the Catholics would have you think. Posted 4/27/2007 5:01 PM by This_Is_Important
Hmmm, I always thought it was the protestants that changed the teachings…
His teachings won’t change, contrary to what the Catholics would have you think. Posted 4/27/2007 5:01 PM by This_Is_Important
Hmmm, I always thought it was the protestants that changed the teachings…
Read the article.
The original.
Read the article. Posted 4/27/2007 5:07 PM by This_Is_Important
I did. That’s not a teaching.
Depends by what you mean by “environmentalist.”
If you mean God wants us to be responsible and take good care of His creation, of course.
If you mean that God values the cleanliness of this planet above all else, probably not.
and some people are just ignorant >.<
“cleanliness is next to Godliness.” of course.
We need to remember that Creation is God’s artwork. Sure, He cares about it, maybe like Eiffel cared about his Tower or Michaelangelo cared about sculptures.
In one sense, God is an environmentalist. After all, He did give us orders to tend His garden for Him. And He expects us to do just that. When we devastate the earth, in a sort of indirect way we are actually expressing our rebellion against God. That has to be contrary to His will. I would even go so far as to say that failing to take care of the earth is a sin.
However, let’s be careful to not go overboard. Some of the more radical pro-environment groups border on actually worshipping the earth. Let’s make sure we keep our priorities right.
Although Creation (in secular terms, the environment) is incredible, human beings are even more so. Humanity was created “in God’s image”, something that can’t be said of nature or animals or even angels. When we devastate another person, that’s even worse than devastating the earth.
No.
probably, since He created it. but He uses it to make a point, and gave us dominion over (and stewardship of) it.
He probably just shakes his head and rubs his temple when ever we talk about whether he is or is not a beleiver in one of our ideas.
But yeah, he would probably support green energy 100%.
Hey, you fine people who are turning this into a who changed christianity more contest, think on this. The religion was changed as soon as the leader of the movement was no longer jesus.
So stick the the ? Dan asked.
I guess not. This is probably under the “If God hates gay people, why did he create them?” questions.
Also, Free Will’s not going to cut it
God made it, and said it was good, so I’d assume so.
What kind of question is that? haha
If a mother, or well, an average mother, would look after her child closely. Then, by the laws of nature and common sense, God is an environmentalist.
Well considering he MADE the environment one would think so.
it’s in His Nature (pun intended)
No….because there is no such thing as “God”
Silly question.
He gave us instructions to care for His creation. Not to treat it like a shrine, but to care for it.
“On the Seventh day, He hugged a tree”.
Titus 1:7 describes what kind of character a steward should have. (Psalm 24:1) “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it…” He loves what He has created.
God is Creator. He has a much huger perspective than we could ever imagine.
Hi Dan,
Never really thought about it….but yes…I bet he is.
Candy
I love how the last few posts have turned into a Protestant / Catholic issue, even though none of the posts have anything to do with that.
Silly Christians (and by “Christians” I mean both Protestants and Catholics). You’re arguing over theology and doctrine. You’ve become so divided, and you don’t even realize how ridiculous you look to non-Christians. For a non-Christian to see a Protestant bashing a Catholic (as they usually do…I don’t see many Catholics bashing Protestants), it just weakens the entire argument that other Christians put forth that Christianity is the true religion.
{ This coming from an atheist missionary kid who was raised in a Catholic country [the Philippines] and whose theologian father got a PhD in patristics. }
This_Is_Important, since you are so intent on anti-Catholic attacks, perhaps you should think to the very Bibles that you probably own. Without Catholic monks who labouriously copied down those texts, you probably wouldn’t even own a copy of the Bible.
I can’t stand it when people bash Catholics. It pisses me off. And I’m not even Catholic.
Titus 1:7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
This passage is referring to elders and deacons and the criteria they must meet in order to qualify for appointment.
This_Is_Important, since you are so intent on anti-Catholic attacks, perhaps you should think to the very Bibles that you probably own. Without Catholic monks who labouriously copied down those texts, you probably wouldn’t even own a copy of the Bible.
I can’t stand it when people bash Catholics. It pisses me off. And I’m not even Catholic. Posted 4/27/2007 8:07 PM by bittersunday
You should probably use your naturally appointed energies to further your species, since [if there's no god] that’s the only reason we’re here. There’s no sense being angry about something that you have no part in, nor does it benefit you either way. I’m thankful that I have a bible that I can read everyday, don’t get me wrong on that, I just don’t like how the Catholic leader in that article is saying “This will energize everyone..” No, dude, the word of the LORD will energize everyone.
1 Samuel 2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 112:1 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.
Psalm 119:16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
I would go on but I think this kinda gets the point across. The Earth is great, it’s beautiful. I think the Discovery channel had a thing on all the beautiful things in the world, and that’s fantastic. I enjoy looking at pictures of cool stuff in space. But that’s not the thing that we as Christians should be focusing our energy toward; God would be better served if we are reaching out to the lost, helping the widows and orphans, and building one another up in the word.
BitterSunday could not be righter. Y’all are looking ridiculous, and need to knock it off.
*ahem* Right. Environmentalism, anyone?
“You should probably use your naturally appointed energies to further your species, since [if there's no god] that’s the only reason we’re here. There’s no sense being angry about something that you have no part in, nor does it benefit you either way. I’m thankful that I have a bible that I can read everyday, don’t get me wrong on that, I just don’t like how the Catholic leader in that article is saying “This will energize everyone..” No, dude, the word of the LORD will energize everyone.”
Yeah. That’s ONE Catholic. Not ALL Catholics. If you disagreed with the one leader, fine. Whatevz. But to turn that personal disagreement with one leader into a Catholic-bashing session is laughable.
And I’m not really that angry. I just like to debate and to point out ridiculous statements when I read them. TheosCafe is perfect for this.
And by the by…cleverly disguising an attack on my personal beliefs certainly isn’t earning you any brownie points for your religion either.
“God would be better served if we are reaching out to the lost”
…And so you prove that by bashing the beliefs of all atheists and Catholics within two comments? Nice one! /sarcasm
“On the Seventh day, He hugged a tree”. Posted 4/27/2007 6:55 PM by AristotleForDummies
On the 8th day, you fell into a pool of mud.
“Y’all are looking ridiculous, and need to knock it off.”
Srsly guys, quit it. Put some more energy into what you say you care about in your last comment, This_Is_Important, and stop attacking those who are on your same side.
…And so you prove that by bashing the beliefs of all atheists and Catholics within two comments? Nice one! /sarcasm Posted 4/27/2007 8:22 PM by bittersunday
It’s not like you’re perfect, though. But yeah, I’d rather not have an argument on here.
I don’t like commenting here anymore, too many opinions that I don’t care about. Sorry, Dan.
This_Is_Important, while you make a case for the priorities for Christians (and for God), you seem to be operating on the presupposition that we have a finite number of causes we can participate in. Or that God can participate in.
I believe that God cares about widows and orphans and reaching the lost and building up his people. I also believe that God cares about the way we treat the planet we have been entrusted with–cares about sparrows and wildernesses and the depths of the sea. I don’t think these are mutually exclusive.
Not to mention that how we treat the planet will affect our widows and orphans and whatnot… Tell me the cause of Christ is not served when Christians work to stop industrial runoff being dumped into the rivers that supply the poor of Third World nations with drinking water?
I don’t like commenting here anymore, too many opinions that I don’t care about. Posted 4/27/2007 8:24 PM by Tallon5
^Sadly, that’s the case with most of the posters here. They don’t care about the opinions of the other people commenting. Maybe that’s why we spend so much time talking toward each other and so little time in real intelligent conversation and debate.
Id be mad if i made an ant-bed and they killed themselves and my ant-bed!! lol, it sounds funny but sometimes i think about it like that. I woudl also think my aunts were stupid and i would feel sorry for them…. ha ha
Daniel (doubledb)
Tallon5, when on earth did I make the claim that I was perfect? I don’t even understand your logic on this one.
Tallon5, when on earth did I make the claim that I was perfect? I don’t even understand your logic on this one. Posted 4/27/2007 8:59 PM by bittersunday
You didn’t. Never mind, that’s not what I was trying to say.
well lets see…he made it…if he didnt intend for anything to be changed then yea he’s an environmentalist…but if he knows everything “omnipotent” then woulldn’t that mean he knew that we would have all these problems and he’s going sumwhere with all of this? Or maybe he’s testing us..to see if we’ll try to keep the environment safe…idk…too many “what ifs”…
Uh, He created the world and I think He wants to see us take proper care of that creation.
Yes
Yeah.
I actually hold nature so high that I think God is nature or is associated with in a large way. I can’t really personify God. It just doesn’t seem right.
Yeah. That’s ONE Catholic. Not ALL Catholics. If you disagreed with the one leader, fine. Whatevz. But to turn that personal disagreement with one leader into a Catholic-bashing session is laughable.
And I’m not really that angry. I just like to debate and to point out ridiculous statements when I read them. TheosCafe is perfect for this.
And by the by…cleverly disguising an attack on my personal beliefs certainly isn’t earning you any brownie points for your religion either. Posted 4/27/2007 8:21 PM by bittersunday
I never said I only disagreed with that one guy. I happen to think the Catholic religion is leading a lot of people straight to hell and I can elaborate on that if you’d like me to. And where did “Catholic-bashing session” ever come into the scope of this reality? I said one comment about how Catholics like to change doctrine [and for an example: catholic church leaders trying to permit homosexuality in the church] and all of a sudden this is a “Catholic-bashing session”. I tend to overanalyze things sometimes, but I hope that I don’t go that far.
As far as attacking your personal beliefs I figured turnabout was fair play. My bad.
Here’s how I misread your anger:
I can’t stand it when people bash Catholics. It pisses me off.
I think people are environmentalists.
Of course. He created it, and intended for us to maintain it, right?
I don’t believe in God, but that seems to make sense.
“If God wanted anything, it would be. God must not like the environment, ’cause it’s going DOWN.”
It seems like if anything is going “down” it will be us. Nature will kill us off long before we can destroy it, if we don’t make some serious changes.
And if there is a god, he must be pretty annoyed at us for carelessly polluting the planet, and being so ignorant and in denial about it.
I think if god existed then hes an asshole. what kind of person..or being says you can only go to heaven if you worship him? No matter how good a person you are you can only go to heaven if you spend your life worshiping this mythical creature.
For God, humans > environment.
He mandated for them to subdue it. I think he expects a responsible dominion over it, but that doesn’t mean he’s a tree-hugging greeny. And he sees through junk science. Sin has done more against the environment than anything, and it’s a bigger problem than pollution.
If I believed in god, I would imagine as being almost Hugh Hefner-esque, but instead of playmates, he has angels (The angels do not serve for the same purposes as the playmates, obviously.) He would have the dark den kind of room where he listened to the people’s prayers and mourned with us or laughed with us. And in getting to the topic of this post, he’d totally be an environmentalist.
You know really, since he was here first, so they say, then that makes Hugh Hefner to be god-esque.
But of course, I don’t believe in god, so I can’t say I care.
I never said I only disagreed with that one guy. I happen to think the Catholic religion is leading a lot of people straight to hell and I can elaborate on that if you’d like me to. And where did “Catholic-bashing session” ever come into the scope of this reality? I said one comment about how Catholics like to change doctrine [and for an example: catholic church leaders trying to permit homosexuality in the church] and all of a sudden this is a “Catholic-bashing session”. I tend to overanalyze things sometimes, but I hope that I don’t go that far.
As far as attacking your personal beliefs I figured turnabout was fair play. My bad.
Posted 4/27/2007 11:52 PM by This_Is_Important
Ah, the nitpickiness of Christianity. Lovely.
“I happen to think the Catholic religion is leading a lot of people straight to hell.” I think you’ll be surprised at the kind of people will be in your Christian Heaven, and the people who won’t. Good thing it is up to your god who decides this, and not you. I thought you only had to claim faith in Christ to get into Heaven (which is what most of my Catholic friends believe, and some of my Protestant friends don’t)? Or maybe my years of studying the Bible is all for naught.
Forgive me for assuming that your various attacks on Catholics over the course of the last few posts have been “Catholic-bashing”. I just calls em likes I sees em.
My point is not to argue Catholic vs. Protestant dogma. That is my father’s area of expertise and I do not know nearly as much about theology as I should. My point was to help. Christians get really pissed when people don’t take their religion seriously…but honestly how can you when you keep arguing amongst yourselves all the damn time?
Even as an atheist, most of my friends are Christian, and it makes me mad when other people make their religion look bad by being ridiculous, nitpicky, and attacking people who disagree with them.
You’re not earning any brownie points or any interest for your religion, This_Is_Important. You claim to want to lead people to Christ, as previous comments of yours would suggest–yet I see none of that in the meat of your comments on this site.
But what do I know, eh? I’m just a stupid, immoral atheist who needs to keep breeding in order to further my species.
I agree with B_Marclar and justbygrace.
He’s not an environmentalist because He gave the earth to us, to do with it what we will. An environmentalist would not have handed that task over to someone else.
BTW, I think God cares about the environment.
“I thought you only had to claim faith in Christ to get into Heaven” Unfortunately, you thought wrong. You have to follow Christ to get into heaven, not just claim to. And that implies a lot.
He made it. He should be damn worried about it. And if he’s not? Eh, okay, that’s lame.
Yes, but not to an extreme degree. I think he wanted us to cultivate the land and make homes to protect ourselves, but I don’t think he intended all the oil spills and junk like that.
“I thought you only had to claim faith in Christ to get into Heaven” Unfortunately, you thought wrong. You have to follow Christ to get into heaven, not just claim to. And that implies a lot.
Posted 4/28/2007 2:02 PM by CormackMcKinney
Jeeze. Symantics and choice of words aside, that is what I was implying. Assumptions get people nowhere.
god created lots of things and i am sure he wants to protect all of them but it’s up to us, not him, to do it.
What’s wrong with worshiping the earth? If I were to worship anything, it’d be the earth. It’s given me everything I have.
Sorta. He says to take care of the Earth and to fill it with people, BUT your goal in your life shoudn’t be taking care of it. Your goal in life should be winning souls to Christ and do everything in the Glory of God. But you should take care of the Earth.
Yes, I would hope.
um, environment means what’s around us. if your god created everything then it would follow that s/he is the ultimate environmentalist. doh.
I would think God loves the envronment. Think about a project you created for school or work – you’re proud of it and love people to see your work. God is probably the same way about nature. However, terming Him an “environmentalist” sortof implies that he puts natrue about all else; which I’m not so sure He does. Who knows!?!?
From Webster:
Environmentalist: “One concerned about environmental quality especially of the human environment with respect to the control of pollution.”
God wants us to be stewards of His world and respect the environment, so within that definition, yes. But a lot of environmentalists go WAY overboard.
being an atheist, i’d have to say yes, but only in a hypothetical sense.
Comments (112)
well He’d be a bit of jerk if He wasn’t.
yes. but not in a crazy way.
I agree with tupology.
he created the enviroment :]
he created the garden of eden didnt he?
Biblically speaking, he was more focused on humans than anything else.
He created it. Then He was willing to do things to it just to make a point. So probably not. When you make something, I suppose you are entitled to use it as you intended.
God?
He gave humans the control and dominion of the earth…told us to take care of it. Not treat it as a shrine, just take care of it.
He is the ulitmate enviromentalist, as he created it all!
If the guy’s such an environmentalist, why’d he come up with electrosmog and green house gases? And what about the polar bears? Would god really destroy the polar bears’ natural habitat?
God hates us.
hmm what justbygrace said
heh, if he existed, he would be, i’m sure.
If God wanted anything, it would be. God must not like the environment, ’cause it’s going DOWN.
Ha. No.
Every church I’ve been in has few windows, and most are painted so that no light gets in, so they have about ten lights on for the two hour service. And it’s 10 am. If they let more of God’s light in, they wouldn’t need the electric lights, and they could help the environment.
Isaiah 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
Amos 3:6
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
ha i never thought about it.
maybe?
Yes.
I’m confused, masarhi. It wouldn’t be God’s fault that the windows in your church don’t let light in, so why blame him?
YES. =]
well he created everthing….so yeah
Why must you make us think when the weekend is so near?
And no, He could always just make another one…
Global warming is the interlude to Jesus’s second coming.
Yes.
Considering he created the environment, I’d say he probably is!
yes..
I think that if he existed, he would be. Why not care about something you created? Especially something that can be as beautiful as the Earth.
It is his place so yes, but would he be what a modern environmentalist, would call an environmentalist?
No.
Reason: the Ice Ages.
God is effffing awesome omg omg lyke christ powR 4 lyf
No, God is not an environmentalist.
God doesn’t really care what we do with the environment. We can trash it, or take care of it. People don’t really believe that like most of the species on the planet, someday the human race will be extinct too.
That is the way the system works. The system God made.
Impermanence. Nothing is forever. Spin spin spin away…
why god? why not us?
this
does
not
compute
Of course he is! why wouldn’t he care about his own creation
sure. does it matter? humans are going to keep screwing up the environment either way.
Think of it this way.. suppose there is a God. Earth is kinda like God’s other house.. a summer home..
I don’t know about you, but if I had a summer home, I wouldn’t want people wrecking it.
He clothes the fields with the beauty of lilies and knows when a sparrow drops to the ground. The only reason the environment is screwed up, is because He entrusted its care into the hands of man, and well, the rest obviously goes without saying as 98% of us are morons.
He told us we were to be the stewards of this earth. Hummm, guess He does care.
If He builds it, they will come . . .
haha of course!
I must say, this is one of the oddest questions ever.
But I would have to say yes.
Trying to put God in a box? ;P
Uhm, that depends on your defenition of “environmentalist”
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<TD vAlign=top>an expert on environmental problems.
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<TD class=dn vAlign=top>2.
<TD vAlign=top>any person who advocates or works to protect the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.
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<TD vAlign=top>a person who believes that differences between individuals or groups, esp. in moral and intellectual attributes, are predominantly determined by environmental factors, as surroundings, upbringing, or experience
(Description found from http://www.dictionary.com)
If asserting the idea that any god is an environmentalist means more religious people are going to make an effort to keep the earth from going to shit: yes.
awww man.. I messed that comment up. Sorry.
I don’t like when people say “God said…” and don’t provide a resource from which such an account is derived.
How’s about this: Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” 10 He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
God [Jesus] created the earth which will perish; it will wear out like an article of clothing. No matter what happens to the Earth, though, God will remain the same. His teachings won’t change, contrary to what the Catholics would have you think. God isn’t so much concerned with the environment as much as keeping people ou of hell. Do you know where you’re going to go when you die?
I was wondering why I couldn’t see the “t” on my “out”. It wasn’t there!
I think he wants us to care for what he created.
His teachings won’t change, contrary to what the Catholics would have you think.
Posted 4/27/2007 5:01 PM by This_Is_Important
Hmmm, I always thought it was the protestants that changed the teachings…
His teachings won’t change, contrary to what the Catholics would have you think.
Posted 4/27/2007 5:01 PM by This_Is_Important
Hmmm, I always thought it was the protestants that changed the teachings…
Read the article.
The original.
Read the article.
Posted 4/27/2007 5:07 PM by This_Is_Important
I did. That’s not a teaching.
Depends by what you mean by “environmentalist.”
If you mean God wants us to be responsible and take good care of His creation, of course.
If you mean that God values the cleanliness of this planet above all else, probably not.
and some people are just ignorant >.<
“cleanliness is next to Godliness.” of course.
We need to remember that Creation is God’s artwork. Sure, He cares about it, maybe like Eiffel cared about his Tower or Michaelangelo cared about sculptures.
In one sense, God is an environmentalist. After all, He did give us orders to tend His garden for Him. And He expects us to do just that. When we devastate the earth, in a sort of indirect way we are actually expressing our rebellion against God. That has to be contrary to His will. I would even go so far as to say that failing to take care of the earth is a sin.
However, let’s be careful to not go overboard. Some of the more radical pro-environment groups border on actually worshipping the earth. Let’s make sure we keep our priorities right.
Although Creation (in secular terms, the environment) is incredible, human beings are even more so. Humanity was created “in God’s image”, something that can’t be said of nature or animals or even angels. When we devastate another person, that’s even worse than devastating the earth.
No.
probably, since He created it. but He uses it to make a point, and gave us dominion over (and stewardship of) it.
He probably just shakes his head and rubs his temple when ever we talk about whether he is or is not a beleiver in one of our ideas.
But yeah, he would probably support green energy 100%.
Hey, you fine people who are turning this into a who changed christianity more contest, think on this. The religion was changed as soon as the leader of the movement was no longer jesus.
So stick the the ? Dan asked.
I guess not. This is probably under the “If God hates gay people, why did he create them?” questions.
Also, Free Will’s not going to cut it
God made it, and said it was good, so I’d assume so.
What kind of question is that? haha
If a mother, or well, an average mother, would look after her child closely. Then, by the laws of nature and common sense, God is an environmentalist.
Well considering he MADE the environment one would think so.
it’s in His Nature (pun intended)
No….because there is no such thing as “God”
Silly question.
He gave us instructions to care for His creation. Not to treat it like a shrine, but to care for it.
“On the Seventh day, He hugged a tree”.
Titus 1:7 describes what kind of character a steward should have. (Psalm 24:1) “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it…” He loves what He has created.
This is an excellent article on the topic: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1180
God is the Creator.
God is Creator. He has a much huger perspective than we could ever imagine.
Hi Dan,
Never really thought about it….but yes…I bet he is.
Candy
I love how the last few posts have turned into a Protestant / Catholic issue, even though none of the posts have anything to do with that.
Silly Christians (and by “Christians” I mean both Protestants and Catholics). You’re arguing over theology and doctrine. You’ve become so divided, and you don’t even realize how ridiculous you look to non-Christians. For a non-Christian to see a Protestant bashing a Catholic (as they usually do…I don’t see many Catholics bashing Protestants), it just weakens the entire argument that other Christians put forth that Christianity is the true religion.
{ This coming from an atheist missionary kid who was raised in a Catholic country [the Philippines] and whose theologian father got a PhD in patristics. }
This_Is_Important, since you are so intent on anti-Catholic attacks, perhaps you should think to the very Bibles that you probably own. Without Catholic monks who labouriously copied down those texts, you probably wouldn’t even own a copy of the Bible.
I can’t stand it when people bash Catholics. It pisses me off. And I’m not even Catholic.
Titus 1:7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
This passage is referring to elders and deacons and the criteria they must meet in order to qualify for appointment.
This_Is_Important, since you are so intent on anti-Catholic attacks, perhaps you should think to the very Bibles that you probably own. Without Catholic monks who labouriously copied down those texts, you probably wouldn’t even own a copy of the Bible.
I can’t stand it when people bash Catholics. It pisses me off. And I’m not even Catholic.
Posted 4/27/2007 8:07 PM by bittersunday
You should probably use your naturally appointed energies to further your species, since [if there's no god] that’s the only reason we’re here. There’s no sense being angry about something that you have no part in, nor does it benefit you either way. I’m thankful that I have a bible that I can read everyday, don’t get me wrong on that, I just don’t like how the Catholic leader in that article is saying “This will energize everyone..” No, dude, the word of the LORD will energize everyone.
1 Samuel 2:1
Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 112:1
Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.
Psalm 119:16
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
I would go on but I think this kinda gets the point across. The Earth is great, it’s beautiful. I think the Discovery channel had a thing on all the beautiful things in the world, and that’s fantastic. I enjoy looking at pictures of cool stuff in space. But that’s not the thing that we as Christians should be focusing our energy toward; God would be better served if we are reaching out to the lost, helping the widows and orphans, and building one another up in the word.
BitterSunday could not be righter. Y’all are looking ridiculous, and need to knock it off.
*ahem* Right. Environmentalism, anyone?
“You should probably use your naturally appointed energies to further your species, since [if there's no god] that’s the only reason we’re here. There’s no sense being angry about something that you have no part in, nor does it benefit you either way. I’m thankful that I have a bible that I can read everyday, don’t get me wrong on that, I just don’t like how the Catholic leader in that article is saying “This will energize everyone..” No, dude, the word of the LORD will energize everyone.”
Yeah. That’s ONE Catholic. Not ALL Catholics. If you disagreed with the one leader, fine. Whatevz. But to turn that personal disagreement with one leader into a Catholic-bashing session is laughable.
And I’m not really that angry. I just like to debate and to point out ridiculous statements when I read them.
TheosCafe is perfect for this.
And by the by…cleverly disguising an attack on my personal beliefs certainly isn’t earning you any brownie points for your religion either.
“God would be better served if we are reaching out to the lost”
…And so you prove that by bashing the beliefs of all atheists and Catholics within two comments? Nice one! /sarcasm
“On the Seventh day, He hugged a tree”.
Posted 4/27/2007 6:55 PM by AristotleForDummies
On the 8th day, you fell into a pool of mud.
“Y’all are looking ridiculous, and need to knock it off.”
Srsly guys, quit it. Put some more energy into what you say you care about in your last comment, This_Is_Important, and stop attacking those who are on your same side.
…And so you prove that by bashing the beliefs of all atheists and Catholics within two comments? Nice one! /sarcasm
Posted 4/27/2007 8:22 PM by bittersunday
It’s not like you’re perfect, though. But yeah, I’d rather not have an argument on here.
I don’t like commenting here anymore, too many opinions that I don’t care about. Sorry, Dan.
This_Is_Important, while you make a case for the priorities for Christians (and for God), you seem to be operating on the presupposition that we have a finite number of causes we can participate in. Or that God can participate in.
I believe that God cares about widows and orphans and reaching the lost and building up his people. I also believe that God cares about the way we treat the planet we have been entrusted with–cares about sparrows and wildernesses and the depths of the sea. I don’t think these are mutually exclusive.
Not to mention that how we treat the planet will affect our widows and orphans and whatnot… Tell me the cause of Christ is not served when Christians work to stop industrial runoff being dumped into the rivers that supply the poor of Third World nations with drinking water?
I don’t like commenting here anymore, too many opinions that I don’t care about.
Posted 4/27/2007 8:24 PM by Tallon5
^Sadly, that’s the case with most of the posters here. They don’t care about the opinions of the other people commenting. Maybe that’s why we spend so much time talking toward each other and so little time in real intelligent conversation and debate.
Id be mad if i made an ant-bed and they killed themselves and my ant-bed!! lol, it sounds funny but sometimes i think about it like that. I woudl also think my aunts were stupid and i would feel sorry for them…. ha ha
Daniel (doubledb)
Tallon5, when on earth did I make the claim that I was perfect? I don’t even understand your logic on this one.
Tallon5, when on earth did I make the claim that I was perfect? I don’t even understand your logic on this one.
Posted 4/27/2007 8:59 PM by bittersunday
You didn’t. Never mind, that’s not what I was trying to say.
well lets see…he made it…if he didnt intend for anything to be changed then yea he’s an environmentalist…but if he knows everything “omnipotent” then woulldn’t that mean he knew that we would have all these problems and he’s going sumwhere with all of this? Or maybe he’s testing us..to see if we’ll try to keep the environment safe…idk…too many “what ifs”…
Uh, He created the world and I think He wants to see us take proper care of that creation.
Yes
Yeah.
I actually hold nature so high that I think God is nature or is associated with in a large way. I can’t really personify God. It just doesn’t seem right.
Yeah. That’s ONE Catholic. Not ALL Catholics. If you disagreed with the one leader, fine. Whatevz. But to turn that personal disagreement with one leader into a Catholic-bashing session is laughable.
And I’m not really that angry. I just like to debate and to point out ridiculous statements when I read them. TheosCafe is perfect for this.
And by the by…cleverly disguising an attack on my personal beliefs certainly isn’t earning you any brownie points for your religion either.
Posted 4/27/2007 8:21 PM by bittersunday
I never said I only disagreed with that one guy. I happen to think the Catholic religion is leading a lot of people straight to hell and I can elaborate on that if you’d like me to. And where did “Catholic-bashing session” ever come into the scope of this reality? I said one comment about how Catholics like to change doctrine [and for an example: catholic church leaders trying to permit homosexuality in the church] and all of a sudden this is a “Catholic-bashing session”. I tend to overanalyze things sometimes, but I hope that I don’t go that far.
As far as attacking your personal beliefs I figured turnabout was fair play. My bad.
Here’s how I misread your anger:
I can’t stand it when people bash Catholics. It pisses me off.
I think people are environmentalists.
Of course. He created it, and intended for us to maintain it, right?
I don’t believe in God, but that seems to make sense.
If God had created the Ice Age …
“If God wanted anything, it would be. God must not like the environment, ’cause it’s going DOWN.”
It seems like if anything is going “down” it will be us. Nature will kill us off long before we can destroy it, if we don’t make some serious changes.
And if there is a god, he must be pretty annoyed at us for carelessly polluting the planet, and being so ignorant and in denial about it.
I think if god existed then hes an asshole. what kind of person..or being says you can only go to heaven if you worship him? No matter how good a person you are you can only go to heaven if you spend your life worshiping this mythical creature.
For God, humans > environment.
He mandated for them to subdue it. I think he expects a responsible dominion over it, but that doesn’t mean he’s a tree-hugging greeny. And he sees through junk science. Sin has done more against the environment than anything, and it’s a bigger problem than pollution.
If I believed in god, I would imagine as being almost Hugh Hefner-esque, but instead of playmates, he has angels (The angels do not serve for the same purposes as the playmates, obviously.) He would have the dark den kind of room where he listened to the people’s prayers and mourned with us or laughed with us. And in getting to the topic of this post, he’d totally be an environmentalist.
You know really, since he was here first, so they say, then that makes Hugh Hefner to be god-esque.
But of course, I don’t believe in god, so I can’t say I care.
I never said I only disagreed with that one guy. I happen to think the Catholic religion is leading a lot of people straight to hell and I can elaborate on that if you’d like me to. And where did “Catholic-bashing session” ever come into the scope of this reality? I said one comment about how Catholics like to change doctrine [and for an example: catholic church leaders trying to permit homosexuality in the church] and all of a sudden this is a “Catholic-bashing session”. I tend to overanalyze things sometimes, but I hope that I don’t go that far.
As far as attacking your personal beliefs I figured turnabout was fair play. My bad.
Posted 4/27/2007 11:52 PM by This_Is_Important
Ah, the nitpickiness of Christianity. Lovely.
“I happen to think the Catholic religion is leading a lot of people straight to hell.” I think you’ll be surprised at the kind of people will be in your Christian Heaven, and the people who won’t. Good thing it is up to your god who decides this, and not you. I thought you only had to claim faith in Christ to get into Heaven (which is what most of my Catholic friends believe, and some of my Protestant friends don’t)? Or maybe my years of studying the Bible is all for naught.
Forgive me for assuming that your various attacks on Catholics over the course of the last few posts have been “Catholic-bashing”.
I just calls em likes I sees em.
My point is not to argue Catholic vs. Protestant dogma. That is my father’s area of expertise and I do not know nearly as much about theology as I should. My point was to help. Christians get really pissed when people don’t take their religion seriously…but honestly how can you when you keep arguing amongst yourselves all the damn time?
Even as an atheist, most of my friends are Christian, and it makes me mad when other people make their religion look bad by being ridiculous, nitpicky, and attacking people who disagree with them.
You’re not earning any brownie points or any interest for your religion, This_Is_Important. You claim to want to lead people to Christ, as previous comments of yours would suggest–yet I see none of that in the meat of your comments on this site.
But what do I know, eh? I’m just a stupid, immoral atheist who needs to keep breeding in order to further my species.
I agree with B_Marclar and justbygrace.
He’s not an environmentalist because He gave the earth to us, to do with it what we will. An environmentalist would not have handed that task over to someone else.
BTW, I think God cares about the environment.
“I thought you only had to claim faith in Christ to get into Heaven”
Unfortunately, you thought wrong. You have to follow Christ to get into heaven, not just claim to. And that implies a lot.
He made it. He should be damn worried about it. And if he’s not? Eh, okay, that’s lame.
Yes, but not to an extreme degree. I think he wanted us to cultivate the land and make homes to protect ourselves, but I don’t think he intended all the oil spills and junk like that.
“I thought you only had to claim faith in Christ to get into Heaven”
Unfortunately, you thought wrong. You have to follow Christ to get into heaven, not just claim to. And that implies a lot.
Posted 4/28/2007 2:02 PM by CormackMcKinney
Jeeze. Symantics and choice of words aside, that is what I was implying. Assumptions get people nowhere.
god created lots of things and i am sure he wants to protect all of them but it’s up to us, not him, to do it.
What’s wrong with worshiping the earth? If I were to worship anything, it’d be the earth. It’s given me everything I have.
Sorta. He says to take care of the Earth and to fill it with people, BUT your goal in your life shoudn’t be taking care of it. Your goal in life should be winning souls to Christ and do everything in the Glory of God. But you should take care of the Earth.
Yes, I would hope.
um, environment means what’s around us. if your god created everything then it would follow that s/he is the ultimate environmentalist. doh.
I would think God loves the envronment. Think about a project you created for school or work – you’re proud of it and love people to see your work. God is probably the same way about nature. However, terming Him an “environmentalist” sortof implies that he puts natrue about all else; which I’m not so sure He does. Who knows!?!?
From Webster:
Environmentalist: “One concerned about environmental quality especially of the human environment with respect to the control of pollution.”
God wants us to be stewards of His world and respect the environment, so within that definition, yes. But a lot of environmentalists go WAY overboard.
being an atheist, i’d have to say yes, but only in a hypothetical sense.