I have never understood those who object to environmental concerns by suggesting that those who are concerned about protecting the environment, those who want to be good stewards of the world we live in, are engaging some sort of idolatrous worship of the earth and so must be denounced by Christians. It is like claiming those who clean their homes, patch their roof when it gets hail damage, or paint the walls, are worshiping their homes. No one would claim those who do basic upkeep of their homes are worshiping it, so why do they think those who want us to do similar upkeep to our earthly habitat are worshiping it? It’s an absurd position. I often think many of those making such a claim know it is wrong, and they are being dishonest, tying to gaslight us in order to excuse themselves from a moral responsibility they have ignored.
To be sure, one can find religious reasons to honor and protect the earth, among which, are those which say we should honor and protect God’s creation to honor God. When they are made, it become quite clear we are not worshiping the earth, that we understand the difference between the Creator and creation. No one is trying to confuse the two of them. To be sure, there are many practical reasons for us to embrace environmentalism, such as, if we do not take care of the world we live in, we will find ourselves (and future generations of humanity) in ever-worsening living conditions, if not eventually go extinct.
The devastating impact of our environmental neglect is already upon us, as can be seen in the more intense, and deadly, storms which have been emerging year after year, or the worsening situation with fires around the world. It is bad enough that many in charge of the government are more concerned with immediate profit than the environment, but it is becoming worse because they are trying to cover up the environmental damage which is being done by destroying those governmental agencies and services which track climate change and the weather it produces. Without the ability to properly track storms, people will not get adequate warnings, so that there will be many needless deaths, as, for example, happened in Texas with the flooding which has killed over fifty people.
I can understand when selfish people who do not plan to live long show no concern for what is happening to the environment, and the future of the earth. I can understand it, but of course, I find such a nihilistic rejection of basic moral principles utterly abhorrent, and those who follow them should not be in a position of authority. This carelessness and lack of concern for the future of humanity (like alone all other species on the planet) is one of countless reasons why the Trump administration must be seen as a monstrosity. Its gutting of the EPA and basic environmental regulations, its contempt at those who report the true effects of climate change, must be challenged. We must not be willing to go along with them, willing to sacrifice the world we live in for the sake of the pleasure a madman receives from doing so. The sad thing is, with all the neglect, and further harm, done to the environment by those in power, it is easy to predict what will soon befall the American people (and others around the world, who will be affected due to the interdependent nature of the world): farms will be devastated, incapable of producing the food the populace needs, leading to a great famine across the land. We already see this happening, but it is going to get much, much worse, and sooner than later. And when it happens, there will be all kinds of conflict, and people will fight each other, in order to survive; with some, perhaps, suggesting invasion of foreign countries as a way to get what we want.
It is, of course, to my relief, that official Catholic teaching recognizes the problems which lie before us; the church recognizes that we have abused the earth and its resources, causing undue damage to the world we live in. Climate change is a fact, and we must do what we can to turn things around. We must, of course, pray, which is why the Catholic Church is right to promote masses said for the sake of the world we live in, masses for the “care of creation.” But we must do much more than simply pray and think that reciting prayers alone will fix everything. God wants us to act. We pray to receive grace, to receive help from God, but be must then act, doing our part. We can’t just sit back, or worse, keep doing those things which hurt the environment, while praying for God to fix it; faith without works is dead, and so thoughts and prayers without action, likewise, leads nowhere.
Thus, I am quite pleased with the advocacy for the environment which we see coming from the church, from pope after pope. Their words should inspire and motivate us to act. The prayers we recite should help give us hope that if we work for change, we can change, and make things better, that we can begin to heal the world we live in from the harm which we have caused it. The words are necessary, especially as they keep reminding us of our duty, of our responsibility, so that we cannot continue to lie to ourselves and act like there is no problem. It is why I find the need to reflect upon and speak on environmental concerns. But we must all do our part, do what we can to help promote the change. Each one of us might only be able to do a little, but even doing something small can begin the change which is necessary, just as a small pebble falling down a snow-filled cliff can start an avalanche which cannot be stopped. We should all ask ourselves what can we do. How can we better use the resources we have? Yes, the poor might not be able to do as much as the rich, but then again, it is often the rich, with their care and concern for profit over people, who cause the greatest harm to the world, so, of course, the poor have less responsibility than the rich in regards the crisis we have before us. For myself, one of many ways I have chosen to help the environment is to be a vegetarian, to be concerned about my eating habits; not everyone can choose this path, but it is one which many can choose, and if they can, they will find not only are their environmental benefits, there are health benefits too.
The world around us is in dire straits, and we are greatly responsible for that fact; we have ignored our responsibility to it. We were meant to be its protector and instead, we are its ravager, destroying it without end. We can’t ignore what is happening to it and think the devastation we have caused will go away, just as we can’t turn off a “check engine” light in our car and think that solves the problem. The Trump administration, with its policies, seems to want to undue all the environmental protection which has been put in place for the last few decades, protections which, to be sure, have not been good enough but better than nothing. The nihilism of such an action should be obvious, and yet, too many Christians seem to think nothing of it. Will they think nothing of it if his administration overturns a ban on the use of asbestos? Sadly, I think for many, especially his supporters, the answer is yes – only when the environment personally affects them do they care, and if they can fix that, they do not care if others suffer the same problem (how else can we explain the lack of motivation to deal with known environment hazards, like those living in Flint Michigan face?). Christians should know better, but alas, for many, it seems their faith is a dead faith, a faith without works, as they think all their faith entails is going to church on Sundays, praying for themselves and their wants and desires, and then doing nothing else. This needs to change. Christians need to take seriously the crisis which lies before us, the crisis of the environment, knowing that those who destroy it will suffer the consequences of their own evil actions.
* This Is Part LXX Of My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series
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