I don’t understand it. Not only are many Christians indifferent to climate change, many others seem to believe it is an opportunity for them (or their country) to take on the world. Sometimes, the two, strangely go together. Such Christians seem to have become bloodthirsty, creating conflicts in the world. They are not interested in peace. They are interested in the using military might to take control the world, gaslighting everyone by saying they are interested in peace. Despite how many times Scripture and the Christian tradition are brought up, showing them that God wants them to respect creation, taking care of it as good stewards, they act like it is all optional and it doesn’t really matter because the world will someday come to an end. And yet, they want the world to think they are good Christians. They will use the right words, like peace, but they will invert their meaning. We cannot let them be seen as representing what authentic Christianity teaches. We must act, showing the world we are the Lord’s disciples by our love. We must take into consideration what God wants us to do. We are to show respect to the earth, for in doing so, we show respect to God. We must take what the book of Revelation says when it warns us of the terrible consequences of destroying the earth (cf. Rev. 11:18).
When I was born, the world was, in hindsight, much more stable than it is now. I have seen it become chaotic, a place filled not only with suffering, but despair; and just like in the ancient world, nation seems to be rising up against nation, with each hoping to obtain control of the resources they do not have. They know what is going to happen in the future as climate change devastates the world, leaving many places desolate.
Climate scientists have long warned us that if climate change is not properly dealt with, we will not only see worsening “natural disasters,” but that we will see the nations of the world fighting each other to possess the lands and resources which have yet to be adversely affected by climate change. We have also been warned that there will be mass migrations throughout the world. This is because those most affected by climate change will look for new places to live. It is, in a way, a mirror of times past, when micro forms of climate change created migrations and wars, but now, the situation will be much worse, because the changes are worldwide, and, we face the possibility of a great extinction event which will take out much of the life on earth, including humanity. If we are to live through it, we must quickly come to terms with the role humanity has had in climate change, and the way we can make things better. It is our moral responsibility to fix what we have broken. This is why people of many religious faiths, knowing what is coming, have told us we make take climate change seriously and do what we can to make things better:
Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades. Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry. They have no other financial activities or resources which can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters, and their access to social services and protection is very limited. For example, changes in climate, to which animals and plants cannot adapt, lead them to migrate; this in turn affects the livelihood of the poor, who are then forced to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for their future and that of their children. There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. They are not recognized by international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the lives they have left behind, without enjoying any legal protection whatsoever. Sadly, there is widespread indifference to such suffering, which is even now taking place throughout our world. Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.[1]
I have come to believe that many of those who say climate change is not a real, such as various politicians, know the opposite is true. They believe there is a benefit to be had if they gaslight the world in this fashion. Their followers will not know what is happening, and so they will not be a threat to them as they seek control of those resources which they believe will be scarce in the future. They hope to be able to use and sell those resources for a long time, making an extraordinary amount of profit on that which they end up selling. Others want to own those lands they believe will give them the greatest possibility to survive as the havoc caused by climate change worsens. I think this is one of many reasons why the United States under the Trump administration has become volatile and belligerent to the world at large; Trump (and his backers) are seeking to take control of lands, like Greenland, and resources, like the oil in Venezuela, so that they will be able to live in luxury while the world burns around them.
Trump, moreover, is doing all he can to try to get his base to accept his apparently chaotic actions, giving all kinds of bad justification for what he is doing. We see this in the takeover of Venezuela. It’s about the oil, but he says it is to free the people. What he has done has not freed anyone. Indeed, what he has done to Venezuelan refugees in the United States shows how much hate he has for them. But he is all in with the production of outrageous propaganda, promising what he cannot promise. Not only is he cruel, he uses his cruelty as his proof that he is strong and able to create peace. This is why he and his administration keeps saying he promotes “peace through strength.” His followers, including Christian who should know better, have been persuaded to accept the worst kind of brutality in the world, thinking it is justified because of the so-called peace which Trump says it establishes. But, what he gives us is not peace, even as the mafia offering protection to those who pay them are not creating any security. No true peace can be established with threats and invasions, though it can produce the false kind of peace many prophets spoke out against:
Because, yea, because they have misled my people, saying, `Peace,’ when there is no peace; and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets daub it with whitewash; say to those who daub it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, great hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind break out; and when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, `Where is the daubing with which you daubed it? ‘ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath; and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to destroy it. And I will break down the wall that you have daubed with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare; when it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it; and you shall know that I am the LORD. the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, says the Lord GOD. (Ez. 16:10-16 RSV).
Christ told his followers that they must not seek after the false peace of the world. He gives us a different kind of peace, not the “pax Romana” or its modern-day equivalent. He gives us the peace of the kingdom of God, the peace which transcends the world. This peace does not come through force, or threats, but rather, by way of humility, self-sacrifice, and love, as shown to us by Christ in his embrace of the cross. Peace through strength, and other false forms of peace, must not go unopposed; it must be resisted, and Christians must stand side by side with anyone of good will that seeks through that false peace and will not stand for it (cf. Lk. 2:14).
We are at a crisis point in world history. What happens next is in part, due to us. Climate change is upon us. We can work to mitigate its effects, and possibly reverse it, but the time which we have to do that is closing. Sadly, many, including too many Christians, are not wanting to do so. Sadly, some are trying to find a way to take advantage of the crisis, using it for their private good at the expense of others. They don’t care about human life. They don’t care how many will suffer. They want control. And while they say one thing, acting like climate change is not real, they know it is, and are working to prepare their place for the future, with hands full of blood. We must not allow them to get their wish.
* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series
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[1] Pope Francis, Laudato si’. Vatican translation. ¶25.
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