What the Bible says about Environmentalists
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Isaiah 1:5-6 The political landscape is marred because our society at large is sick, from top to bottom. Isaiah is not speaking, of course, of physical bruises and disease but of spiritual and thus of cultural decay at work. He sees the nation as a body made up of many individuals (much as Paul describes Christ's body, the church, in I Corinthians 12), but because so many of the individuals are spiritually weak and sick, the nation itself is diseased throughout. The head, which he describes as "sick," represents the leadership, while the heart represents the patriots, those who work for the good of the country—and even it is "faint" or weak and faltering. Beyond these two critical areas, every part of the body from sole to pate is unsound. The prophet describes a sorry, almost hopeless condition. So the old adage is true: "People get the leaders they deserve." While the politicians may be constantly in the public eye, and their indiscretions thus become front page news, they are not altogether unlike their constituents. Can we claim that no voter has ever had a homosexual tryst? Is it possible that no voter ever took some money under the table to smooth the way for a deal? Certainly, no voter has ever hired an illegal alien to sweeten his bottom line! Or evaded paying his taxes. Or smoked pot or snorted cocaine. Or voiced an ethnic slur. Or dumped some engine oil down the sewer, etc. No, even beyond the all-important issues, politicians reflect those who back them. Some are fond of another saying: "Think globally. Act locally." It is a common mantra of environmentalists, who urge individuals to clean up their own acts, their own properties, as the best place to start to reform the whole world. The saying contains a true principle: A person can only change himself, and if we desire a large-scale transformation of behavior for the better, many individuals will have to resolve to change. Right now, the momentum of societal behavior runs steeply downhill toward degeneration and immorality. To shift that momentum back toward morality and Christian values will take a massive effort, one that may be beyond America's ability to achieve. But it will certainly never even get started if Christians themselves do not live for all their worth according to God's standards (Matthew 19:17). We cannot rely on being joined by thousands of fellow citizens, let alone millions of conservative Americans, in a counter-cultural revolution. We cannot expect media pundits and political leaders to lead the charge back up the hill toward decency and civility. We cannot hope that the fight to return justice, honor, and true freedom to the American character will be swift and easy—in fact, it may well be hopeless. Yet, despite the lack of expectation for society in general, the effort itself is noble and worthwhile to each individual who undertakes it because of the personal transformation it effects (Romans 12:2; II Corinthians 3:18). Politics is dirty, and because it involves the quest for temporal power, it has always been a nasty business. A moral society can keep this distasteful institution in check by sheer weight of influence, but when society itself is rolling in the gutter, politics has free rein to run roughshod over anyone and anything in its way. As Solomon says, "By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked" (Proverbs 11:11). Richard T. Ritenbaugh A Polluted National Landscape Related Topics: A Polluted Political Landscape | Corruption | Corruption of Power | Cultural Decay | Degeneration | Drug Abuse | Environmentalists | Ethnic Prejudice | Homosexuality | Immorality | Moral Depravity | Political Corruption

1 John 4:8 The word "tolerance" makes not even one appearance in the King James or the American Standard versions of the Bible. Why? Because, before 1960, translators could find no place that it fit. It was not until the New International Version and the New American Standard Version made their appearances that "tolerance" also made its first appearance, and even then, in less than five places. Why? Because the older versions used terms better suited to those narrow contexts: "forbearance," "endurance," "patience," and "long-suffering." Tolerance has several common usages in our time: "the capacity to endure hardship or pain"; "the endurance of the presence or actions of objectionable persons, or the expression of offensive opinions"; and "the capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others." By themselves, none of these are objectionable to a Christian. The problems lie in the modern twist given to it by those who frequently use it in advocacy. Revelation 18:4 challenges us to come out of the world, a most difficult task because we live our lives physically immersed in the world. No matter which way we turn in the activities of life—whether in employment, entertainment, schooling, government, and religion—we are confronted by the world's conduct, attitudes, beliefs, and programs for actively maintaining its cultures. In every level of society in this multicultural world, a Christian meets tremendous diversity head-on. Indeed, in every culture and every aspect of society, the Christian's loyalty in exercising his faith in the laws and principles of God's way of life is being challenged, for God's way touches on every facet of life. Simultaneously, most of this world's beliefs and practices are anti-Christ. The world's religions are clearly anti-Christ, but concepts and practices drawn from false religions permeate this world's governments, education, entertainment, and employment. Virtually every day we see clear examples in the news of an energetic movement to remove every concept of the Christian God and His commandments from government, schooling, and entertainment. Yet, what is replacing Him? He is being replaced by the god of secularism—by man himself. Secularism is a religion people practice, accept, and adhere to, even though it has no formal congregations or places of worship. The same is true of evolution, which is in reality nothing more than random and blind chance, yet this false god dominates academia, especially the sciences. Much of the modern environmental movement is a New-Age-driven worship of Gaia, the so-called earth goddess. Here, the modern twist in the usage of tolerance has a strong influence. In the minds of many, tolerance is acceptance on an equal level, not merely forbearance or putting up with something. If one does not accept this worldly standard, he is then accused of lacking love. Can a Christian honestly tolerate, that is, accept outright, paganism as being equal with the God of creation and His moral and spiritual absolutes? Can a Christian wholeheartedly accept the writings of Buddha, Mohammed, or anybody else under the influence of a demon as being on an equal level with the Holy Bible? God's own Word will clarify this. I John 4:8 reads, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." No single word describes the character of the God of creation any better than "love." In Deuteronomy 7:2-6, as the Israelites were about to enter their inheritance, He commands them: And when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire. For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The same Person who became Jesus of Nazareth and out of love died for the sins of the world gave these commands. The Bible says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). In His command, He does not tolerate evil in the least. Instead, in telling them to destroy evil, He expresses His overwhelming love for His people. Do not be tricked into accepting this modern tolerance of sugar-coated, sinful paganism. We must not tolerate such concepts in our lives. John W. Ritenbaugh Tolerance and Love Related Topics: Coming out of Babylon | Demon Worship | Endurance | Environmentalists | False Religion | Forbearance | God is Love | God's Patience | God's Tolerance | Loyalty to God | Multicultural Society | New Age Beliefs | Paganism | Patience | Secularism | Tolerance for Evil | Tolerance for Sin | Tolerating Evil

 

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