Will ecological destruction come to be viewed as sinful?

[MonDie]

I've heard a Christian respond to an environmentalist that humanity will only end if God wants it to. The idea that a god is ultimately in control seems like a drawback of theism. This idea relinquishes us of our responsibilities. There are exceptions, however, when it comes to sin. Perhaps they reason that, if we can sin even though God doesn't want us to, then it must be our own free choice. Suddenly God doesn't look so bad when someone chooses to murder another.
People weren't environmentally aware when The Bible was written, but some modern theists are. There seems to be this idea that the god made nature perfect and beautiful, so we're obliged to preserve it.

Apparently the Vatican spoke out against pollution in 2008.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/14/world/fg-pollute14

An offense against God, said senior Vatican official Msgr. Gianfranco Girotti, "is not only stealing or coveting another man's wife, it is also destroying the environment."

[...]

 

"We need a decisive 'yes' to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible," he added.

 

Edited July 24, 2014 by MonDie

[Ophiolite]

I do not think I am unique in already viewing it as sinful. The complacent attitudes of some in the fundamentalist camp would be criminal were it not for the plausible excuse that they are not intelligent enough to know any better.

[Phi for All]

Recently, the World Council of Churches decided to pull investments in oil, deeming them to be environmentally unethical. At least some groups are leaning more towards "God helps those who help themselves" than "Let go and let God".

[Iota]

Most of these religions not only relinquish responsibility, but also cannot wait for this World to end and ruin, so that their 'God' will return.

[John Cuthber]

As far as I can tell, it already ticks most of the boxes.

Here's a clip from wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

 

In the Book of Proverbs 6:16-19, among the verses traditionally associated with King Solomon, it states that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hateth, and seven that are an abomination unto Him", namely:[4]
A proud look
A lying tongue
Hands that shed innocent blood
A heart that devises wicked plots
Feet that are swift to run into mischief
A deceitful witness that uttereth lies
Him that soweth discord among brethren

Edited July 29, 2014 by John Cuthber

[Phi for All]

As far as I can tell, it already ticks most of the boxes.

Here's a clip from wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

 

In the Book of Proverbs 6:16-19, among the verses traditionally associated with King Solomon, it states that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hateth, and seven that are an abomination unto Him", namely:[4]

A proud look

A lying tongue

Hands that shed innocent blood

A heart that devises wicked plots

Feet that are swift to run into mischief

A deceitful witness that uttereth lies

Him that soweth discord among brethren

 

When humans realize this whole "Muck for a Buck" mentality is ruining the place we all live, the only place we know where anything lives, I don't think even the Lord could remove the proud look from my face. He's going to have to find something else to hateth.

[Ten oz]

I think most truly religious, or rather humblely religious, people already see it as sinful. In my opinion the problem is that many people who claim to be religious do so as a form of culture expression. Their true faith is to the way of life they are accustomed. Race, language, economis, politics, and so on playing a larger role than any written scriptures. Asking people to change cultural things like driving less and using public transportation more somehow gets twisted into challanges of faith. It is bizarre.

[Dekan]

Can "ecological destruction" really be sinful? Not at least, from a Biblical viewpoint. Consider these examples from the Bible:

 

1. In Genesis 1, v.28 -29, God said to Man: "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the Earth and subdue it, rule over the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the Earth"

 

That seems to give Man a wide remit to rule and modify the ecology to human benefit.

 

2. However in Genesis 6, v. 7 -18, God changed His Mind, and uttered these apocalyptic words: "This race of Man whom I have created, I will wipe them off the face of the Earth - man and beast, reptiles and birds...I intend to destroy them, and the Earth with them...I intend to bring the waters of the flood over the Earth, to destroy every human being under heaven that has the spirit of life. Everything on Earth shall perish."

 

And so followed the Great Flood. This surely constituted a very large-scale divine act of environmental and ecological destruction. Yet God seems to have thought it was perfectly OK, and not at all sinful.

 

If He was right, how can relatively mild, small-scale human acts, like chopping down bits of the Amazonian rain-forest, be sinful?

Edited July 30, 2014 by Dekan

[Phi for All]

Can "ecological destruction" really be sinful? Not at least, from a Biblical viewpoint. Consider these examples from the Bible:

 

1. In Genesis 1, v.28 -29, God said to Man: "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the Earth and subdue it, rule over the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the Earth"

 

That seems to give Man a wide remit to rule and modify the ecology to human benefit.

 

2. However in Genesis 6, v. 7 -18, God changed His Mind, and uttered these apocalyptic words: "This race of Man whom I have created, I will wipe them off the face of the Earth - man and beast, reptiles and birds...I intend to destroy them, and the Earth with them...I intend to bring the waters of the flood over the Earth, to destroy every human being under heaven that has the spirit of life. Everything on Earth shall perish."

 

And so followed the Great Flood. This surely constituted a very large-scale divine act of environmental and ecological destruction. Yet God seems to have thought it was perfectly OK, and not at all sinful.

 

If He was right, how can relatively mild, small-scale human acts, like chopping down bits of the Amazonian rain-forest, be sinful?

 

If you allow for a global flood, it's still a natural event that harms, yes, but also does things normal weather can't, like removing dead growth and forming new river channels and shifting topsoil. Hail ruined the leaves on some of my trees recently, but it sure cleaned up the dead needles in my evergreens.

 

A purge from natural sources does good along with bad. It removes the weak so the strong can prosper. Weather events like floods, hurricanes and tornadoes, or natural events like fire sort of clean the slate, as it were.

 

Ecological destruction assumes poor planetary management, removing elements from the environment necessary for the ecosystem. Or polluting the environment and damaging its ability to sustain itself. It's a more willful type of destruction. In Jonah 4:9-11, it says,

9 God asked Yonah, “Is it right for you to be so angry about the castor-bean plant?” He answered, “Yes, it’s right for me to be so angry that I could die!” 10 God said, “You’re concerned over the castor-bean plant, which cost you no effort; you didn’t make it grow; it came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 So shouldn’t I be concerned about the great city of Ninveh, in which there are more than 120,000 people who don’t know their right hand from their left — not to mention all the animals?”

 

 

God seems to be concerned with unnecessary willful destruction of people, animals, and plants. If it dies on its own, OK, but don't willfully destroy anything you don't have to.