Should Adventists be environmentalists?

[Dr. Shane]

I don't think the Adventist church adds to the problem of over-population. The Catholic and Muslim religions do.

[Gerr]

As believers in healthful living and the gospel of restoration, SDAs should be in the forefront of environtal concerns. One cannot be healthy if the air we breath and the water we drink and the food we eat are polluted.

[Neil D]

"Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the state of the environment."

Being that this definition is from Wikipedia, which is defined by people, and not necessarily by dictionary definitions. Why is environmentalism a "broad philosophy" ? Why can it not be " a reaction to commercialism's need to make money at the expense damaging our environment"?

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines enviromentalism as advocacy of the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment; especially : the movement to control pollution

and enviromentalist as -

: one concerned about environmental quality especially of the human environment with respect to the control of pollution

There is no "broad philosophy" based in these definitions...and yes...Adventists should be environmentalists....

[Woody]

Quote:

and yes...Adventists should be environmentalists....

oh please.

ONLY from a Demo

[Dr. Rich]

Rev. 8:7 "...and a third of the earth was burned up and a third of the trees were burned up, and all of the green grass was burned up."

Rev. 8:8 "...and a third of the sea became blood.."

Rev. 8:9 "and a third of the creatures where were in the sea and had life, died...

Rev.8:11 "and a third of the waters became wormwood..."

Hmmm? Sounds like a real environment problem to me!

[Twilight]

Quote:

do you think the whole earth had to be cultivated or just the garden?

Ellen White says the Garden was a model of what God wanted the entire Earth to be. It makes sense that, as their children grew, they would move out and make gardens of more and more of the Earth.

There is textual support for such a view, but not proof.

The cultivation part is in Gen. 2, where Adam also names the animals. The parallels between Gen 1 and 2 indicate strongly that as God turned the chaos of the world 'without form' in ordered cosmos, Adam (& Eve; in Gen. 1&2 they are a single unit: "male and female created He them") is to order the earth. Adam displays dominion by naming the animals-- in the ancient world, to name something was to control it, thus the prohibition of uttering God's name-- and by ordering the wild earth into a well-kept garden.

Interesting point.

Thank you. :-)

[abelisle]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the fact that what we allude to in Genesis as "environmentalism" is really the beginnings of what we now call "stewardship"?

Being good stewards of what God has given us is surely Biblical, isn't it?

Or should we accept the line of reasoning that points to a soon coming apocalyptic eschatological event (2nd Coming), so why bother taking care of the Earth since it's going to be destroyed anyway?

Alex

[Twilight]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the fact that what we allude to in Genesis as "environmentalism" is really the beginnings of what we now call "stewardship"?

Being good stewards of what God has given us is surely Biblical, isn't it?

Or should we accept the line of reasoning that points to a soon coming apocalyptic eschatological event (2nd Coming), so why bother taking care of the Earth since it's going to be destroyed anyway?

Alex

I think you have really summed up the defining issue here Alex, with this question...

[bonnie]

Quote:

Being good stewards of what God has given us is surely Biblical, isn't it?

Do you assume that some SDA's do not believe that we are to be good stewards?

Quote:

Or should we accept the line of reasoning that points to a soon coming apocalyptic eschatological event (2nd Coming), so why bother taking care of the Earth since it's going to be destroyed anyway?

Alex

I guess I don't know anyone like that.Everyone I know wants clean water for their families,clean air to breathe.Nor do they want mounds of garbage on their street,or sewage draining into wetlands etc.Not sure about you but I was taught "we occupy till the Lord Comes" and not in a way that will harm anyone else

[Woody]

Excellent Bonnie

[Guest]

Quote:

then we disagree...i remember God instructing the israelites to let the ground lie fallow one year out of 7...

I remember that, too. Except it isn't in Revelation. . . and the Israelites did not have an understanding of ecology. They understood that as a requirement of their Divine Ruler. Seeing that as 'environmentalism' is injecting a 21st century idea into a text from 1400 BC. Not good hermeneutics.

I agree....

[Guest]

Quote:

Rev 11:18 last phrase should answer this

I suppose it could be, if it had anything to do with environmentalism. In fact "the earth" is used in a quite specific way throughout Revelation, and what we call environmentalism was not a concept familiar to the prophet or his audience.

That's absolutely correct.....

[Neil D]

Quote:

and yes...Adventists should be environmentalists....

oh please.

ONLY from a Demo

honest inquirys don't need to be poo hoo-ed.

And if you want to avoid scathing rebukes about being more republican than christian, and thus selling one's soul for a mess of pottage, you have better give intellegent reasons for your less than positive response to the forum...

So, let's have your reasons, Redwood, according to the definitions that I posted, why an adventist should not be an enviromentalist....

[Neil D]

Or should we accept the line of reasoning that points to a soon coming apocalyptic eschatological event (2nd Coming), so why bother taking care of the Earth since it's going to be destroyed anyway?

It's a very good question, Alex...

How does being reckless with our resources show that we are good stewards with our Lord's resources? How does this show our Lord and King to be just and kind and good?

Isn't this rather presumptuous an arguement to stand on? Isn't this like forcing God's hand to rescue His children? Isn't this sort of what Judas did in wanting Jesus to publically declare Himself King? Aren't we manipulating God? Are we safe to save if we attempt to manipulate God?

[Bravus]

Perhaps 'steward' is simply a better label than 'environmentalist'? It reminds us that God owns the earth and has left it in our care. The metaphor is of a manager who cares for an estate on behalf of the owner. It directs us to God's ownership, and protects us from falling into worshipping the earth itself.

With the different labels, however, aren't the actual *actions* we would take likely to be pretty similar? A steward who lets the estate go to wrack and ruin through inaction or active vandalism is likely to be called to account by the owner. A steward ought instead to improve the estate - it brings in the parable of the talents, so that even steady-state is considered not good enough.

I definitely have no quarrel with humankind gardening, taming and improving the earth. It's what should happen. (I agree that 'wilderness is the only good' is a distorted view.) An open-eyed look around the world at the moment, though, begs the question of whether it *is* happening.

So I guess my answer to the thread-opening question is 'No, Adventists should not be environmentalists, they should be stewards'. But that does boil down to 'Adventists have a (divinely-ordained) responsibility to take care of the environment'.

[Neil D]

But even that is rather a play on words .

...even you admit that a steward will do the same as an enviromentalist in his duties.

Therfore, we are changing the concept with a more religious word, and being Politically Correct about it....

There is definately something wrong when you can be a steward but not an enviromentalist and yet be doing the same things...and achieving the same goals....

Isn't this a form of bigotry or is it hypocracy?

[Bravus]

No, I think the distinction is a real one, not just a semantic one. I think some of the concern expressed by others here about 'Gaia worship', 'mother nature worship' and silly, excessive environmental policies are a bit overblown, but that there are real issues. There *is* a difference between caring for the world because God made us and left us in charge of it and caring for the world as an end in itself. Among other things, the former tends not to regard humanity as a plague on the planet...

[Neil D]

No, I think the distinction is a real one, not just a semantic one. I think some of the concern expressed by others here about 'Gaia worship', 'mother nature worship' and silly, excessive environmental policies are a bit overblown, but that there are real issues. There *is* a difference between caring for the world because God made us and left us in charge of it and caring for the world as an end in itself. Among other things, the former tends not to regard humanity as a plague on the planet...

I agree with all with the exception of one thing....

Those that "care for the world as an end to itself, regarding mankind as a plague", are outside the general definition of "environmentalist"....and are therefore considered "extreme positions" ["eco-terrorism" comes to mind].......and which tend to fall under wikipedias definition of "environmentalist", which merges eco-terrorism with environmentalism...a distinction with which many here refuse to rightfully acknowledge ...

Since SDAs tend to use religious wording rather than secular wording, environmentalism and stewardship tend to cover the same goals. The linguistic use of enviromentalism under wikipedia's definition among our more ..um...radical right members is a misuse of the term and does not reflect the dictionary use of the term...."eco-terrorism" is a much more accurate term and more specific....

[olger]

Great post Olger, this world will not last another ten years anyway, so we might as well use it up as fast as we can. Oh, perhaps you did not hear the University of Colorado Math Proffessor on youtube (the best I have ever heard) talk about the rule of 70 and has has proof that there will be too many people, not enough land, clean water, food, oil, coal, and shelter to handle everyone within the next 10 to 20 years.

Answer this is you don't understand: If you were sitting in the top seats of the Rose Bowl and it was sealed from leaking, and I told you I would drop one drop of water from an eye dropper every minute, but would also double the amount, at what time in weeks, days hours, minutes would you fear you would drown?

This just might be the same rule God used for this world and if He did, then it is time to 'fear drowing".

That is quite an imagination if you got all of that out of my brief post. I have a question for you.

Are you a disciple of Ehrlich's formula then?

[Dr. Shane]

I certainly think that if every Adventist insulated their home with urethane they would be considered an environmentalist.

[olger]

God forbid.

We have no trouble selling our excellent insulation to wise customers without plopping down on the Greenwagon (Green band wagon). We also conduct a thriving business on the thermal merits of spray foam without resorting to "Greenwashing".

foam good

[SivartM]

I think that we ought to throw away our electronics and let them end up in Kenyan landfills rather than recycling them properly, because otherwise a lot of poor people who salvage them for money will starve. And, you know, not get poisoned. People first!

[Dr. Shane]

We also conduct a thriving business on the thermal merits of spray foam without resorting to "Greenwashing".

A lot of green business do quite well because their products are so good. I would really like to insulate my home with urethane, install a tankless water heater and a dual-flush toilet.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I think all people should be environmentally aware, Adventists included.

[olger]

Originally Posted By: olger

We also conduct a thriving business on the thermal merits of spray foam without resorting to "Greenwashing".

A lot of green business do quite well because their products are so good. I would really like to insulate my home with urethane, install a tankless water heater and a dual-flush toilet.

I miss 3.5 gallon toilets.