Is There Hope for a World Slipping Back into Pagan Nature Worship?

[olger]

December 4, 2012

Dear Friend,

"Some of today’s environmental movement is clearly a revival of ancient pagan nature worship, exemplified in this video of Earth First members crying out, speaking not only of but to trees, and referring to the forest as a “tabernacle.”

Isaiah 1:29–31 contains a sobering warning for those who worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

Speaking of the idolatrous people of Judah and Jerusalem shortly before God sent them into exile in Babylon, the prophet Isaiah said, “… they [their rulers] shall be ashamed of the oaks that you [the common people] desired; and you shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden without water. And the strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.”

Of the trees mentioned here—the actual species of which is uncertain—Old Testament scholar E.J. Young writes in his commentary on Isaiah, “these were green trees in which the numina [spiritual influences perceptible by mind but not by the senses] were thought to dwell (cf. Deut. 16:21; 1 Kings 16:33; 2 Kings 16:4; Ezek. 6:13). There is a tree cult in Palestine even today. In ancient Canaan idolatry found expression in that divinity was attributed to the powers of nature and worship was held under the trees.”

Comparing and contrasting these verses with Psalm 1 and Genesis 2 yields powerful insights.

Through Isaiah God says idolaters—including those who worship nature—will be “like an oak whose leaf withers.” In contrast, Psalm 1 says one who delights in God’s law and meditates on it day and night “is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:3).

Here in Isaiah God says the powerful, oppressive idolaters of Jerusalem would “become tinder,” their work “a spark,” and they would “burn … with none to quench them.” Psalm 1 describes the wicked as “like chaff that the wind drives away” who “will not stand in the judgment” (Psalm 1:4–5).

The contrast between these trees and gardens, planted by idolatrous men, and the Garden of Eden, planted by God, is even more striking. The trees of these gardens would wither, but “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden [of Eden]” (Genesis 2:9).These gardens are “without water.” But “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden [of Eden], and there it divided and became four rivers” that watered the whole Earth (Genesis 2:10).

The makers of idolatrous gardens—gardens used for the worship of false gods, particularly gods of nature—would “be ashamed of the oaks [they] desired; and … blush for the gardens” they chose (Isaiah 1:29).

The irony is striking. The idolatrous people of Jerusalem before the exile made gardens for themselves, with mighty trees, in which they worshiped the Canaanite nature gods, thinking this would make their fields and livestock fertile and so themselves prosperous. The actual consequence would be the opposite: they would be overthrown, impoverished, enslaved, removed from their land—and their land would be made desolate.

“God has chosen Judah,” writes Young, “but Judah had chosen a tree, the symbol of man’s fall into sin. Yet man cannot find in nature or nature worship an answer to the deepest needs of the soul.”

Fallen mankind is always striving to get back into the Garden of Eden but cannot. Only God can renew creation and the human soul. And He can and will. To the very same people to whom He gave the warning of Isaiah 1:29–31, God also said, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

Many modern environmentalists, like those Earth Firsters in the video above, have “chosen a tree” rather than the God who made all trees. In addition to our ongoing work bringing sound science and economics to bear on Earth stewardship, the Cornwall Alliance, as part of our In His Image 2012 educational initiative, is preparing a gospel presentation and training program specifically designed to reach people caught up in various aspects of environmentalism. Will you please help us with your tax-deductible donation today?

E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D., Founder and National Spokesman

Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation

[M. T. Cross]

head/desk

[M. T. Cross]

I really have to wonder how many people that go on about Pagan this or Pagan that have ever taken any time to actually study up on or learn anything about these religions at all.

This misconception that pagans are all earth worshipers for one is way out of wack. Also many pagans believe in a God, some believe in many Gods, some just think its good to live in balance with the planet around them and do not worship it but respect it. There are a small number that do indeed worship the earth.

Seriously, if you are going to take the time to put something down, "call it out" for its evils - maybe do the intelligent thing and actually know a little about what you are talking about.

[CoAspen]

You want people to do what???!! Surely you jest! This simply is not the place to expect such!

Since the God of the Bible was the person who instructed humans to take care of this world He created for them, that would make Him a............!! I love it when people try to misrepresent God....NOT!

Some people are single minded, EC, you can visit my place and church anytime without anyone looking down on you!!

[CoAspen]

Ah yes, Cornwell Alliance!

And here is an other part of their story...>>On Friday, at the polluter-funded Heritage Foundation, Cornwall rolled out its latest campaign called “Resisting the Green Dragon.” Billed as “a Biblical response to one of the greatest deceptions of our day,” the video series claims the entire climate change movement is a “false religion,” a nefarious conspiracy to empower eugenicists and create a “global government.” Watch the absurd trailer here, which portrays the idea of climate change as akin to the Lord of the Rings villain Sauron:

Thus far, Cornwall has been able to masquerade as a legitimate, independent group of pastors and religious leaders opposed to addressing climate change. However, ThinkProgress investigated the group and found deep ties to the oil industry, as well as with longtime right-wing operatives orchestrating the climate science denial machine.

The Cornwall Alliance appears to be a creation of a group called the James Partnership, a nonprofit run by Chris Rogers and Peter Stein, according to documents filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Rogers, who heads a media and public relations firm called CDR Communications, collaborates with longtime oil front group operative David Rothbard, the founder and President of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and Jacques Villarreal, a lower level staffer at CFACT, for his James Partnership group. In the past, Rogers’ firm has worked for the Bush administration and for the secretive conservative planning group, the Council for National Policy.

According to public records, the following entities are all registered to the same address, 9302-C Old Keene Mill Road Burke, VA 22015, an office park in suburban Virginia:

- Rogers’ consulting firm, CDR Communications

- Rogers’ nonprofit hub, the James Partnership

- The Cornwall Alliance

- The new “Resisting the Green Dragon” website

In late 2005, evangelical leaders like Rick Warren joined a drive to back a major initiative to fight global warming, saying “millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors.” To counter this historic shift in the evangelical community, a group called the “Interfaith Stewardship Alliance” (ISA) was launched to oppose action on carbon emissions and to deny the existence of climate chance. One of the men guiding this group was Paul Driessen, a consultant for ExxonMobil, the mining industry, and for CFACT.

For “stream lining” reasons, ISA relaunched as the Cornwall Alliance in 2006. With the new name came a redesigned website, highly produced web videos, and an organized network of churches to distribute climate change denying propaganda to hundreds of pastors around the country. The branding for the Cornwall Alliance is derived from the “Cornwall Declaration,” a 1999 document pushing back against the creation-care movement in the evangelical community. The Declaration “stressed a free-market environmental stewardship and emphasized that individuals and private organizations should be trusted to care for their own property without government intervention.” CFACT President Rothbard has been hailed as the “driving force” behind the Cornwall Declaration public relations effort.

CFACT is a gimmicky right-wing organization that does everything it can to try to discredit the science underpinning climate change. For instance, staffers from the group traveled to the Copenhagen conference on climate change to stage silly press conferences with Rush Limbaugh’s former producer and stunts aimed at mocking Greenpeace.

Chris Rogers and David RothbardBut who is the “driving force” behind CFACT? According to disclosures, CFACT is funded by at least $542,000 from ExxonMobil, $60,500 from Chevron, and $1,280,000 from Scaife family foundations, which are rooted in wealth from Gulf Oil and steel interests.

CFACT and the Cornwall Alliance, according to disclosures filed with the Washington State Secretary of State’s office, share a common fundraising firm, ClearWord Communications Group. ClearWord has helped raise millions of dollars not only for CFACT and Cornwall, but also for infamous polluter front groups like FreedomWorks, the Institute for Energy Research, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Last year, Cornwall produced a video with former Sen. George Allen (R-VA) attacking clean energy legislation as part of a campaign by the ExxonMobil-funded “American Energy Freedom Center.”

In a call to the Cornwall Alliance’s media office Monday afternoon, spokesman Quena Gonzalez said Cornwall has no relationship to CFACT and said CFACT President Rothbard has no official capacity with his group. Gonzalez said that in “several years of working” at Cornwall, he has never heard any questions about working with CFACT, and instructed ThinkProgress to contact Calvin Beisner, the national representative for Cornwall. Incidentally, Beisner is a board member of CFACT.

Rothbard had a central role in sparking the founding of Cornwall and is currently a partner with Chris Rogers, the man who runs Cornwall and CDR Communications. Nevertheless, under his capacity as CFACT President, Rothbard’s anti-Greenpeace publicity stunts are reported regularly on the Cornwall blog as breaking news, without any acknowledgement of Rothbard’s relationship with Cornwall.

Gonzalez also said he had never heard of CDR Communications. But according to his own LinkedIn profile, Gonzalez works for CDR Communications as the “Director for Religion and the Environment” at the firm. ThinkProgress contacted Chris Rogers on Monday, who contradicted Gonzalez and said his firm CDR Communications provides “support” for Cornwall but did not clarify.<<http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/06...ance/?mobile=nc

[Tom Wetmore]

And now the tea party backed extreme right wing Republican, Jim DeMint is stepping down from his Senate seat to become the head of the Heritage Foundation. Great credentials that...

(And by the way, Olger, since I pulled the political trigger in the thread maybe others will follow on in the same spirit and sink this into the mire of the political forum where it belongs...)

[Woody]

looks like this thread needs to be moved to the political forum by a moderator. Whoops - you are the moderator. Oh well.

[olger]

Not taking the bait, boy. But I will take the opportunity to remind us that

Our God is far greater than words can make known.

True, Grimmy,

G

[OzarkWoman]

I really have to wonder how many people that go on about Pagan this or Pagan that have ever taken any time to actually study up on or learn anything about these religions at all.

This misconception that pagans are all earth worshipers for one is way out of wack. Also many pagans believe in a God, some believe in many Gods, some just think its good to live in balance with the planet around them and do not worship it but respect it. There are a small number that do indeed worship the earth.

Seriously, if you are going to take the time to put something down, "call it out" for its evils - maybe do the intelligent thing and actually know a little about what you are talking about.

[OzarkWoman]

And now the tea party backed extreme right wing Republican, Jim DeMint is stepping down from his Senate seat to become the head of the Heritage Foundation. Great credentials that...

(And by the way, Olger, since I pulled the political trigger in the thread maybe others will follow on in the same spirit and sink this into the mire of the political forum where it belongs...)

If you don't like something, why is it that you are not able to just ignore it? Why is it that you think everyone should think the way you do about everything?

[Woody]

Quote:

If you don't like something, why is it that you are not able to just ignore it? Why is it that you think everyone should think the way you do about everything?

He does like to see his political views here in the Townhall Forum doesn't he OzarkWoman?

[Tom Wetmore]

Not taking the bait, boy. But I will take the opportunity to remind us that

Our God is far greater than words can make known.

True, Grimmy,

G

Of course not! You were the one that baited this hook. (Of course, ironically it's actually too late because it is clear you have swallowed this whole religion-speak infused anti-environmental political agenda hook, line and sinker...) Baiting a clearly secular political agenda hook with the Word of God is the essence of taking the Lord's name in vain, IMHO. CoAspen's informative post pulls back the curtain on this charade. The real source of your religious sounding appeal against environmentalism and global warming is overwhelmingly populated by Conservative political operatives and heavily funded by big oil industry special interests. Very little religion involved, unless politics is a religion.

This illustrates the danger we as Adventist have been clearly warned, the unequal yoking of religion and politics. Religion gets used by politics. Religion always comes out the big loser.

This was never really about religion. It was and is only political propaganda cloaked in religiosity. A wolf in sheep's clothes...

[Tom Wetmore]

Quote:

If you don't like something, why is it that you are not able to just ignore it? Why is it that you think everyone should think the way you do about everything?

He does like to see his political views here in the Townhall Forum doesn't he OzarkWoman?

Not really my political views, now is it? If I am mistaken about the politics of the OP, it will stay here in Townhall. Otherwise its life expectancy here will be short indeed...

[Tom Wetmore]

Originally Posted By: Tom Wetmore

And now the tea party backed extreme right wing Republican, Jim DeMint is stepping down from his Senate seat to become the head of the Heritage Foundation. Great credentials that...

(And by the way, Olger, since I pulled the political trigger in the thread maybe others will follow on in the same spirit and sink this into the mire of the political forum where it belongs...)

If you don't like something, why is it that you are not able to just ignore it? Why is it that you think everyone should think the way you do about everything?

It's not about me liking something or not. And keeping this a politics free zone means I can't ignore it.

You greatly misunderstand me by assuming I think everyone should think like me about everything. I value and am surrounded by many who clearly view things very differently than I do. What I would appreciate greatly is that others would actually think rather than parroting propaganda from purely partisan hacks.

[CoAspen]

Quote:

What I would appreciate greatly is that others would actually think rather than parroting propaganda from purely partisan hacks.

Yes, religion get used for many things, the worst is propogandizing political view points.

Such organizations and thoughts are much more likely to bring about the end of religious freedom than the constant battering of catholicism.

[JoeMo]

Hey MT,

You gotta admit that some people who are ignorant can also be imaginative. Tying the environmental movement to paganism is almost as ludicrous as tying the anti-environmental movement to Christianity. It's all about the money folks! Religion and politics have nothing to do with it! the NYSE, S&P, and the NASDAQ rule the world! They may influence politics; but politicians follow the money. The entire world is run by a coin-operated bureaucracy!

As an expert in the energy industry, I am aware that global warming is a real issue caused by a multitude of activity (including human activity). I am also aware that if the U.S. and Canada could reduce their carbon footprint to zero in the next 15 minutes, the increase in the carbon footprint in China and India in the next 5 years would dwarf the elimination of the carbon footprint in the U.S. and Canada. Where do you think the U.S is gonna send all that coal we're mining and not burning? To China and India! Why? For the $$$$$!

Did you know that the cumulative methane and carbon dioxide in the cumulative f-arts of the world's termite population is equivalent to that produced by all of humanity? Did you know that humanity is only responsible for about 3% of the world's production of greenhouse gas (the rest comes from nature)? Did you know that if all of humanity reduced it's carbon footprint to zero in the next 15 minutes, it would take a minimum of 50 years for enough greehouse gas to be leached out of the atmosphere to stabilize temperatures?

Do you know that out of 60 million years of Antarctic and Greenland ice core data, no one has been able to demonstrate a consistent positive correlation between CO2 content of the atmosphere and temperature? (no red-herring arguments about a young-earth please. There are other threads for that)

Don't believe me? Google it! Go to the EIA website! Google Robert Bryce and see the research he has done.

OH - BTW - lay off the pagan conspiracy bovine excrement until you learn a little bit about paganism.

[olger]

So we're agreed??

Termite flatulence should be regulated!!

[olger]

Hot off the griddle !!

http://www.cfact.org/pdf/ClimateDepot-ExtremeWeatherReport2012.pdf

[CoAspen]

As has been stated before, NOT a fact site. Try again.

Thumbs down!!

[JoeMo]

Quote:

NOT a fact site. Try again.

Not completely factual - a little biased. But more factual than most of the propaganda put out by the media, Al Gore, and the anti-energy environmentalists. Without a breakthrough in energy storage, existing forms of renewable energy will never meet today's expanding energy needs.

Try this equation on for size:

ENERGY=PROSPERITY

You will be unable to show me any expanding and prosperous economy that does not rely on increased use of energy for its prosperity. The fact is that unless we want our children and grandchildren to freeze to death in the dark, we are obligated to burn fossil fuels until renewable energy becomes far more efficient and cost effective than it is currently; and until it can be dispatched to meet variable demand.

[Tom Wetmore]

Seems more than a little beside the point...

[Tom Wetmore]

...better than hot griddle glop -

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-science-predictions-prove-too-conservative

[olger]

As has been stated before, NOT a fact site. Try again.

Thumbs down!!

You mean they don't come up with conclusions that you prefer, so their opinions are brushed aside as somehow incorrect.

Your mind is already made up on the issue apparently. Let me ask a question. If you discovered that the whole anthropengenic global warming scenario was a hoax, how would you feel? Think about it.

G

[Tom Wetmore]

Seems your words fit your perspective more so... mind made up... brushing aside scientific evidence you don't prefer...

And when you finally realize it is not a hoax, how will you feel? Think about it.

[JoeMo]

Tom - here'a quote from the bottom of the "Scientific American" article:

Quote:

This article originally appeared at The Daily Climate, the climate change news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.

Daily Climate is an organization that promotes the theory of man-caused climate change; and makes their "non-profit" money off of like-minded people. You wouldn't actually expect them to say anything different, would you? It would reduce their "non-profit"!