Climate Change & Christianity

The Word of God places the responsibility of the Earth in our hands, so why don't churches talk about environmental issues? Why aren't we mobilizing against the pollution of our planet the way we mobilize against other issues?

²⁶Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” ²⁷So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28 NASB

definition

Dominion [1]

noun

1. : DOMAIN
2. law : supreme authority : SOVEREIGNTY
   having dominion over the natural world
3. dominions plural, Christianity : an order of angels
   — see CELESTIAL HIERARCHY
4. often capitalized, government : a self-governing nation of the Commonwealth of Nations other than the United Kingdom that acknowledges the British monarch as chief of state
5. law : absolute ownership

Our Responsibility

• Mankind was given dominion over the earth
• It is our responsibility to care for the Earth
• As we fall deeper into sin, we fail at the initial task God gave us: rule over the Earth
• Our sins are what lead to the final judgment, which is to be proceeded by cataclysmic events (Matthew 24; Revelation)
• Many of the events prophesied to occur during the end times sound a lot like Climate Change...

Climate Change	End Times
caused by people's actions	casued by people's actions (sin)
affects the climate of the Earth, can cause storms, earthquakes, famines, etc.	earthquakes, wars, famines, pestilence

Important Documentaries to Watch

• The Devil We Know
• A Plastic Ocean

Both are on Netflix

The Devil We Know

• Teflon was created by 3M and DuPont, and began distribution in the 1940's[2]
• Cancer rates have been drastically increasing since at least the 1970's (note, Teflon pans were "ok'd" for cooking in the 60s)[3]
• The creation of Teflon requires the productions of PFOA, PFAS, and/or C8 (all of which are carcinogenic)
• 3M warned DuPont about the hazards of these chemicals in the 1980s and by the 1990s, DuPont knew they were carcinogenic[4]
• DuPont continues to produce PFOA, PFAS, and/or C8 in the making of Teflon until 2015, when they were finally "held accountable" in court[4]
• DuPont dumped these chemicals in the Ohio River and polluted the entire world between the beginning of Teflon in 1940 until 2015
• No one was sentenced to jail[4]
• DuPont was given a 3 year period to phase out the use of PFOA, PFAS, and C8 in producing Teflon
• Now they produce GenX[5]
  • Inital studies show that GenX is also carcinogenic
  • It has been found in the water of North Carolina where DuPont has a facility
• Further Reading:
  • Dark Waters Tells the True Story of the Lawyer Who Took DuPont to Court and Won. But Rob Bilott’s Fight Is Far From Over
  • Study Links Teflon Chemical to Higher Cancer Rates"

A Plastic Ocean

• Plastic doesn't break down and is ending up in our ocean
• Bacteria grows on the plastic and toxins leech out into the fish in the ocean[6]
• The toxins released into fish, are then consumed by humans eating said fish[6]
• Fish and birds are consuming and dying from this plastic
• China started refusing our recycling[7]

Our Fault

• The environmental issues in our world are caused by greed and selfishness
• Both greed and selfishness are sins the Bible warns us about (specifically in the last days!)
• 1 Timothy 6:10

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 2 Timothy 3:2 NASB

The Importance of Water

• Scientifically, water is the sole reason for life on Earth
• Let's look at water in the Bible:
  • God's Spirit hoovers over the waters at Creation (Genesis 1)
  • God destroys the world with water during the flood (Genesis 6)
  • Baptism by water represents salvation and points to eternal life (Matthew 3:16)
  • Yeshua/Jesus—the living water—is sent to bring salvation and eternal life (John 4:10)
  • In the final days, the water will be poisoned (Revelation 8:11)

The star is named Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter. Revelation 8:11 NASB

• The implications of destroying our water supply are being fulfilled both literally and symbolically

References

1. "Dominion". Merriam Webster; visited May 2021
2. "Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Teflon, and Related Chemicals". Cancer.org; visited May 2021
3. William A. Haseltine. "Cancer Rates Are On The Rise In Adolescents And Young Adults New Study Shows". Forbes. December 9, 2020
4. Nathaniel Rich. "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare". New York Times. January 6, 2016
5. Alex Formuzis. "EPA: GenX Nearly as Toxic as Notorious Non-Stick Chemicals It Replaced". Environmental Working Group. November 14, 2018
6. Gianna Andrews. "Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health. Geology and Human Health; visited May 2021
7. Kenneth Rapoza. "China Doesn’t Want The World’s Trash Anymore. Including ‘Recyclable’ Goods.". Forbes. November 29, 2020

How I Almost Died...

I almost died trying to groom a horse! The biggest lesson I learned was, when the Holy Spirit says, "Move," you better MOVE! I didn't mention it in the video, but I had that horse for about 10 years. She died from colic when I was in college.

Gloomy Day

Gray clouds sweep accross
The sky so dreary and damp—
All day the rain falls

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Despo Potamou

Stopping Time

Time stops for a moment
And I stand in awe at the sights around me
Breathe in the air
Touch the textures of fabric
See the colors swirling
Smell the crisp of cinnamon
And hear the wind caressing the leaves...
A glimpse of perfection
Embedded in this moment.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Nathan Dumlao

The Grand Gold Tree

Metallic gold leaves cover thick brown limbs like a coat
Stretching up into the blue of the sky above me,
And large round fruit bursting from the branches,
Vibrant hues of deep purple and blue swirling...
Warm and inviting, majestic and strong—
I am tiny beneath it's canopy, tiny beside its fruit.
I could sit in its branches for hours,
Listening to the rustle of leaves
And the scurrying of squirrels...
I doze off in the comfort of its safety,
Realizing I was already asleep.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Patrick Hendry

Autumn Scene

Bright color before me,
Warm and inviting and bold
The color of fall...

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Aaron Burden

Winter is at the Door

Spring turned to Summer,
Summer turned to fall
And the leaves are falling,
One by one they disappear.
Winter's knocking at the door
And the cold is settling in
I'm not ready for it all to end,
But the clock is ticking,
And time is almost up.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Annie Spratt

Bubbles

Big round eyes
Under long wiskers
Bouncing as you walk.
Brown and black patches
Linger between stripes
Enable expressions
Sweet and sly.

Fishing For Ideas

Ideas flow like water in a stream,
     Constant and steady,
Never circling their way back—
I dive for them
     As though they were fish
Jumping out of the water sporadically.
Sometimes they slip through my fingers
Slick and hard to grasp,
But sometimes I find myself with a prize,
A living body, squirming in my hands—
In my control, ready to shape, ready to mold.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Drew Farwell

When Monday is a Rainy Day

Rain on a Monday is like
A flat tire in rush hour traffic...
Gray and dreary and full of regret,
Slow and fast all at the same time
But for the soothing rhythym
Of droplets on the window
Steadying my mood.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Gabriele Diwall

Shipwrecked on Earth

Once upon a time, I knew of another place,
Unfortunately, my vessel crash landed here—
I stepped out to find this poisoned planet,
And my whole self was consumed in fear.
People were selling hate on every corner,
No one seemed to care about the other—
People were starving and without a home,
Sister against sister and brother against brother...
Scientists rushing to find the most efficient way to kill—
Bombs that reign great and terrible fire from the sky
For unnecessary wars against people just like them
With no concern for how many live or die.
Polution and trash littered on every street
Because they're more comfortable with laziness and greed
So let the environment cry out in protest
Because the corporations will never concede...
And I wondered what I had done to deserve this,
Why I would land upon such a horrible place—
So I vowed to look for something good
To find this wretched land worthy of grace.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Chandler Cruttenden

Water in the Morning

  Dewdrops in the morning
    awake sleeping plants—
Night passes away—
  Quench the thirst
Of green life.

Photocredit: Unspalsh.com/Sven Read

Rainbow Promises

When waves are crashing down and the storm is too intense--
I know my Father stands guard; He has promised me this.
The waves will not drown me; The storm cannot win.
He sent me a life raft & taught me how to swim.
He makes the waters still and calm;
They obey His promises
To you and me

Falling Stars

The sky is on fire,
Stars removed from their place—
Streaks of orange in the night
Light upon my face.

Darkness is replaced
By these streaks of light
All eyes focused on this display
of stars blazing bright.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Nick Iliasov

The Untouched World

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Baard Hansen

In my mind there's a swirl
     of visions and smells,
A world created inside my head...

The water is perfectly blue,
The trees are vividly green—
There are fireflies and tigers,
     bees buzz blissfully among blooms.

This world is untouchded
Pristine—

Our corruption has not marred her beauty.
In this world people are better
     at caring,
     at loving,
     at watching over...

I close my eyes daily and travel here
Wishing my vision was real.

Tomato

Green--round and heavy
Dangels from the fuzzy vine
Ripening in gold sun.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Oxa Roxa

Waterfall

Water flows from high
above rocky hills and plains
to the trenches below.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Marie Rouilly

Broken History

Dreams are the privilege
        of those who sleep—
Sound and restful moments,
But I don't sleep.
When I close my eyes,
Light gives way to darkness
        and in the darkness I hear
The slow and deliberate cracking
        like glass shattering
The echo of clanking and tinging
As the pieces of my heart fall to the floor
I need the Light to find all the pieces
The heat of its fire to melt them back together.
But I never get it back the way it was,
There's always a blemish
        a missing piece that just wouldn't fit.
And the fire...
Remnant flames that won't go away—
Can I channel the flames into emotion—
Make moves, start a revolution?
Or will I close my eyes and dream.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Toa Heftiba

From A Barren View

Winter comes

And the trees become bare...

Give way to sight

In the distance over there.

I watch

Through once full trees

Gentle waves
Drifting in a gentle breeze--
A beautiful view
Stark, ordinarily concealed--
Waits for a season to come,
And from desolation, is revealed.

The Darkness Above

Black,

Blank and bewildering--

Behold, my God this emptiness...

Ethereal,

Ever-changing and eternal

Embodying these unclaimed souls...

Secretive,

Slow and spacious

Serenading the roots of my mind...

Majestic,

Matter and mayhem--

Murmuring, my God, it's full of stars...