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The Bible Isn’t Green: The Case Against Environmentalism

Sarah Modene

The environmental movement has taken the world by storm. We see it everywhere: shirts are plastered with recycling emblems and “Go Green!” slogans, the morning news tends to be devoted to stories on schools spending $800,000 on solar panels, and it’s virtually impossible to walk through a bookstore without seeing Al Gore’s face staring at you from the front displays.

Sure, environmentalism is attractive on the surface. How you can you go wrong with wanting to help the environment? Environmentalists tell us that saving the planet is a glorious cause: a calling for each self-sacrificial human being to tackle. If we don’t stop using incandescent light bulbs and driving non-hybrid cars, our combined carbon footprints will result in impending doom.

But that’s exactly where the movement fails. Our planet is not facing destruction due to our supposed environmental failings. Rather, God has everything under control; He always has and always will. There is a marked difference between making an effort to take care of what God has given us and striving to “save the planet.” The latter is a philosophy that has no bearings on truth and, ultimately, has evolved into a religion and an industry that rakes in profits by the millions.

The Bible is very clear on environmentalism, despite assertions of its ambiguity on the matter. In fact, we can find God’s plan for mankind and the earth within the first few pages of Scripture.

A Disorganized Movement

But first, it is important to understand exactly what the environmental movement is. There are several different factions within environmentalism, only a few of which represent the movement’s largest members.

The environmental movement is a “diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing the concerns of environmentalism.” [1]

In other words, it’s the driving force behind the philosophy of environmentalism. The movement can be traced back to 1832, around the time of the early conservation movement. But the environmental movement did not really make waves in American culture until the early 1960s, and even then it took until the 1970s to kick off. Incidentally, the terms “ozone depletion,” “global climate change,” “acid rain,” and “deforestation” became common words in our vocabulary about this time.

Environmentalism is a disorganized philosophy, and the same can be said for the movement as well. Practically any topic related to the environment, conservation, biology, and preservation can be classified as relevant to the movement. Structurally, the movement has little balance or unity; it is fueled primarily by political intent.

Recently, the environmental movement has taken on the form of a cult rather than a national faction. The media has had a large hand in this progression, portraying those who scorn global warming and other such beliefs as ignorant and biased. As a result, environmentalism has become a trump card for power-hungry politicians eager to win votes and support.

Biblical Evidence

After examining what the Bible has to say about environmentalism, perhaps you will be able to see that taking a stand against the movement is an important factor in promoting a God-honoring attitude in our culture.

The most important passage of Scripture that disproves environmentalism is Genesis 1:28-29:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (KJV)

Take a close look at the action terms in the first verse: “replenish” and “subdue.” Environmentalists would be right-on in their philosophy if only they took into consideration an important key to maintaining a healthy balance in our “relationship” with the earth. Yes, God cares about His creation and desires us to take care of it. But He also wants us to make use of the natural resources He has given to us. And in doing so, we are, in fact, glorifying Him.

This leads to another important point: you cannot live a healthy, normal life without “subduing” the earth. According to one writer, “…there is not one who does not dominate nature in numerous ways.” ¹ Even the most dedicated conservationists live in homes built of and furnished with wood from lumberyards, eat harvested vegetables, and buy clothing made from animal materials such as leather. It is not possible to exist without using at least some of the earth’s resources. King David could not have put it more plainly when he stated in Psalm 115:16 that “the heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men” (KJV).

Evolutionary in Origin?

Environmentalism is incompatible with Christianity for another reason, and it causes valid concern in Christian circles today: namely, it is pantheistic and evolutionary. Evolution is essential to environmentalism, illustrated primarily by notable environmentalist Al Gore. In his 1992 best-seller Earth in the Balance, Gore blatantly pursues evolutionary theories, many of which have since been scientifically disproved.² He is certainly not the only conservationist to do so. Because the theory of evolution is such that each species depends upon the other, environmentalists apply this to the relationship between human beings and the earth. Pantheism is at the root of the environmental movement. Friends of the Earth International, the world’s largest grassroots environmental network, issued a statement in 2007 in which they proclaimed that “[t]he Earth is a creation to be honored and respected as our Mother.”³ Environmentalists see the human race as being equal with animals, plants, and all life forms. This belief is clearly not in line with the biblical teaching that Man has a soul, whereas all other creations do not.

Hindus, for example, allow disease-ridden cows and mice to live among them and devour essential sources of food while their children starve to death. Pantheism promotes self-destruction and the debasement of the human race with its fundamental belief that humans are an enemy to nature. As we saw in Genesis 1, however, God’s ideal plan was for the human race to keep a natural balance on the earth by subduing and replenishing. Perhaps the most obvious flaw in environmentalists’ reasoning is their fear that the earth is in imminent danger, and our survival depends upon its salvation from our own destructive presence. Yet God is in control. Hebrews 1:3 assures us that God upholds all things, while Colossians 1:17 firmly states that God is before all things, and all things will consist by Him so long as He is God.

What About Nature’s Impact on Us?

Yes, humans have impacted nature. And of course we can do more to replenish the earth God has given us. But have you ever stopped to think of how disasters in nature have impacted our lives? There are countless examples: the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the many earthquakes and tsunamis that occur in Indonesia and Asia, and terrible droughts and famines in central Africa. I’m certain that these events have caused more destruction and damage than acid rain has in New York City.

According to many environmentalists, Christians twist Scripture in order to claim that the earth is ours to use as we please, and as it’s all going to be destroyed someday anyways, we can do whatever we want with its resources. However, the rational Christian will take the key verses we previously examined and see them in their true light.

The bottom line is that yes, God wants us to use what He has given us, and yes, we are to be good stewards and take care of what He has given us. However, this view clearly does not line up with environmentalism. We, as Christians, cannot justify promoting nature above God, while simultaneously deifying the earth and taking part in a political movement that has no value in God’s eyes.

It’s a fact: environmentalism is not compatible with Christianity because it involves the placement of nature and our own efforts above God’s Word.

Simply put, the Bible isn’t green.

1 Wikipedia.org (”Environmental Movement”). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_movement

¹Lansdown, Andrew. “The ‘greenness’ of God.” Creation Magazine. December 1992, pp. 26-29

²Ham, Ken. “An ‘unbalanced’ view of Earth!” Answers in Genesis. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2/4284news4-21-2000.asp (21 April 2000)

³Miller, Dave. “Evolution, Environmentalism, and the Deification of Nature. Apologetics Press. http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3570 (28 January 2008)