Posted on 01/12/2011 7:55:46 AM PST by Olympiad Fisherman
In his seminal essay “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” published in Science magazine in 1967, historian Lynn Townsend White, Jr. argues that those Biblical precepts made Christianity, “especially in its Western form,” the “most anthropocentric religion the world has seen.” In stark contrast to pagan animism, Christianity posited “a dualism of man and nature” and “insisted that it is God’s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends.” Whereas older pagan creeds gave a cyclical account of time, Christianity presumed a teleological direction to history, and with it the possibility of progress. This belief in progress was inherent in modern science, which, wedded to technology, made possible the Industrial Revolution. Thus was the power to control nature achieved by a civilization that had inherited the license to exploit it.
To White, this was not a positive historical development. Writing just a few years after the publication of Rachel Carson’s eco-blockbuster Silent Spring, White shared in the concern over techno-industrial culture’s destruction of nature. Whatever benefit scientific and technological innovation had brought mankind was eclipsed by the “out of control” extraction and processing powers of industrial life and the mechanical degradation of the earth. Christianity, writes White, “bears a huge burden of guilt” for the destruction of the environment ...
(Excerpt) Read more at thenewatlantis.com ...
Liberalism, Progressivism, Communism and Socialism all bear a huge burden of guilt for the oppression and destruction of man.
Christianity brought us Hospitals, Universities, Caring for the Aged and your fellow man.
Environmentalism seeks the oppression of man, by making the "Environment", not the benefit of man, the primary focus. "Death Panels", "Survival of the Fittest", Euthanasia and Abortion are surly in its wake.
Do not seek for such, for such is only Ruination and Despair.
Evangelical Atheistic Ecotheology is clearly the up and coming religion these days. Their main competitor is, of course, Islam.
It will be a good matchup.
Arthur Schopenhauer, the original animal rights guru in Germany in the mid 1800’s, made similar arguments that Lynn White made in the 1960’s - but - he also targeted especially the Jews. Schopenhauer is also considered by some environmental historians to be one of the primary pioneers of what is today called environmental ethics. Such environmental historians, of course, ignore his anti-Semitism. This also becomes very ominous indeed precisely because Adolf Hitler’s favorite philosopher was Arthur Schopenhauer, and that the first piece of legislation that the Nazis really pushed in 1933 was an animal rights law, which was aimed directly at the Jews and their practice of kosher ritual slaughter on Passover, was no coincidence. For much more on this connection, please visit www.rmarkmusser.com (yours truly).
We now live in a modest house, on several acres so that we can raise a fair amount of our own produce.
We drive small, high gas mileage cars.
Our house is heated by a natural gas well on the property.
And we're frugal. We buy things, when needed, keeping in mind that they need to last for many years. This often means we buy rebuilt appliances, etc. from the 50s-70s due to the better materials used and absence of un-repairable electronics.
Some would call it "living for Gaia"...I call it "going Galt".
More “Trash Thought” with a patina of theology to disguise it. Note the following:
“Describing environmentalism as a religion is not equivalent to saying that global warming is not real. Indeed, the evidence for it is overwhelming, and there are powerful reasons to believe that humans are causing it.”
The author, a theological poseur mouths the Goron line, “Indeed, the evidence for it is overwhelming, “ when there is NO such “overwhelming” evidence.
The theologically inclined should avoid discussions predicated upon facts, as beliefs (the sum & substance of theology) are not a substitute for the hard data and sound premises of science.
Why is it that these opponents of teleology never seem to criticize or object to the historical teleology and progressivism of Hegelianism and Marxism?
For competitors, they never seem to be in conflict with each other.
I was surprised by his belief in global warming too.
That pins the tail on the donkey - please take a look at these particular postings that you should find very interesting - Communistic Social Science and Apocalyptic Revolution - http://www.theignorantfishermen.com/2010/08/communistic-social-science-apocalyptic.html and then Secular Fundamentalism, Profane Prophecy and its Godless Social Engineering - http://www.theignorantfishermen.com/2010/06/secular-fundamentalism-profane-prophecy.html.
This is precisely why many uninformed Christians are being taken down the green garden path.
What a fabulous article, thanks for posting. Environmentalism, and its attendant phobia of global warming, is the Marxism of our generation. We do well to understand its philosophical moorings.
Yep, it’s a religion with those folks, and whoever doesn’t believe is an infidel.
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