Turning the Tide?

Amazing... I'm seeing evidence that the evangelicals are coming around to see the environment as worth protecting.

Apparently there are evangelical groups forming that are calling for better pollution controls and more environmentally-friendly policies by the Bush Administration. Interestingly, the normally off-the-scale-to-the-right leader of "Focus on the Family," James Dobson is one of the signatories to a document signed by the National Association of Evangelicals, which calls for environmental responsibility among all Christians and more civic responsibility by the government in creating a sustainable environment. Other signatories include Ted Haggard, head of the N.A.E., and Chuck Colson, head of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Of course, the article discusses the usual mistrust by the evangelicals of traditional environmentalism, and prefers to refer to it as "creation care," in reference to the Bible, naturally. But despite this shortcoming, a positive step is being seen as mainstream evangelicals are pulling away from the dispensationalists (the folks who see the earth as available to be used up, basically, in preparation for the rapture).

An interesting point in the article is made by John C. Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. He takes some time to discuss the evangelicals' suspicion of traditional environmentalists:

"While evangelicals are open to being good stewards of God's creation, they believe people should only worship God, not creation," Green said. "This may sound like splitting hairs. But evangelicals don't see it that way. Their stereotype of environmentalists would be Druids who worship trees."

Another reason that evangelicals are suspicious of environmental groups is cultural and has its origins in how conservative Christians view themselves in American society, according to the Rev. Jim Ball, executive director of the Evangelical Environmental Network.

"Evangelicals feel besieged by the culture at large," Ball said. "They don't know many environmentalists, but they have the idea they are pretty weird -- with strange liberal, pantheist views."

I find it interesting that these evangelicals, Green seems to be saying, do not understand how anyone can be secularly interested in saving the environment, but rather that they must have some faith-based reason for wanting to protect the earth.

That explains much - to an evangelical, he seems to be saying, one takes religion into consideration for everything. On the other hand, a person like me looks at saving the environment because I'm concerned about the future of life on earth and the health of the world's population. God really doesn't ever enter into it for me. I once dated a girl who didn't understand how I didn't stop to pray when something was going poorly for me or I needed to decide on a course of action. It simply wasn't in her mindset to accept that I didn't see prayer as necessary. And the same seems to be in play here.

It'll bear following this issue more closely, I think - I'm too suspicious in general to take too much at face value. But it certainly seems to be a step in the right direction for the environment!