Frank Bell wrote:

There's the Garden of Eden, from where man was banished. There's
dominion over the earth and its creatures, ranking the environment
subordinate to man. There's the idea that Jesus can multiply fish and
bread from thin air to feed the masses. Jesus was a carpenter and hung
on a wooden cross, placing forest products in a strict utilitarian
context. There's raising the dead and reincarnation, which implies a
spiritual violation and divorce of spirit from the natural order of
things. There's the whole famine, plague, flood thing of environment
as antagonist.

Then there's the idea of hell being a volcanic, subterranean realm in
earthly bowels made of fire and brimstone. I don't know if that last
idea is in the bible, but it is certainly popular among Christians.
The point is the earth is not a happy place for Christians, and their
ultimate goal is to reach somewhere better. For Christians, the earth
is a stepping stone, a place of trials and tribulations, and in whose
bosom lay the fire and brimstone of eternal damnation. The Bible, as
used and interpreted by the majority of Christian fundamentalists, is
not a model of environmental stewardship.




OK, I'm gonna debate ya on this a little, although I certainly don't share
Larry's perspective. I think you're stretching with your "Bible as
Anti-Environment" thesis. For starters, while the Bible does assign man the
role of master over the creatures and lands of the Earth, it explicitly
charges him to PROTECT creation, not destroy it. And harvesting it for
man's use does not equate to destruction; I don't think anybody would say
that fishing or hunting equates to environmental destruction. Of course,
like any activities, you have the good along with the bad- for every kid
with a fishing pole on a quiet northern lake, there's a trawler with a drag
net wreaking havoc on marine environments. I'm not sure how you can say
that Jesus as a carpenter is a sign that the Bible is anti-environment; one
of my best paddling buddies is a finishing carpenter. For that matter,
aren't his wooden canoes just as "utilitarian" as a wooden cross? Famine,
plague, and antagonists? Remember the tsunami thing that several of our
friends in Asia recently dealt with? I suspect they would agree that nature
is indeed an antagonist at times! Treating nature as antagonist is one
thing; destroying it to further your own interests entirely something
different.

Is earth a place of trials and tribulations? Sure. If you're leading a
life *without* trials and/or tribulations, please share your experiences- I
bet you're the only one in that position :-) Why is Earth as a place of
trial a bad thing? I endure the "trial" of whitewater whenever I can, and
believe me, there are many rapids that I view as being antagonistic, almost
malevolent! But trials and adversity are not bad; they give you the chance
to stand tall. I believe that is the true function of creation as described
in the Bible- a place to rise above trials and tribulation, a place to meet
those challenges and succeed! If others view the trials and tribulations of
life on earth as an enemy rather than a spiritual refining process, that
would be their failing, IMO.

I certainly agree that there is some movement in the Christian right to
treat the enviroment like a big cookie jar, but that really isn't the fault
of the Bible or it's writers. I would opine that that is more indicative of
Christian fundamentalists failure to understand God's desire that man act as
a steward of the environment. Personally, I believe that Christian
fundamentalists fail to understand God's instructions in more areas than
just environmental stewardship, but that's a whole different story.


The examples I used illustrate the idea of man's subjugation of
nature. Many Christians believe in a spiritual hierarchy; man is above
the animals (nature) and God and the angels are above man. Indeed,
Satan, who was God's favorite angel, upon thinking himself the equal
of God was cast from heaven into hell (earth?). Or, so the story goes.

The contention isn't that the Bible is anti-environment. Rather, the
Christian belief of earth/nature as a couple notches below some lofty,
heavenly ideal is not pro-environment. It's as if earth/nature is a
kind of waiting room, or queue or elevator before entering into the
kingdom of heaven.

Jesus multiplied fish and loaves. This doesn't happen in the real
world without serious consequences. I recently posted a story about
the environmental effects of fish farming. You can see satellite
photos of rain forest deforestation by slash and burn to clear cattle
pastures. Old growth forest continue to decline, other forested lands
have been replaced with commercial monoculture forests. The natural
environment can indeed be antagonistic, but the Bible uses these as
examples of God's wrath and punishment for man's digressions.

There was a brief, almost tenderly naive period of popular
environmentalism during the activist '60s. Joni Mitchell, in her
dedication to the times, says in "Woodstock," "We've got to get
ourselves back to the Garden." The sentiment that we can get back to
the Garden has been misplaced and forgotten.

Some of the writings of Naturalists, Thoreau, Abbey, Craig Childs,
etc. are among the most beautiful, evocative and inspiring writings I
have ever read. Nature is a place of deep spirit. Our boats may be
wood or petroleum based, but they express a sense of conservation. A
river can evoke a timelessness. Nature comes across, through and
reflected back upon us. We see through fresh eyes and breath moist
air, like being born again.





--
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me

- From "Ballad of Serenity" by Joss Whedon