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.

Frank, if it doesn't shake you up to badly, I am with you on this one!
Stewardship is the key, and in fact I believe there will be a day of
reckoning for all those who claim to be Christians and were poor
stewards. The Scriptures say that we who claim a greater understanding,
will be held to a greater responsibility. Now that is not an excuse for
staying ignorant, but those who may be proposing to hurry the Lord's
return by trashing the environment, may not be so happy when He starts
asking them to give account.

Now I would also have to say that I have never heard any of the
Christians I know propose trashing the environment, though I can also
understand that there could be some that would. There are definitely
some wackos out here who make some pretty bizarre claims. However the
solution is not to lump all Christian fundementalist into one big pile.
There are many various flavors, though the lions aren't to
discriminating. TnT