...Regretfully, the three major Abrahamic religions — Christianity, Judism, and Islam — appear to lack a strong environmental ethic, and most of society has followed their example.
...“God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Rather than living in harmony with our world and as PART of the world, folks have taken the "dominion" word out of the Bible and have gone crazy with it.... I will only focus on Christianity here, since that's the religion I know most about.
...If we accept Jesus Christ as our personal saviour, we spend eternity in Heaven, living in our own mansion, enjoying streets of gold, and spending zillions of years "glorifying God."
...And by doing this, they ultimately seal their own fate, the fate of their children, the fate of nature, and the fate of others.
...No, but I believe that we Humans will have a close call, and that we have a lot of learning ahead of us. If I didn't believe we will ultimately survive and prevail, I wouldn't be operating this website.... I am NOT against any religion, I only oppose interpretations of religions that endanger nature, other Humans, and put our future at risk.
...I thought I had made some big discovery, only to find out that religion and industry have worked together for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
...Most of us only know the one faith that came to dominate the Mediterranean and then spread into our homelands.
...Over the centuries, the Christians, the Conquerers, and the Industrialists have all done a good job of marginalizing the early and indigenous peoples of our Planet.
...We are all either controlled or influenced by a belief system that operates on a double standard and forces us to live the one right way — the way of the modern Industrialists and Christians.
...The bottom line is that if we neglect and exploit the world that sustains us in the name of our religion, maybe it's time to find a new religion or at least re-examine how we're interpreting our current faith.
...While some fundamentalists, with the enthusiastic support of industry, continue to push the "dominion" idea, more and more denominations are standing up for environmental protection.
In the last two weeks I think I found another huge chunk of the puzzle to our current world dilemma. See, Western Civilization doesn't have much of an environmental ethic. Rather than living WITH nature, our attitude for the past 500 years has been to dominate and exploit our Natural World. From the beginning of the Industrial Age, such an attitude has caused major environmental problems, and if we don't change our ways soon, I feel like we're heading for the grand finale of our existence.
One thing I've realized is that religion has had an incredible influence on our progression during the past few centuries. Regretfully, the three major Abrahamic religions — Christianity, Judism, and Islam — appear to lack a strong environmental ethic, and most of society has followed their example. Essentially, the three major religions are anthropocentric, which means that Humans are seen as the Center of the Universe. This could be part of the problem, since many folks, especially conservative Christians, are hung up on the word "dominion."
“God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
—Genesis 1:26
Rather than living in harmony with our world and as PART of the world, folks have taken the "dominion" word out of the Bible and have gone crazy with it. They have used it to justify selfishness. "My property rights," is what a lot of traditional folks scream. So, coal miners are blowing the tops off mountains in West Virginia, all the while screaming "DOMINION." I will only focus on Christianity here, since that's the religion I know most about.
The common conservative viewpoint in Christianity is that we Humans are just passing through. We are here on Earth to learn, make the right decisions, and build our relationship with God. The world is temporary and will get blown up. The real focus should be on the Afterlife. If we accept Jesus Christ as our personal saviour, we spend eternity in Heaven, living in our own mansion, enjoying streets of gold, and spending zillions of years "glorifying God." I've never gotten a straight answer on the term, "glorify." I think it means we will be singing hymns. If we do not accept Christ, we will perish in Hell, where we will swim in a lake of fire, we'll feel incredible pain, but we won't die. This is the way it has always been explained to me in Church.
All of this is fine, but too many people use this Biblical premise as an excuse to shirk their responsibility to the environment. And by doing this, they ultimately seal their own fate, the fate of their children, the fate of nature, and the fate of others.
Will the fundamentalist interpretations of the Abrahamic religions eventually unravel the Human Race and Planet?
Yes, probably. But will we become extinct and destroy the Planet beyond repair? No, but I believe that we Humans will have a close call, and that we have a lot of learning ahead of us. If I didn't believe we will ultimately survive and prevail, I wouldn't be operating this website. The whole purpose for me, The Yellow Canary, is to simply warn about what I see as a Great Danger. I am NOT against any religion, I only oppose interpretations of religions that endanger nature, other Humans, and put our future at risk.
Last year I did a lot of research and even gave a presentation at a conference on the marriage between industry and religion.
I thought I had made some big discovery, only to find out that religion and industry have worked together for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. For instance, there was the feudal system in the Middle Ages, and today we have Ralph Reed, the former Christian Coalition leader and Enron consultant. But the biggest example that comes to mind of the industry-religion connection is the Spanish invasion of South America. Throughout the continent, on one hand the Spanish were sending missionaries to "save" the natives, while at the same time they robbed them blind. In the Quechua society of modern day Peru, the Spanish forced thousands of indigenous people to the mines, where many died.
SO, CANARY, WHAT'S YOUR POINT?
My point is that I'm not so sure the Abrahamic religions have been good for Earth. Throughout northern Europe, including Britain, nature was an integral part of Pagan worship. The acknowledgment of nature in the Pagan religions showed a certain appreciation and respect for the Earth. But the Holy Roman Empire came along and converted Europe — often by force — from naturalism to anthropocentric monotheism. Then, in the following centuries, Europe pushed their religious "enlightenment" on indigenous peoples around the world. Like ancient Europe, the religions of the Americas were ALSO nature based.
There is so much the early Europeans and Native Americans could have taught us, if only we had of listened. But WE were too busy growing our Industrial Society, with Religion serving as the barking herd dog that kept the sheep in line.
As for me, my ancestors come from Britain, Germany, and Lithuania. All three regions were rich in Pagan faiths. So, if you are Northern European like me, it may be helpful to study the faiths of your ancient ancestors. Most of us only know the one faith that came to dominate the Mediterranean and then spread into our homelands.
Maybe if we understood the religions of our ancestors, we could have a better connection to the Earth, as well as ourselves.
Over the centuries, the Christians, the Conquerers, and the Industrialists have all done a good job of marginalizing the early and indigenous peoples of our Planet. We hear terms like Heathens, Witches, Pagans, Barbarians, and Savages used in a bad way. These are terms given to individuals who do not meet the norms of both the early and modern Christians. Again, rather then listening and learning from the nature-based religions, we smeared them.
Now, we are in a predicament. We are all either controlled or influenced by a belief system that operates on a double standard and forces us to live the one right way — the way of the modern Industrialists and Christians. We must buy a car and fill it with Saudi fuel because that's the way our world is built. We must absorb millions of commercials that entice us, and our children, to buy junk, especially at the holiest time of year — Christmas.
The bottom line is that if we neglect and exploit the world that sustains us in the name of our religion, maybe it's time to find a new religion or at least re-examine how we're interpreting our current faith.
Maybe the invasion of Christianity was an unexpected twist in our human evolution that may one day bring about our undoing. Or maybe more and more Christians will begin to acknowledge the importance of Creation to their faith. While some fundamentalists, with the enthusiastic support of industry, continue to push the "dominion" idea, more and more denominations are standing up for environmental protection. Most notably, the Quakers and Episcopalians have passed strong resolutions on protecting the Earth. I have also seen moderate groups, like the Presbyterians, Methodists, and even a rare handful of Baptists, also stand up for God's Creation. This gives the Yellow Canary hope.
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