BY REV. JOSEPH L. LENNON, O.P.
Christianity has become the "whipping boy" of radical environmentalists. Why? Because as the Bible relates, God placed man at the pinnacle of the universe and gave him dominion over all creation (Genesis 1:26-30). This dominion has wreaked havoc on mother earth's health.
Christians, worldwide, are accused by extremists of degrading the eco-system, polluting the atmosphere, destroying flora and fauna, making life less livable for present and future generations.
Humans have no right, say tree-huggers and wildlife protectionists, to plunder the natural assets of the planet, to strip the earth of its bounty. The unsheltered have no right to cut timber for housing; forests belong to posterity. The starving have no right to kill land and sea game; all life is of equal worth. Energy explorers have no right to plumb the bowels of the earth for oil, gas and coal; excavations disfigure the natural beauty of the land and evict native dwellers from their habitat.
Twisted thinking like this enables whackos to justify the blocking of legitimate lumber farming, the blowing up of animal experimentation labs, the torching of furrier shops.
To charge Judaeo-Christian teaching with sinful exploitation of nature is to misread sacred scripture. Yet well-known evolutionary biologist and conservationist Edward O. Wilson opined that "the scribes who wrote the Holy Bible really didn't understand the world around them or the stars above."
How untrue! Had man applied the wisdom contained in the Old and New Testaments, there would be no ecological crisis today.
The Bible recommends not wanton destruction, but disciplined and planned utilization of the world's resources, like a prudent farmer who husbands his fields so that they yield their largesse to generations yet unborn. This philosophy of sustainable yield fulfills the Scriptural imperative "to cultivate and care" for God's good earth (Genesis 2:15).
Almighty God placed man at the apex of creation above all other forms of life. We are "God's stewards and co-creators." Yet, man's lordship, the late Pope John Paul points out, "is not absolute but ministerial – not the mission of an absolute and uncensurable master, but of a minister of the Kingdom of God."
The apocalyptic scenario of radical environmentalists envisioning the world as "going to hell in a basket" contains more than a grain of truth. Unbridled consumerism can and may lead to catastrophe.
China's factories spew forth tons of toxins. Japan's fisheries decimate pods of whales. Americans, 5.6% of the world's population, consume 25% of its resources. The problem, notes Pontiff John Paul II, "is not simply economic or technological; it is moral and spiritual. We must undergo an inner change of heart – a change of life-style and of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production."
Christians believe that nature itself is sacramental. All creation praises the Lord. "How manifold are thy works," sings the Psalmist. Biodiversity abounds. The search for God is not a game of "hide and seek." The Catholic Church, in her Catechism, states: "God speaks to man through the visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator."
Misguidedly, zealots for a healthy environment give top priority at times to environmental issues over human justice issues. They work to save the whale, the condor, and the rain forest, but do little to save the child in the womb, the handicapped newborn, the terminally-ill oldster. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated: "Christian love forbids choosing between people and the planet."
Pat Jaehnig, diocesan coordinator of Justice and Peace Education, observes that "much of the debate on global climate change seems polarized and partisan" (R.I. Catholic, Jan. 24, 2008).
Pope Benedict XVI, countering the scaremongering of extremists, injected a vote of common sense into the discussion by calling for assessments of global warming "to be carried out prudently in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of insuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances."
The Holy Father's voice cries out for a hearing!
Rev. Joseph L. Lennon, O.P. resides at the St. Thomas Aquinas Priory at Providence College.
