CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
October 11, 2009
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING:
God’s will for our congregation Our nation, leaders and military
Various friends, relatives and co-workers The persecuted church
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND CREATION
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).
We know from our study of scripture that the Triune God was involved in creating the world (1). God spoke, the Word, and earth was formed. After six days, God rested from His creating, giving us the idea of the Sabbath. After sin entered the world and humankind was cast out of the Garden, humankind would live in a hostile creation and would have to learn to subdue it. But because of sin, humankind hasn’t always taken care of God’s creation. Over the years humankind has moved further from God to the point that many see the world and the universe as just an accident. Ignoring the Creator, humankind has determined that it can handle the creation. That sounds real good until a volcano erupts, a meteor hit’s the planet, a hurricane strikes a city, or an earthquake shakes a region. A little humility will go a long way in realizing that we cannot control creation. There are other ideas that we will look at below.
First though, we need to understand God’s continuing role in creation. God uses created things in various ways to bless or curse those on the earth. We see God in storms (Psalm 29; in speaking to Job). We see Him in the wilderness supplying His people’s needs. A couple of Psalms explore God’s role in His ongoing care for His creation.
“How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all, the earth is
full of your creatures” (Psalm 104: 24).
When God questions Job, He uses His creation to challenge Job in thinking about his laments. It is God who takes care of the universe, the rain and snow, who put the stars where they are, and watches over the animals. Jesus tells us that God knows when a sparrow falls to the ground. The Psalmist continues:
“All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are
terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the
dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the
face of the ground” (Psalm 104:27-30).
God through His Spirit continues His role in creating. “God is actively present in sustaining everything that lives and breathes on his planet” (2). This is certainly different from what we hear in the modern scientific and radical environmental philosophies. To deny that there is a God is to deny that He has an active role in His creation. The deistic view is no better, thinking that God started the world and has left it to run on its own. “God not only brings all things into existence, he also sustains all things by his power. Day by day, season by season, year by year, from age to age, the Spirit of God is there, sustaining and renewing the earth” (3). We often wonder about the destructive forces of nature as we call them and yet there is the idea of renewal. After a forest fire, we find new growth and renewed life. Remember Mount St. Helens eruption back in the 80s in Washington State? Shortly after that eruption we find new grow occurring and animals returning to the mountain. God uses these events to recreate.
Today, the radical environmental movement has moved away from God and thinks that humankind is a disease on the planet that should be radically reduced. They have moved into the idolatry of earth worship, seeing humankind as a blight on this planet. Paul warned of this in Romans 1:18-31 where the Creator is ignored and creation worshipped. There is another way to look at this. “Similarly, although we often talk about how we are to ‘care for the environment,’ it is actually the other way around. It is the environment that cares for us” (4)! To say this another way, the environment was made of man, not man for the environment. This however is what some see and then think that they can “control” the environment just like they think government can “control” people. “The ‘environment,’ as we lamely call it, is God’s creation into which he has put us. And if he did not continuously sustain and renew it, we would not long survive within it” (5).
“You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The Lord
is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does” (Psalm 145: 16-17).
Another way to say it is that God is loving toward all that he has made (6).
What is our responsibility toward God’s creation? Much, I think, depends on how we see the return of Christ. If He is coming to take us away from this planet and destroy it, then it really doesn’t matter how well we take care of the environment; it’s going to perish anyway. But if we see Jesus coming back to redeem creation (see Romans 8:18-25), and that we will live on the new earth, that is, a restored redeemed earth, then it does matter how we care for the environment.
Much has been made of any number of issues such as the destruction of habitats, pollution, the draining of wetlands, the burning of forests, the loss of species, and global warming. The debate centers both on the causes and the cures. Most of the cures announced in a public way tend to ignore God. Here are some things to consider.
Sin is certainly a major problem in many of the issues. Greed certainly plays a role but often it is a desire on the part of the ruler of a land. The nation of Zimbabwe is a case in point. Before the current dictator came to power it was a prosperous land where the people were able to feed themselves and export products. Today it is a poor land where people are starving because of the greed of one man.
We know that there is a food chain but to call anything a wetland and prevent farming is an extreme. There are wetlands that we need to care for such as the Everglades in Florida. We have in this country polluted rivers but we have also restored rivers because we see their importance. This is based on how we see God’s role in creation. The radical environmentalists have put restrictions on clearing brush and dead trees out of forests and other areas. When a forest fire starts, it becomes more destructive especially to humankind then the common sense removal of the fuel for such fires. This is earth worship, and a refusal to see that humankind has been created in God’s image.
Global warming is an even more idolatrous situation. The idea that humankind can cause such warming is a bit arrogant but if we are all accidents, then this is where the idea comes from. Those who support global warming consider it a fact that needs not be debated because all the facts are conclusive. The idea that this could be a circular idea is rejected. The experts agree and that is all that has to be said. Forget God.
Here are some interesting facts. Greenland is called that because the Vikings settled the area in the 1200s, building houses and farming. Then came another ice age and they abandoned it. In Switzerland, a mine was found after the snow melted and inside the mind were tools from a previous age. There was a mini ice age back in the 1200s to 1300s. Another area is the activity of the sun on the atmosphere, something scientists are looking into at this time. Even Mars is having a warming period.
National Geographic recently reported that a portion of the Sahara Desert is greening. An area in southwest Egypt and northern Sudan has seen the growth of grasslands and trees. There has been increases in central Chad and western Sudan. In the western Sahara, nomads report that there have been more rainfall and grazing land then they have seen in their lifetimes (7). As Dennis Prager says, if global warming produces more carbon dioxide, then what is wrong with it?
In 1929 researchers found a map made in 1513 by a fellow named Piri Reis, an admiral in the Turkish navy. This map shows the continent of Antarctica 300 years before its “official” discovery and it shows its coastline as it appears under the ice. Air Force cartographers have confirmed its legitimacy. It has been suggested that this map was based on maps found in the library of Alexandria, Egypt, and could be dated into the B.C. time frame. These maps were transferred to Constantinople before the fall of Alexandria. Does this influence geologists and climatologists? No, they refuse to consider this discovery. The question is, how did an ancient map have such an accurate outline of a frozen coastline, unless it wasn’t frozen at the time (8)?
How one sees God effects how one sees creation. God through His Spirit is involved in the upkeep of His creation. Yes, humankind can be destructive, but as we have also seen, creation can be much more so. Rather than thinking that we can solve the various issues, we need to work with God in using His creation to His glory and the benefit of humankind. We are not a blight or disease on this planet; it has been created to be occupied (see Isaiah 45:17). God is still active in our lives and in the life of this planet. May it be seen to His glory!
George B. Mearns
(1) See John 1:1 and Colossians 1:16 among others.
(2) Christopher J. H. Wright, Knowing the Holy Spirit Through the Old Testament, IVP, 2006, p. 21.
(3) ibid.
(4) ibid., p. 22.
(5) ibid.
(6) Wright’s translation, ibid., p. 23.
(7) Sahara Desert Greening Due to Climate Change?, http://news.nationgeographic.com/news/pf/30639457.html
(8) Patrick Mead, The Impossible Map, http://patrickmead.net The date of this is April 30, 2007. Patrick is a brother in Christ, the preacher at the Rochester church of Christ in Rochester, Michigan, and holds two doctorate degrees.