Think About It

Yesterday I wondered why we believe what we believe. The example was my nephew's views on global warming. (Notice that yesterday's post did not have a "Global Warming" label on it ... because global warming was not the topic.)

So now Google is going green. On the surface they are trying to "produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal", but underneath their real goal is to "deal with climate change."

I suppose we shouldn't fight it. It appears that everyone with a brain is convinced that the planet is in danger because of mankind -- Americans, to be specific. Environmentalism is the new religion of the country. Jim pointed me to this fascinating quote by Michael Crichton on Environmentalism as Religion.

There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe.

It's hard to disagree with him. We all know, for instance, that the native Americans were at one with nature. No one doubts it. Disney proved it with their Pocahontas documentary. All modern sources affirm it. The fact that native Americans are hoping to hunt bald eagles for religious reasons fits right in with that, right? The wars between them were likely due to their passion for life on this planet.

Native Americans aren't the enemy. We are. We have forgotten how to think or to examine the facts. We operate in sound bites and think that it's nourishing news. We have eliminated logic and the arts from schools and pushed "new math" as if math is a variable, but we still maintain good, solid sports programs. Dismissive insults and cruel rhetoric pass for dialog and discussion. You will actually find people, for instance, that buy the idea that "one's religious views shouldn't affect their politics." Religion is the new enemy and Christianity is its face. People cannot distinguish, it seems, between Christian Children's Fund, for instance, that takes care of needy children, and Islamofacist terrorists who fly into buildings and think it's good to die killing others.

Sadly, Christians aren't a whole lot better. We're buying this stuff as well. Too often we think that faith and reason are separate entities. Too many believe in the total separation of Church and Mind. So you'll find people calling themselves Christians arguing that homosexuality is perfectly acceptable, sex outside of marriage is a valid form of recreation, and "Who really cares if I steal from the government as long as I don't get caught?" None of these things define "Christian", but all of them fly in the face of "Jesus as Lord", which does define "Christian".

Well, I suppose I'm the enemy here. I don't doubt that the planet's temperature is increasing, but I have no reason to believe that we are causing it or that we can stop it. Google may argue that it's okay to fly around in company jets because "you have to tackle the big problems. To think that people are going to stop traveling is unrealistic." That doesn't make it reasonable or supportable. Al Gore may have received an Oscar and the Nobel Peace Prize for his movie, but that doesn't make it right or reasonable. And just because there are a growing number of voices out there calling for the end of Christianity doesn't mean that their arguments are sane. We need to think. We need to examine. We need to ... renew our minds.