Mixing religion, government, environmentalism explosive device.

Separation of Environmentalism and State

by Lewis Loflin

Summary: Environmentalism as spiritual ecology is a type of religion and thus violates separation of religion and state. It has no place in politics or science.

Letters To The Editor July 1, 2009 Bristol Herald Courier

My righteous indignation reared its head when I read a recent letter from Lewis Loflin concerning the "followers of the watermelon cult." Mr Loflin claims that "The earth is not holy, divine, sacred, etc." as he rails against the "pantheistic New Age nonsense" advanced by those of us who can clearly see and acknowledge global warming.

Perhaps we are reading from different Bibles, but mine states that "the earth is the Lord's...the sea is his and he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land." That clearly makes it holy, divine and sacred to me. If we don't assume responsibility for stewardship of the Earth, who will?

Joy A. Smith-Briggs Bristol, Tenn.

For the Letter see Environmentalism - Religion or Political Philosophy?

Here we are in 2014 and still no global warming as they predicted from their computer models. Let's see it's carbon pollution this week. Yet Joy cares nothing about science to her it's religion or should I say pseudo-religion. It's certain she doesn't believe the Nicene Creed and has incorporated a lot of New Age style mysticism into her church. Her view is pagan.

I want to be clear many environmentalists don't treat this as a religion as joy does - but far too many insert spiritualism and mysticism into the mix. Nothing wrong with except when it gets into politics.

Worse though is many progressive leftists see this issue as a means to impose by government social changes they desire. Environmentalists are not monolithic but this statement from Al Gore shows how a number of liberal progressive-left belief scan be rolled up into a single issue:

..."we feel increasingly distant from our roots in the earth...civilization itself has been on a journey from its foundations in the world of nature to an evermore contrived, controlled and manufactured world of our initiative and sometimes arrogant design...

At some point during this journey we lost our feeling of connectedness to the rest of nature...We dare now to wonder: Are we so unique and powerful as to be essentially separate from the earth?..."

And his fusion of left-wing causes to environmentalism and Christianity. To quote,

"As it happens, the idea of social justice is inextricably linked in the Scriptures with ecology."

Ref. Earth in the Balance by Al Gore pp 246-247. What "scriptures" are you reading Al? Also see Al Gore's Green Religion Exposed

There are political environmentalists that see this as an instrument to gain power or wealth and is an element of progressive-leftism; there's religious types like Joy, there are those that combine the two like Al Gore, then likely the majority I call passive - they recycle plastic bottles or perhaps eat organic food. While the latter may insert mystical or spiritual emotions into their "belief" that doesn't constitute a religion as such.

The problem becomes those involved in politics see the passive or religious types as useful idiots to be radicalized and exploited. How many useful idiots are demanding government "action" on say climate change? But ask them what percent of the atmosphere is Co² or the primary source of the gas they won't know. Using nonsense terms such as "carbon pollution" are designed to elicit fear in the same manner cancer scares are scares with cell phones are used. While they may reject a scientist working for big oil they defer to "experts" whom they know nothing about on the issue.

Thanks Joy and Al for proving my point that for many people environmentalism is a pseudo-religion as well as a political movement. Note that environmentalism is a social science and not a science.

Also note Joy actually quoted Psalms 24:1-2 and it says, "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." (NIV) Guess she knows her Bible like Al knows his scriptures.

In no manner does it say the world is God nor is it holy. If she was really a Christian (which she isn't) she would find the following:

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and (his) divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened...They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator...Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them"(Romans 1:18-32)

In other words Joy worshipping rocks, trees, and dirt is idolatry. Injecting that your pseudo-religious spiritual nonsense into politics and using it as public policy to promote your stupid Green belief system still violates separation of pseudo-religion and state. I don't need deluded mystics such as you or Al Gore using government coercion to meddle in my affairs or telling me where the hell to set my thermostat. Thank you for sharing your rant.

What does Al Gore say about the 'science' behind climate change?

"As it happens, the idea of social justice is inextricably linked in the Scriptures with ecology."

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