It has become very fashionable recently to consider the environment: research in to renewable energy is costing tax payers a lot of money, industry in the U.K. is being put through carbon audits and now it is up to you: to use bio-active fuel in your car; to buy low-energy light bulbs that can't actually light a room; to start a hydroponic farm in your utility room; to collect rain water to wash yourself and while your at it sink a ground source heat pump in the back garden that'll heat your house albeit not as effectively as burning oil. The list goes on...
But perhaps we shouldn't be to hasty, have we forgotten our proverbial pinch of salt? Now I have heard some Christians say that this is a matter of incalculable importance, that going green isn't just a great idea but that there is a biblical mandate for caring for the world. Some groups in America have even taken to asking the question: What would Jesus drive? Of course the answer is obvious: Jesus wouldn't drive he would take the bus...
So in the muggy haze of carbon offsetting and energy audits what is the correct response as a Christian? I'm not entirely sure, but there is an argument that doesn't get voiced that often and it goes something like this:
This world wasn't meant to last forever, like a vapour in the wind it is dissipating, running down like a tired clock. It is therefore futile to try and make the world a home forever. The suspicion is that underneath the guise of renewable energy, there is a longing for eternal energy sources, there aren't any: the sun will one day cease to burn, the winds will fade and the earth's tides will be still. That day we will all see, that no matter how hard we have tried to sustain the environment; the environment was never going to be eternal...
But what do you think? Please feel free to comment below.
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