Many link environmental degradation to the Christian (Western) worldview.1 They argue that those who believe humanity has God-given dominion over nature will fail to conserve and protect it. By their account, Westerners, whether consciously or unconsciously, exploit natural resources for selfish gain, regardless of the environmental impact. These critics then turn to Eastern religions and philosophies for the panacea.2 They say that the attitudes toward nature found in Hinduism, animism,3 and Buddhism cultivate a devotion to the earth worthy of emulation.4 However, the cultures embracing these worldviews are far from blameless:5

10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; 12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse— 15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, 16 for their feet run to […]

Pastor Chris Scripture Reference: Hebrews 7:1-28

People who are logically consistent can often expose the true ethical nature of their position. In January 2004, John Harris, professor of bioethics at Manchester University, did so when he suggested it may be morally acceptable to destroy babies with “defects” shortly after their birth. Harris is not a fringe extremist; he was a founder of the International Association of Bioethics, is currently a member of the U.K. government’s Human Genetics Commission, and advises Britain’s doctors as a member of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) ethics committee. Nor was he speaking at some ivory tower debate; Harris was addressing Parliament’s […]

  4 [W]hen the Ammonites made war on Israel, 5 the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah . . . 6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites . . . 12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: “What do you have against us that you have attacked our country?” 13 The king of the Ammonites answered . . . “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan . . .” 14 Jephthah […]

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Hebrews 6:1-12

  Stephen Jay Gould, professor of paleaeontology at Harvard University, was the foremost popularizer of evolution in his day. In Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History, Gould addressed an issue evolutionists must discuss: ethics. If the world is purposeless, if no Creator serves as the standard for right and wrong, how does one explain something as simple as an act of kindness? What motivates a person to serve another person? Christians assert that, as beings made in the image and likeness of God, even unbelievers will, at times, reflect something of God’s goodness. But Gould rejected God, so he […]

Pastor John Scripture Reference: I Samuel 1:1-20

Pastor Chris Scripture Reference: Philippians 4:10-20