Christians encourage the harming of nature
Jesus taught that God takes notice a common bird just one of millions. He also stressed that a single human is of greater value still. (Luke 12:6-7,24; Matthew 12:11-12) Jesus raised people up, never bringing them down to the level of animals. So Christians love nature and yet, unlike many eastern religions, Christians would do everything they could to stop rats from making people sick and eating food that people need to live. Jesus brings everything into perfect balance.
An increased love of nature is one of the common results of a person becoming a true Christian. Christians love nature because it is the work of the God they love. The loss of a single species is the loss of a unique display of Gods creative skill.
I have seen childrens scribble on show in the work places of proud parents. A mothers love for a child turns into a treasured work of art, rough drawings that most people would throw away. In a similar way, a Christians love for the God who made nature, causes them to value nature more than most people do.
Non-Christian religions are so little understood in the Western world that it is not often realized that, unlike Christianity, many religions teach that everything physical is unreal, and others claim that everything physical is evil. And, of course, people who say there is no God see nature as the result of mindless chance. Why try hard to protect an accident or something evil or not real? And godless evolution teaches that advance comes through survival of the fittest (in other words, the dying of the less fit). If, according to them, for millions of years so much good has come from mere chance and from the strong killing off the weak, why suddenly change the rules?
Caring for nature makes so much sense that many non-Christians do it without even noticing that it does not agree with their basic beliefs. Christianity, however, has these beliefs at its heart. Followers of Jesus reject greed and the might is right attitude. They stress the protection of the weak and the defenseless, and they raise the importance of the physical world, insisting that it is good and that nature is as much a work of God as our own spirits. The Bible begins with God giving humans the duty to look after nature. (Genesis 2:15) And it indicates that nature is so important that the final result of the death Jesus suffered will not only be the saving from hell of every person who will accept it, but the renewal of nature. (Romans 8:19-23)
The way we should treat nature is an example of how Christian beliefs fit real problems so well that even non-Christians often end up going against their own basic beliefs and acting as if they believe Christianity is right.
For the spiritual side of natures problems, continue . . . OR . . . Return to Contents
Crime, and things going wrong with nature are different sides of the same problem.
Because humanity fights God, the Creator, it must also fight the Creators work nature. Humanitys rejection of God has made nature our rival instead of a faithful servant.
In his human perfection Jesus showed he could control nature. By a miracle he caused fish to be caught. He rode an unbroken donkey, calmed a storm, made a fig tree die just by telling it to die, and so on. (Matthew 8:23-27; 17:27; 21:19-21; Luke 5:4-9; 19:30,35; John 21:5-6) He ruled just by speaking, not by being harsh. In this way, Christ showed how people should have ruled everything on earth. (Hebrews 2:8-9)
If humanity had obeyed God, nature would have obeyed humanity. To understand the tragedy, consider the power of a policeman. While he obeys his leaders, people obey him. But if he continually disobeyed his leaders he would be removed from the police force. People would then ignore his orders. To make them obey him he would have to use violence. From that fateful day when the first man cut humanitys holy link with Creator God, he and everyone after him like the policeman who lost his job could only rule by violence. People kill grubs, flies, weeds and so on to try to control nature. Like an abused child, nature twists in pain at the hands of its cruel rulers. If its rulers are out of control, little wonder that nature is often out of control.
People can, through Christ, mend the broken link with the Lord of creation. But God, in his loving patience, still allows people to reject him. So natures problems continue. This will end when Christ returns, destroys all evil, and renews nature (our own bodies included). Then unhappiness will go, along with everyone opposed to Christs rule. (Romans 8:18-23; 2 Peter 3:9-13)
That this could happen seems impossible, until we discover the real identity of the person whose arrival on our planet split earths calendars in two. Though he seemed so humble, he said he was humanitys only hope. His extraordinary claims stirred up thousands. And he backed his words by returning bodily from the dead.
This matter is too important to let someone else do your thinking. Jesus life was so perfect no one has equaled it. Study his life for yourself and see if you do not conclude he is the eternal Son of God through whom and for whom our world and every other, was originally made. (Colossians 1:16-17)
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17. Christians do not treat people equally
18. Religion has caused wars and the abuse of peoples rights
19. Christians have a low and negative view of people
20. What about all those who have never heard of Jesus?
21. It doesnt matter what you believe as long as youre sincere
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