Will the biblical prophecy of Armageddon become self-fulfilling? It's a frighteningly real possibility.
Consider this little story, about Mr. John Brandrick of Cornwall, UK, who was told he had just six months to live. Quite sensibly, Mr Brandrick quit his job, sold everything he owned, visited his children, and spent all of his money enjoying life to the fullest. Until, that is, he discovered that the doctors had made a mistake, he was actually quite healthy, just a bit of pancreatitis.
We can chuckle at poor Mr. Brandrick's dilemma – he's happy to be alive, but financially ruined and without a job – but there are MILLIONS of Christians in America today, and many millions worldwide, who are in the exact same boat as Mr. Brandrick. They already believe the End of Times is at hand, and will arrive in their lifetimes. They'll all be taken into the sky, leaving behind all of the mistakes and disasters they've caused.
One of the most frightening examples of real people who are trashing the Earth because of Christianity was James Watt, Secretary of the Interior during Ronald Regan's presidency. Because of his Christian beliefs, Watt was a vigorous opponent of environmentalism, and vastly expanded oil drilling, logging, and mining. He believed that natural resources were put here by God for humans to use, and that it was wrong not to exploit God's gift to the fullest. He famously told Congress, "I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns," and an unverified source quotes Watt saying, "After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back."
How can a nation, or a world, possibly make rational decisions when a substantial fraction of its people believe that there is no future?
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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4 comments:
Dear readers -- I am no longer blogging and after leaving these blogs open for two years have finally stopped accepting comments due to spammers. Thanks for your interest. If you'd like to write to me, click on the "Contact" link at the top. Thanks! -- CJ.
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"but there are MILLIONS of Christians in America today, and many millions worldwide, who are in the exact same boat as Mr. Brandrick"
ReplyDeleteThis statement is just dead wrong and I suppose you made it without thinking. There are not millions of Americans today who are quitting their jobs, selling everything they have, and spending all their money awaiting the coming of Jesus. Please document that if you want anyone to take you seriously.
Even if there was a small number of Christians doing that they would be violating the instructions given in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15.
Ryan, thanks for your comment. You pointed out that my assertion wasn't worded very well. What I should have said was this: "but there are MILLIONS of Christians in America, and many millions worldwide, who believe that the Lord is returning in this generation. These people, like Mr. Brandrick, have no reason to plan for the future, to make sensible decisions about taking care of Earth."
ReplyDeleteRegarding documenting my assertion, I think the history of James Watt says it all. Watt is hardly alone; the entire Bush administration seems to be following his philosophy. How else could the President of the United States ignore global warming? Bush simply doesn't care, because he and his spiritual advisers don't believe in the future.
And by the way, I never write without thinking ;-).
Regarding 2 Thessalonians, I don't see the relevance. It says nothing about taking care of Earth for future generations.
“These people, like Mr. Brandrick, have no reason to plan for the future, to make sensible decisions about taking care of Earth."
ReplyDeleteAgain, this is still an unfair equivocation. There are not millions of Christians who are quitting their jobs, selling everything they have, and spending all their money now. I don’t think you could document this.
“Regarding documenting my assertion, I think the history of James Watt says it all. Watt is hardly alone; the entire Bush administration seems to be following his philosophy.”
How is James Watt representative of millions of people? Further, how does this document your assertion? It doesn’t. There are not millions of Christians quitting their jobs, selling everything they have, spending all their money right, and also are trashing the environment at every opportunity they come by.
“How else could the President of the United States ignore global warming? Bush simply doesn't care, because he and his spiritual advisers don't believe in the future.”
Again, you are assuming that he and his spiritual advisors don’t believe in the future. I’ve never heard him state something to the effect of, “Well, Jesus will be back soon so global warming doesn’t matter.” In fact, I’m going to challenge you to document where he has stated that he doesn’t care about the environment because Jesus will be back soon. If all you have is assumptions (and I suspect a little hatred for Bush) then you don’t have a solid case. Case in point, Bush’s home in Texas is more environmentally friendly than Gore’s home in Tennessee.
As far as global warming, the earth may be in a pattern of warming and cooling but that doesn’t mean it is caused by humans or that humans can do anything about it. In fact, temperatures have been dropping in recent years, not warming. It is far from proven when there are tens of thousands of scientists who don’t buy it. I’m seriously sick of being lectured by the higher ups and celebrities about global warming when they pollute the environment far more than the average American. It’s sickening hypocrisy.
“Regarding 2 Thessalonians, I don't see the relevance. It says nothing about taking care of Earth for future generations.”
It is relevant given your first assertion that Christians are just giving up on life and spitting on the environment. The passage is reminding Christians to never be idle and to always work hard. It still applies to Christians today.
I can't wait! the future is uncertain and the end is always near. Jim Morrison said it best, he dont know whats gonna happen, but I wanna get my kicks before this house burns to the ground! you'll see-----the key players are in power and positions. fire when ready!
ReplyDelete