This week ABC television had a documentary on Compass, called “God is Green”. Glad somebody noticed.

Most often, religious texts have been misused so as to excuse the accumulation of commodities which nobody needs, and the fact of a profit bearing economy being a cause of inflation, and cause of the depletion of natural resources. Yet it has always been obvious to anybody with any real sense who reads those same religious texts, that to use the words like that, small sections of Bible, or Qur’an, or Vedas etc, need to be placed out of the context of the whole. Those of us with real sense and sensibility about the environment, who have hung in there with learning the ropes of religious ideologies, and worked at reconciling those ideologies with modern science, (rather than attempting to polarise religion and science as a dichotomy or contradictory world views and contradicting philosophies: remember that the first scientists in every culture were always, and without exception, the priests; then consider what priests have to lose, and what there is to gain from reconciling religious experience with science), have been out in the cold of religious infrastructures for too long. Yet out here in the cold, of that, now out-of-date and no longer fashionable, lock out, there was always a very good reason for hanging onto the various religious doctrines in their totality, and the various frame works of social infrastructure which religious has built. Without the religious mainstream supporting reforestation and cutting CFC emissions radically, nobody will be inheriting the Earth.

Nobody can afford not to remember this.

No matter what our politics, and what our religious creed, we have to put the Earth first. Modern science is, at all turns, beginning to prove that the oldest ways, which belong in the traditional and ancient cultures of this world, provide the best clues for what will be able to be scientifically verified in time. When the Church leaders all realise that it is their own fault that scientists are ignoring religious doctrine, then human society will know that the Earth can be saved.

Yes I agree Cuphandle.

It amazes me how many religious folk on OLO continue to call environmentalists 'earth worshippers' and the like or radicals when the very earth that their God/s made is under threat from human activity. Whether it be deforestation, air and water pollution, reduction in biodiversity - these all affect the human race in the long term.

If earth is indeed God's work as some would claim, the lack of respect of his/her work by some is baffling. There seems to be no acceptance of cause and effect and little interest in protecting the earth from long term harm.

It is an issue in which we should be joining forces rather than posturing one position or the other. Greed is not good and the destruction of our earth in its pursuit will only affect the generations to come.

Most of my religious friends do take issues of the environment seriously, and I don't think OLO is truly representative of most Christians or those of other faiths in this respect.

Humans are great problem solvers if we put our minds to it. Lets hope we do before it is too late.

i suppose its the title that disturbs me more than what you posted

few of the greenies [and vegetairians] i have met have belief in god,

sure they lend lip service to creation
,but all [that i have met] are on some ego trip
[and certainly dont believe in turning the other cheek]

how many 'greenies you seen on tv with nimby
[not in my back yard ]
WTWT[with that wind turbine]

i would have prefered a definition of this green buzz word ,
green is not godly ,in the proper xtian sense ,it is just radically in favour of green [fauna over human [being] living ,

many would gladly see the human race culled to 'sustainable levels'[this they would define as a few million]
all naturally working 4 hours a day just for their daily bread

greed is a buzz word too

god isnt green for a start

[he is light][life logus ,logic]
love sustaining life.

but what else can we expect from the media busilly selling us a neo [new]life tax

[based on draining carbon based life into a green collusion ,
just as judism has been highjaked by the zion war star, so has the green been highjaked by the neo con right wing fiananciers [bankers]

they dont tell you that the reserves made into 'national' parks are OWNED by the united nations

[and that in time they set up buisness in it
[and mine out its mineral [and metal resources]

[and thus the bankers]
via the fed reserve systemised banking cartel gives up some air time for the feel of their new global world orders financing under its new veil of ;'green'

[we now are re-financing this green veiled cartel
prior to them getting their new cash cow ; the carbon tax ]

Pelican writes

'Most of my religious friends do take issues of the environment seriously, and I don't think OLO is truly representative of most Christians or those of other faiths in this respect.'

Sounds to me you are making judgements on people you do not even know. The fact some some believers reject the ridiculous predictions and conclusions of some of the gw high priests means very little.

Many Christians I know ride bikes, use limited water and do not overindulge. On the other hand many of the gw high priests make Jimmy Baker's bank account look sick while they fly the world telling people to reduce their carbon emissions. It is the shear hypocrisy mixed with very questionable and often dishonest science that draws the contempt these people deserve.

Any responsible Christian accepts the responsibility of being stewards on this planet. That is why many give generously to the poor and are the first to help at clean up days. People like Tim Flannery deserve the contempt he gets when already numerous of his prophecies have failed.

God isn’t green (or I should say; the god delusion isn’t green). Far from it.

NO major religion is leading us towards a sustainability…which surely has to be the most important thing of all at this point in time (and is surely the absolute cornerstone of ‘greenness’). Every religion appears to be complicit in the continued rapid momentum away from a sustainable and equitable future. If written doctrines aren’t complicit, actions certainly are.

Curaezipirid; “No matter what our politics, and what our religious creed, we have to put the Earth first.”

Yes. Or in a slightly altered form…no matter what our politics, and what our religious creed, we have to put the sacred balance first. That is; where all things human coexist in harmony with our resource base and environment.

I wrote this on the ‘mass delusions’ thread: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=8121#126923

Despite numerous requests, including cross-posted reminders, neither runner nor Polycarp have seen fit to address this is. They’ve both done a runner! It seems that the religion vs sustainability issue is just tooo hard to handle!

It really does beg the question; what the hell are religions doing if they aren’t addressing a sustainable future?

Curaezipirid
Apologies I addressed you as Cuphandle. I had been reading an earlier thread by him and his name stuck in my head. :)

runner
I don't know any of the religious folk on OLO personally I am going only by your own words in relation to what you think.

Using negative terminology and nasty comments like "earth worshippers" and "gw high priests" does not serve your argument well. Why not try debating the issue instead of using religious put-downs to denigrate any cause that do not support. It is interesting that you use religious terminology in a negative way as though by comparing other lines of thought with religion it somehow denigrates it. I don't understand that at all from someone like you that purports to be religious.