Global Warming. Q's from Amanda

Hi Louie Vetter! I have learned much from the articles that you post. Good reading material! I was just wondering what your view is on global warming? Does the Bible mention anything about it? Is it true that it is happening? Just curious... 

Hello Amanda and thank you for reading my posts. Yes, I have concern about the health of the earth and our role as stewards thereof. There is certainly a lot of hype out there. Canada believes strongly enough in global warming that they want to impose a carbon tax. As far as I can see, this is not so much a solution to the problem but a sort of a penance for polluters, where you still go on polluting but now you pay for it, thereby feeling better about it. 

After the Great Flood, the Bible has these words from the Lord in Genesis;

“While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Winter and summer,

And day and night

Shall not cease.”

Is it true that global warming is happening?

That is a good question and I won't profess to know the answer, but here's my thinking. The earth goes through (and always has) periods of cooling and warming. If humans are at fault now, what was at fault before? 

 I think there are many factors at play here, most of which we have no control over. For instance, the solar cycles of the sun have a major effect on our weather. That the earth will fall back into a cooling cycle is almost a certainty. 

How concerned should we be?

 I think we should do our very best to treat the earth as God’s creation and as home for us and our generations to come. God is still in control, he won’t let anything more happen than he wants to and not anything less. 

We know we live in a fallen world that is in deterioration mode, along with the universe, but we can feel safe that we are under God's control. Did He not say “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Biggest Fear For Your Children. Q from a Stranger.

Stranger. What is the biggest fear you have for your children?

LouieV. I would say the biggest fear I have for my children is the type of adult(s) they grow up to be. Will they be responsible, caring, loving, generous, moral, ethical adults and parents? How do I instill these values in them? What foundation do I lay for these values to be able to withstand the ferocious headwinds and shifting societies of today?

 I can think of no other worldview that provides reason along with support and logic than the Judeo-Christian one. It’s on this worldview that my children can understand the following propositions:

The value and sanctity of human life.

Our responsibility to the planet and it’s animal life.

The reason why we are here.

Why everything is the way it is.

The hope we have when everything seems to go wrong. 

I will provide two responses, one without a Creator and one with. 

The Value and Sanctity of Human life. 

Atheist. We are here by chance and evolution and every one of these propositions are meaningless. It’s survival of the fittest. Morals and ethics are unimportant and can even be a hindrance. Survival is paramount. I am the only thing that matters. Fellow humans only matter if they are of use to my survival, gain or protection.

Christian. We are made in the image of God and on that basis are of immense intrinsic value and worth. God knows and loves us on a personal level.

He created each one of us in his image with an eternal soul- therefore our lives are sacred.

Our bodies serve as a living temple for his indwelling Holy Spirit - our bodies are sacred. 

Our race and ethnicity is sacred.

Our sexuality is sacred. 

Our marriage is sacred. 

That is enough to know that we are uniquely special in his eyes and our lives have meaning. 

Our responsibility to the planet and it’s animal life.

Atheist. This planet is our home. It’s in our best interests to keep it as functional as possible for us and our offspring. Animals ensure our survival, especially in case of catastrophe, with food and clothing.

Christian. God placed us on earth as stewards of his creation, therefore we have a responsibility towards God for keeping our planet undefiled and unpolluted. He gave us dominion over the animals, they are for our use and to be treated with care and respect. 

Why we are here. 

Atheist. Pure unadulterated chance. 

Christian. We are here in our place in history in accordance with God’s plan for us. In the Old Testament, God interacted with the world. In the New Testament, God sent his son Jesus to walk and interact with the world. In our time, God is sending his Holy Spirit to dwell in us to interact with the world. A huge responsibility and gift. All those gone before us, along with the patriarchs, prophets and people of the OT and NT are not alive to worship and carry on God’s work. It’s our turn now. 

Why everything is the way it is. 

Atheist. Pure unadulterated chance.

Christian. We know that we live in a finely tuned universe and the likelihood of that happening by chance and out of nothing is almost certainly a mathematical impossibility. God, as Creator, solves that problem and at the same time provides meaning. 

The hope we have when everything (seems) to go wrong. 

Atheist. There is no hope. Wrongs stay wronged and rights are inconsequential. We are a random compilation of atoms hurling across an unending dark, cruel, and cold galaxy at mindblowing speeds towards certain destruction on an unordinary, fragile sphere of earth, rock, air and water. 

Christian. There is hope. We may not (and may never will) understand the hows and whys of what befalls us, but the comforting hand of God is always stretched out and there, if we only reach out, take hold and trust completely. We can take solace in the knowledge that the Ruler of the heavens and earth will rule justly, that the tears of pain and frustration will be wiped away with a loving hand, if not on this world then on that distant beckoning one. That the wrongs that were seemingly gotten away with on this world will be judged rightly. That those that were gone too soon and those that lived out their lives in pain and sorrow will not give a thought to those bygone, trying times, nor care. 

Postscript 

Atheist. The fact is that life is unliveable with these premises. It would be best to pretend that we matter, that there is a God with a personal love and plan for each and every one of us. 

Christian. The fact is that we do matter, that there is a God that loves us and has a personal plan for us, this serves to quell any fear or uncertainty we may have. 

Mission Work. Q and A with Matthew

Matthew. What’s your thoughts on being called to spread the Gospel in foreign countries. Won’t their blood can be on our hands if we don’t?

LouieV. It depends on what you mean by being called. If we get called like Jonah got called, we will go, even if in the belly of a fish. 

   If we don’t maybe it’s because of the many from foreign countries immigrating here. It’s not uncommon to walk around in a shopping mall and hear many strange tongues.  What are we doing to spread the gospel to them? What of all the people we see, meet or interact with in our daily lives?  Are we letting our light shine that beckons to a lost and lonely world and that says “ Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, I will give you rest?” Do people sense in us the peace that can only come from the Prince of Peace? Do we treat people with the respect and love that tells them we are all His children and loved by Him? Do we give off the air of wanting to serve our fellow man instead of wanting to be served? Is our language fitting of a unworthy sinner graciously saved? Is there anything in our demeanor that would appeal to a non Christian? 

People will always believe more on what they see than what they hear.  

Yes, Matthew before we worry about mission work in foreign countries let’s see how our mission work is going on this one. Which is every bit as, if not more important because we either affirm in the eyes of the world what we believe, or our message is ‘Hey, we really don’t take belief in God seriously, don’t look to us for affirmation.’  Especially in the case of us Hutterites with our distinctive dress code and our purposeful separation from the world. When we walk down the streets of our local western Canadian towns our peculiar dress shouts out to the world “We stand in accordance with what our Anabaptist forefathers burnt at the stake for, we believe in a Holy Christian community, forgiveness of sin and eternal life”! 

 Does our life show what our dress proclaims? Does our fruit accurately portray the Tree of Life? Are we a light to a watching world or are we potentially extinguishing any light that may arise in them?