Our city streets are a-throng with thousands of school students, here and overseas. Pimpled faced kids out in force denouncing world governments, whom they hold culpable for the imminent and certain climate apocalypse.
Next, we have the opponents of man-made climate, stridently calling for a climate emergency to be declared by governments and the cessation of fossil fuel use and extraction, by 2025. Forget about buying that V8 fellas.
And then there’s the delightful M/s Greta Thunberg, with those sour-faced grimaces (I’m sure she has a lovely smile, if only she could find it) remonstrating us for our callous indifference to the cataclysmic end of the world.
Who’s Responsible For This Alarmism That’s Upsetting the Proletariat?
I’m sure the drivers are many, but one that looms large among them is Extinction Rebellion (hereafter XR).
While we, the proletariat (a Marxist term for the hapless worker) are rightly concerned about the trashing of the planet, XR takes that concern further, as Stuart Basden a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion openly states
And I’m here to say that XR isn’t about the climate. You see, the climate’s breakdown is a symptom of a toxic system that has infected the ways we relate to each other as humans and to all life. This was exacerbated when European ‘civilisation’ was spread around the globe through cruelty and violence (especially) over the last 600 years of colonialism, …………..
Here’s the thing, XR has harnessed our anxiety over a possible eco-apocalypse, to further its primary objective; regime change.
You see according to XR Western Civilization (the most successful in world history) is responsible for every conceivable world-calamity, we’ve ever faced, from climate change to chicken pox. They rail against the usual stuff, which they claim characterises Western societies, such as
Heteronormativity, that’s right you blokes and sheilas (a bit sexist I know), need to recognise that those feelings of attraction, you experience towards one another are not normal. But are an expression of oppression against LGBT people.
White supremacy, here we have the typical white-male toxicity caricature, we spend our time beating up women and people of colour, when we’re not drunk and abusive.
Patriarchy, evidently Western civilisation deliberately demeans women, ensuring that their lives remain unfilled, and powerless. Hmm… that’s odd what about Islamic countries, where women even aren’t even allowed in public without a male chaperone, no mention of this in the XR manifesto.
The list of crimes committed by the West is interminably long, so I won’t bore you further, you can read their list of grievances here.
Answer to Save the Planet is …..
The way to Stop the oppressive colonisers from destroying the world is to over thrown them. And from there to usher in a Utopia, where the hierarchical authority structures of capitalism have been dismantled, where there is no longer private ownership of land or the means of production, where we the workers unite in the bonds of an amicable brotherhood (oh forgive me! brotherhood smacks of bourgeois-patriarchal oppression), then holding hands we sing together John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
You could be forgiven for thinking, ‘Hmm ………. this sounds like Marxism or Anarchism” and you’d be right.
The aim is to create foment, in this case over the climate- inaction of our government, in order to bring in regime change, and the establishment of Marxists governments. Somewhat of an over reach.
How Should Christians Respond?
Firstly, we should repent, because as Christians we’ve not taken the cultural mandate of Genesis 1&2 seriously. We’ve been grossly negligent, we should’ve been the conscience of Capitalism, bringing it to heel, with respect to its wanton destruction of the environment. God appointed us caretakers of the world, which he purpose built for us.
Secondly, we either take God at his word or we doubt it. God made a promise to Noah and to us which goes something like this ……….I will never again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
There will be no apocalyptic end of the world through climate change, God has said so.
Thirdly, God’s promise not to destroy the earth, doesn’t let us off the hook, it’s not a license to trash the planet, which God declared ‘very good’. We must take personal responsibility for our behaviour.
Taking individual responsibility for the plastic we use, ensuring it doesn’t enter the ocean. Walk, take public transport rather than drive when it’s feasible, eat less meat (red meat production is responsible for 70% of the world’s C02 emissions), turn the air conditioner to a pleasant 24 C on a hot day, not 18 C and a thousand other small things can make a difference when everyone chips in.
.jpg)
Vic Matthews, has three degrees B.Optom, B.Arts & B. Christian Studies. He is a kiteboard tragic, who now works as a Christian Copywriter. He can be found at http://trustworthycopywriter.com/writing-services/christian-copywriter/
Vic Matthews' previous articles may be viewed http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/vic-matthews.html
Vic Matthews, has three degrees B.Optom, B.Arts & B. Christian Studies. Is available as a Guest Speaker for your next Church conference or camp. He is a fledgling author, and copywriter.
For more information visit http://www.graphw.co/
Vic Matthews' previous articles may be viewed http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/vic-matthews.html