Vince Deagler

hi out there.  was wondering if any of you had any thoughts on the creation mandate.  the reason being lately i have been hearing and reading some thoughts that i’m not so sure are in tune with what scripture actually teaches.  for instance, the other day i’m having lunch with a local pastor and we drifted into the area of politics.  as you probably know, the obama administration is pushing a cap and trade anti global warming bill.  i said something like are you ready for $6 a gallon gas.  and he said, well if it takes care of pollution i’m all for it.  with that he went into his version of the creation mandate.  i waded in (i’ve been known to do that) and suggested 2 things.  first, carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, we are made of carbon, we exhale carbon, and photosynthesis depends on carbon, and the by product of photosynthesis is oxygen.  seems to me carbon is pretty essential to the system got built into nature.  secondly, when i read genesis i see god giving creation to man as a gift…as in rule over, subdue, dominate…as in here are the natural resources you will need to build civillization.  i am an avid outdoorsman, i hunt, fish, golf, ski, hike. etc.  i am pro caring for the environment.  i am against pollution.  but, carbon is not pollution, it literally is the air that we breath.  it is a vital part of the natural processes of nature.  i believe god gave the resources of coal, gas, oil, uranium, etc. to use. 

when i was young i was a caddie at the philadelphia country club from age 12-18.  i used to chuckle at the wealthy members who would take a water ball (old beat up golf ball) on any hole where they thought they might hit a bad shot into the water and lose their ball.  i mean really, you’re rich, golf balls don’t cost that much, man up and hit the shot.  the issue was they were reluctant to use the resources they had, and the result of the actions they took by using a water ball led to them being worse at golf.  mainly b/c golf is a mind game where confidence is absolutely essential.  they had admitted defeat before they even tried.  secondly a ratty old water ball does not perform as well as a good ball, thats why they don’t sell ratty old balls…they sell new ones.

well it seems to me there are a lot of people who think the creation mandate is to protect nature.  i don’t think that is our job.  i think that is gods job.  paul’s letter to the collossions says it is by christ that all things consist.  not the environmentalist movement.  i think it is our job to use the resources god has given us in a responsible way.  again i am not advocating for pollution.  but all this global warming due to carbon emmissions is a different issue.  first, i don’t believe in the theory…i believe in temperature fluctuations that have occured throughout time in this universe.  the earth has warmed, cooled, etc.  not b/c of man, but b/c of the way god has created the universe.  if we are warming, and i say if b/c we have not seen much if any fluctuation in the past 5 plus years and some say we are actually cooling (despite the fact that by now the polar icecaps should have melted, the polar bears should all be dead, florida and other coastal areas should be under water, and we should all be toast, etc. etc. haha), i do not think it has anything to do with human activity.  i believe in gods control of “his-story”, as i see it we will not crash and burn until it is time to crash and burn…and that is not my decision…it is gods.  and when it is time there is nothing that will stop it, and until that time it will not occur.  the environmentalists can huff and puff all they want, i know how it all ends.  

so my idea of the creation mandate is more like drill here, drill now.  mine those resources.  build some refineries.  build some nucleur power plants.  build some dams.  build some windmills.  its all good.  use all those resources god has provided.  it is why he gave them.  do it responsibly, and we do that better than anyone on the planet, but do it.  we have everything we need to further the course of civillization, it is gods gift to us.  lets use it.  and while we do trust that god will supply all our needs, hasn’t he done a pretty good job of that already?  tell me what you think.  there are many xtians out there buying into this alarmist understanding of the creation mandate that is remarkably similar to the radical environmentalist movement.  i would think xtians would be smarter than that. 

so tell what you think, tell me where i am missing something.  thanks for reading.  blessings.  vince