WASHINGTON – Christianity, warns author Dr. Calvin Beisner, is facing a new and growing challenge that threatens to infiltrate the church and degrade its gospel message from within.
Beisner, national spokesman for the biblical environmental stewardship group Cornwall Alliance, spoke to WND about the danger of the radical environmentalist worldview encroaching upon the church’s message and the church’s growing capitulation to environmentalist thought.
The Cornwall Alliance describes itself as “a coalition of clergy, theologians, religious leaders, scientists, academics and policy experts committed to bringing a balanced biblical view of stewardship to the critical issues of environment and development,” but Beisner says that vision is very different from the green agenda being pushed by the world.
Beisner describes radical environmentalism in stark contrast from a biblical worldview on the environment through the use of the term “Green Dragon.”
The “Green Dragon,” Beisner explains, is a “term to refer to teachings … that are opposed to Christ and his work in his world, because they come from an environmentalist worldview and perspective.”
The centrality of this teaching according to Dr. Beisner is the exaltation “of the creation rather than the Creator.” He adds that it is designed to “undermine a biblical understanding of the world and man’s place in the world.”
In contrast to the Christian doctrine of Imago Dei, meaning man is created in the image of God, thereby giving him highest value on this earth, the environmental movement looks at humans as the source of evil and earthly problems, for they are in the environmentalist worldview “consumers and polluters, rather than stewards.”
“Environmentalism, because of its denial of the Creator-creature distinction,” Beisner says, “is anti-biblical.”
Beisner contends Christians should be diligent in their faith to prevent any type of syncretism with the “religion” of environmentalism. He warns that Christians, by abandoning the absolute authority of Scripture, have begun to tolerate the introduction of non-biblical and anti-biblical views that have grown commonplace in the wider culture.
Christians, Beisner warns, “simply accept … different claims made by different environmental organizations” without investigating the issues themselves. Such topics as species extinction, manmade global warming or climate change and rapid depletion of farmland, he says, “lack solid empirical evidence” and are “based upon modeling, rather than empirical observation.”
You don’t have to be a scientist in order to understand the subject matter at hand, Beisner told WND, but Christians “also need to learn as much of the science and economics of environmental matters as we can, so that we’re able to make wise discernments amongst the various claims, rather than simply taking the word of some different scientists for that. .
“We must be careful not to subjugate the authority of Scripture to the authority of science,” he said. “We also must be careful to not naively think that science is some monolithic body of knowledge when it isn’t.”
Furthermore, Beisner claims, the failure of intellectual and spiritual integrity on the part of the faithful has lead to Christianity actually working to promote radical environmentalism.
“All of the large ecumenical organizations have jumped onboard [with the green agenda],” he said.
But Christians aren’t merely the victim of their own ignorance, Beisner says, for external forces are working behind the scenes to “green the Christian message.”
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), Beisner states, “was funded heavily by the Rockefeller Foundation and other such foundations and heavily influenced by … Green Peace and the World Wildlife Federation.”
“It had the specific agenda of infiltrating synagogues and churches, to ‘green’ the message that comes from the pulpits,” Beisner says.
The agenda behind this greening? Removing the human “scourge” from the planet, claims Beisner.
“The Rockefeller Brothers Fund was founded by David Rockefeller in the late 1950s,” Beisner told WND, “specifically because he thought that the Rockefeller Foundation, which was very powerfully supporting population control, wasn’t going far enough because it didn’t support the use of incentivization and coercion in abortion in population control and family development programs in developing countries.”
The radical environmentalists, according to Beisner, believe that “humans should be breeding in a manner that puts as little imprint upon this earth as possible, [to] go back to a hunter-gatherer society, because they despise industrialized society. … They put the ecological health of the earth over the health of humanity.”
Beisner adds that this nature of environmentalism inherently makes it totalitarian.
“The environment is literally everything, which means that environmentalism is everything and we have another word in the English language for ‘everything,’ and that is totalitarianism,” Beisner said. “Environmentalism has a natural tendency to totalitarianism toward wanting to run every aspect of our lives, from the minutest detail to the largest world-scale aspect.”
When asked what Christians can do in response, Beisner told WND, “Our task is outlined for us in Genesis 1:28, in summary that we are to be fruitful and multiply … our dominion over the earth is to reflect God’s dominion.
God is very creative, and He likes an abundance of variety,” Beisner added. “Our task is to reflect the creativity, the love of variety, the love of fruitfulness that God shows in His creation, so that we come to enhance the fruitfulness of the earth, to enhance its beauty and to enhances its safety to the glory of God and the benefit of our fellow man, whilst addressing simultaneously the two great commandments to love God and to love our neighbor.”
Beisner warned, however, that Christians need to be balanced by Scripture rather than by modern culture, citing how often Christians get wrapped up too much in supporting capitalism for capitalism’s sake, even when it is detrimental to the environment, because they do not want to be in anyway supporting socialism.
“Business is a God ordained thing, and I think it happens best in a free market society,” Beisner said, “but at the same time, business people are sinners like the rest of us. They are going to want to minimize their costs.”
The failure of Christians to be intellectually engaged in the environmental discussion is not inevitable, and it is possible for a reverse, Beisner advises, but it can only be done through a strict adherence to biblical principles, rather than the world’s.
The EPA and Ms. Lisa Jackson, its chief, have committed extensive violations of law that should receive in-depth scrutiny from Congress, law enforcement and the American people. Yes the Obama administration has yet another serious scandal on their hands. The scandal features a fantasy administrator, 'Richard Windsor', and 'his'email account. The account was established and used by Ms. Jackson to camouflage controversial EPA processes, discussions, decisions and accountability. To date the known evidencesuggests violationsof the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), mail and wire fraud laws. Additionally it surfaces another example of the Obama administration'sepidemic chicanerywith the law, Congress and the Constitution and another failure to keep faith with the American people.
Upon closer inspection the EPA like theGSAand other Obama administration agencies, demonstrates a lack of managerial/administrative control. It also exhibited a culture of obfuscation, malfeasance and corruption that did not blossom overnight. And like other Obama scandals, the mainstream media has again decided to cover it with their much practiced three monkey act.
For perspective a little recent history is in order. Lisa Jackson, who is departing the EPA,statedin November of 2011 that,
"...What EPA's role is to do is to level the playing field so that pollution costs are not exported to the population but rather companies have to look at pollution potential of any fuel or any process or any plant or utility when their making investment decisions."
Simply translated Ms. Jackson makes clear that her job and the EPA's are to hurt companies/industries that produce energy counter to the wishes of the Obama administration (and the left's agenda). Ms. Jackson also demonstrates a very low economic IQ, since higher costs incurred by energy companies will be passed to end users/consumers.
Coupling her statement with President Obama'spronouncementof a year ago, i.e. "Where Congress is not willing to act, we're going to go ahead and do it ourselves"... exposes his strategy to "legislate" by regulation and executive order (with Jackson and the heads of other agencies helping). Although Obama indicated it would be "nice" to work with Congress, his intentions are to evade the two centuries-old legislative process of the Constitution and impose his will on all Americans. The EPA under Jackson has become a key bludgeon in this political and ideological power grab and has used illegal methods in the effort.
President Obama'sinaugural speechnoted the environment may receive emphasis during his second term. Obama opined that Americans have an obligation to posterity to "respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations". Obama immediately followed with a pitch for sustainable energy, e.g. wind, solar and bio (and more crony capitalism?). Remember this is the man that promoted cap and trade legislation early in his initial term when the economy was "nearing a depression."
An administration'sability to regulatein the extreme and by executive action has evolved slowly over the past 70 years, gaining momentum after the Reagan years. The Congress and our courts have ceded appreciable power to the Executive branch and government agencies by enacting laws with little oversight and that rely heavily on internal agency inspectors such as the EPA's Inspector General. Further the courts have exhibited discomfort in reining in other government branches unless egregious actions are uncovered. The Supreme Court's twisted logic/argument to find ObamaCare constitutional demonstrates the discomfort.
Now due to a whistleblower and the Competitive Enterprise Institute andChristopher Horner's investigative worka federal court (U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit) has ruled that the EPA must turn over 12,000 "Richard Windsor" emails in four 3,000 email batches. The first group of emails released totaled a mere 2,100 and not one was from "Richard Windsor." In a cover letter Ms. Jackson insisted that she only used one government account for EPA business even though thisdirectly contradictedher earlier admission that she used "Richard Windsor" for internal EPA discussions. The release makes clear that the EPA and Jackson have taken to the foxholes and a full denial/stonewalling mode is now in effect. Thus the Competitive Enterprise Institute has brought another action against the EPA in the Appeals Court to force immediate release.
Remember, the EPA has an impact on every American with a tsunami of regulation that is both costly and arguably infringing on our constitutional rights. Moreover the agency haspresided overan attempt to bankrupt the coal industry, close coal burning plants, and drive up to cost of motor fuels -- negatively impacting job creation, the economic recovery and America's energy security. The estimatedcostsof EPA regulations range from $353 billion (Competitive Enterprise Institute) to $460 billion (The American Action Forum) and are growing like a malignant cancer. Thesecosts representfrom 20% to 26% of the total cost of US regulations, estimated at $1.75 trillion, and are cited in a World Economic Forum report as a key reason for a sluggish recovery and daunting unemployment. For comparison, these costs are appreciably higher than Health and Human Services regulatory costs estimated at $184.8 billion (the 2nd highest).
The EPA under Jackson's ideological direction has taken a leadership position in exploding these costs. EPA costs have essentially four components; direct, myriad enforcement costs, permit action reviews and other non-rule making costs. Yet the EPA in itscost-benefit analysesinsists that thebenefits of its actions are at worst three dollars in benefits to one in costs. President Obama has stated on the stump that some regulations show returns of benefits to costs at a ratio of 25 to 1. The EPA's analyses essentially only deal with direct costs; not the others noted. Moreover many of the assumptions used in the analyses are ludicrous and defy common sense (see). Credible sources outside of government emphatically disagree and posit that the EPA almost always under estimates costs and dramatically over estimates benefits...with the true net seldom being a positive.
Recently theEPA has ruled-- without that power being granted by Congress -- that automobile maker fleet mileage standards must rise to 54 miles per gallon (adding costs per vehicle of $2,100 to $3,000)...that run-off rain water is a pollutant (vacated by the D.C. Federal Appeals Court)...that lands could not be sold if certain wastes were present theoretically to prevent 0.59 cancer cases per year (about 3 cases every 5 years)costing $194 to $219 million annually.
Further"sue and settle",a scam, has become a common tool of the EPA's to impose oppressive mandates on targeted businesses with incalculable costs. To implement the scam, the EPA has an environmental or advocacy group file a suit claiming the federal government has failed to satisfy some EPA regulatory requirement. The EPA can choose to defend itself or settle the suit. The "solution" is to put in place a "court ordered regulation" requested by the advocacy group...neat, relatively fast and illegal.
But more shockinglythe EPA doles outhundreds of millions of dollars every year to certain organizations. The funds are awarded with no notice, accountability or competition according to the Government Accountability Office. The monies almost always go to favored entities that in some instances have used the funds for non-environmental purposes.
In sum the EPA, in particular, has severely reduced our nation's competitiveness as measured by the2013 Index of Economic Freedom. The index places the U.S. behind nations like Chile and Denmark and in tenth place worldwide.
The EPA's record of sleaziness, its disregard for transparency, its lack of basic integrity, its fraudulent estimation of costs/benefits and now its attempt to defy and evade a Federal Court order (and by extension FOIA, mail and wire fraud laws) combines both inbred corruption and serious scandal. Together these faults suggest that itmay be time to dismantlethe agency.
Other federal agencies, not just the EPA, have exhibited this general penchant for ignoring Congress, the courts, the law and the American people. This systemic and widespread disregard suggests the approval of a higher governmental authority...the office of the President.
The Obama administration is trying to convince us it has softened its contraceptive mandate, partly in an effort to calm opposition from the religious community. But the threat to religious liberty is as virulent as ever.
The administration has not budged on its plan to require that female workers and college students have free access to “reproductive services,” including sterilization procedures, contraceptives, and abortion-inducing drugs.
And religious organizations still will pay, albeit indirectly, for the services the government is mandating. Further, thousands of private companies will be forced to pay directly for practices they abhor, in clear violation of their religious liberty.
This is not an acceptable “accommodation,” as the administration argues.
Under the rule proposed on Friday, most religiously-affiliated organizations can apply to be exempt from the ObamaCare mandate.
Initially, the administration proposed exempting only churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship.
But after 44 lawsuits were filed across the country by and on behalf of nonexempt hospitals, colleges, charitable organizations and others, the administration relaxed the definition in its new proposal.
These religiously-affiliated organizations also will be able to qualify for exemption.
This is a camouflage. Instead of requiring these exempt employers to pay directly, the government will now require that women receive contraceptive coverage through separate individual health insurance policies. These individual policies would guarantee access to all government-approved forms of birth control, pregnancy screenings, and other “preventive” reproductive health services, at no cost to them.
The government plans to make the insurance companies pay for the benefit, receiving no premiums or co-payments from patients.
Here is how the administration proposes these fictional economics would work:
“(T)he health insurance issuer … would automatically provide separate, individual market contraceptive coverage at no cost for plan participants,” according to the HHS announcement. “Issuers generally would find that providing such contraceptive coverage is cost neutral because they would be insuring the same set of individuals under both policies and would experience lower costs from improvements in women’s health and fewer childbirths.”
In other words, the government says the insurers will be able to provide the free coverage because it will be offset by other care that isn’t delivered, including pregnancy and delivery costs. The government proposes a small offset in reducing the fee that an insurance company will have to pay for participating in the new ObamaCare Health Insurance Exchanges under the health law.
But the cost of sterilization surgery can be $8,000 or more.
Proponents of the mandate argued that birth control pills can cost several thousand dollars a year (even though a one-month prescription can be filled for $9 at Walmart).
Since patients cannot be charged one penny for this “preventative care” benefit, it will be almost impossible for the health insurers not to pass these costs along to customers in the form of higher overall premiums.
Ultimately, religious institutions would still pay because most of the cost will be buried in the premiums that churches, religious charities and schools pay to provide health insurance to their employees and students.
And even organizations that are exempt from the mandate are required to refer their employees to other entities for services which they find objectionable.
And the new policy does nothing to help for-profit companies that have strong religious and moral objections to the mandate.
The government believes that the religious views of the owners of a private business are not relevant and therefore they do not have a right to get an exemption from the law.
Lawsuits from companies, such as Hobby Lobby, which have been very vocal in their opposition, will continue.
Lyle Denniston of SCOTUS blog writes that, “It now appears likely that the controversy will reach the Supreme Court in one or more cases taken there by profit-making business owners who object to the mandate. None of those cases is likely to reach the court for action during the current term, thus putting over the issue until the term that starts next October.”
More than 2,500 religious leaders sent letters to President Obama last year objecting to the HHS mandate, asking the administration “to protect the conscience rights of all people who have moral or religious objections to covering contraceptives and sterilization procedures.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has not yet released an opinion, posting a statement the day the rule was issued that they are studying it.
Clearly, the only solution is for the administration to withdraw the mandate, allowing companies and individuals to make their own decisions about whether or not they want this coverage, free from government violation of their First Amendment rights.
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