When extreme environmentalism becomes hatred of God
God told us in Genesis to subdue and have dominion over the earth. That is incompatible with pagan earth-worship. Do not worship the creature over the Creator.
Kelsey Piper does a good job deconstructing arguments for banning the washing machine at Vox, and how rich, white, college-educated Leftists are not considering just how much the washing machine has been a benefit to humanity and especially to women. But the hostility to the washing machine reveals that the most extreme aspects of environmentalism are not about protecting the environment. It is about hatred of God.
Woah there, dude! That is a bit of a leap, isn’t it? We are talking about an appliance! Maybe you need a sense of proportion.
No. Extreme environmentalists see humans - who were made in God’s image - as a blight on the planet. That is why we see so many environmentalists push population control. But what eco-extremists really hate is the image of God in man, and His commandment to subdue and have dominion over the Earth. That is antithetical to earth-worshiping paganism. That is why the Apostle Paul warns us in Romans 1 about those who worship the creature more than the Creator. Hatred of humanity is ultimately hatred of God.
We should not swing to the other extreme. Environmentalism is good. We all want clean water and clean air. We may disagree with the particular details of environmental regulation, but most people (including Christians) would support environmental regulations to keep people from sickening others or making land unlivable with pollution. It is not a bad thing to reduce, re-use and recycle. God gave us this planet, and we should be good stewards of the gift that He has given to us and told us to use for our benefit. We should also love our neighbor, which means caring for his health.
But we need to learn to see the stitches on the cultural fastballs, and recognize the spiritual element in radical environmentalism. We need to recognize when environmentalism turns radical and becomes pagan earth worship and hatred of man, who bears the image of Almighty God. The reason this is important is that it goes far beyond the particulars of why the washing machine is good. As the Apostle Paul wrote, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness. A policy-based argument cannot counter extreme environmentalism and earth worship. Only repentance and faith can do that.