Religious Environmentalism and the Ten

Some clarification on my provocative statements concerning radical environmentalism. For those who missed it, try coming to Portico once in a while. No, but seriously, here's what I said in a nutshell:

1) Extreme environmentalism often breaks the first and second commandments (Exodus 20:3-6).
2) The first commandment says, "I, Yahweh, am to be first among all affections." Environmentalists break this when they place creation or creatures above Creator.
3) The second commandment says, "If you get your affections out of order, that most certainly leads to a corresponding action." That action is idolatry, which finds a new god and ends up serving it. Remember, everyone worships. And we end up serving what we worship. Environmentalists end up breaking the second commandment concerning idolatry when they begin to treat nature as divine. The next thing you know, God and people are way down the priority list. Causes spring up that are connected to protected lands, spotted owls and ridiculous windmills. It starts sounding like Romans 1 (which, I think, is a very Pauline description of breaking the first and second commandments), "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen," (Romans 1:25, ESV).

So, someone please get ahold of Al Gore! Actually, did you see him sweating before a home crowd on the Hill this week? Al, man-made global warming does not refer to the thermostat levels in the Senate Chamber! Bro, did you wear too many layers because of the extreme cold and snow in the nation's Capitol? Oh, the irony.

Anyway, let me give Christians, who really want to be good stewards of God's Creation, some advice:

1) The first rule of stewardship (whether it be stewarding money, children, gifts, talents, etc.) is to know the difference between stewardship and ownership. God owns it. You steward it. The earth is HIS. So, treat the earth like it's His.
2) Feel free to recycle. I feel dumb having to write this, but resourcefulness certainly falls under good stewardship.
3) Please conserve. Good grief, it saves money! Plus it reduces our dependence on foreign oil. Now I sound like a politician.
4) Enjoy nature by worshiping the God of nature. He made this world to reflect His glory. We glorify God most when we enjoy Him. We can enjoy Him through what He has made. So, get out of the house a little.
5) Love somebody. No seriously. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to "Love God." But the second is to "Love your neighbor." It's amazing to me that we work to save baby seals and then work to kill baby humans. Our priorities are WAY out of order. Foster a child. Then plant a tree. Be a mentor. Then buy a Prius (if you can afford one). God loves his planet and will redeem it. But God set humans apart by marking them with His image, a distinction he gives to nothing else. When we truly love God and then others, I think the tension between human and environmental concerns will be greatly alleviated.