As is bound to happen sometimes, Easter holy days and Earth Day fall at the same time on the calendar. Today is both Good Friday and Earth Day. I find it very fitting since these evoke feelings in me about two ideas I care very much about, but that I struggle with. I care very deeply about the environment and taking care of it. Threaded throughout this desire is the idea that this lovely world was created and given to us by God. We are suppose to care for it as God does, not destroy it. God created it so therefore it must be good.
The conflict for me comes from my inability to be as "green" as I should be and also my conflicting feelings about religion. I go from atheist to true believer and then somewhere in between constantly. I think it is good to question your beliefs and analyze why you feel the way you do. I think there is a God or some divine being, otherwise I cannot fathom how this world got here. The rational part of my brain says there has to be a reasonable explanation, whether I know it or not, that does not include any divine intervention. Yet there is something that tugs at me saying there has to be something else, a guiding force. I find no problem in following the teachings of Jesus whether you believe in him or not since I feel if everyone lived the way he did, the world would be a much better place. A philosophy of love and compassion can never be a bad thing.
This is why I tie my love of the earth to a sense of religious obligation to protect and care for it. Whether I am right or wrong on the whole religion thing I suppose I will find out when I die. In the meantime I see nothing wrong with living in harmony with our planet and trying to protect it. If there is a God who created this magnificent world then I would think God would want us to take care of it and not abuse it and by extension to take care of and not abuse our fellow humans. After all we are a part of this creation too, we are tied to it and cannot live without it. The Earth however can survive very well without us, she has in the past and will most likely survive and thrive without us in the future.
So on this Good Friday and Earth Day, I will reexamine my commitment to green living and contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. I think he died to redeem all of creation and we should honor that by living the best life we can.
The conflict for me comes from my inability to be as "green" as I should be and also my conflicting feelings about religion. I go from atheist to true believer and then somewhere in between constantly. I think it is good to question your beliefs and analyze why you feel the way you do. I think there is a God or some divine being, otherwise I cannot fathom how this world got here. The rational part of my brain says there has to be a reasonable explanation, whether I know it or not, that does not include any divine intervention. Yet there is something that tugs at me saying there has to be something else, a guiding force. I find no problem in following the teachings of Jesus whether you believe in him or not since I feel if everyone lived the way he did, the world would be a much better place. A philosophy of love and compassion can never be a bad thing.
This is why I tie my love of the earth to a sense of religious obligation to protect and care for it. Whether I am right or wrong on the whole religion thing I suppose I will find out when I die. In the meantime I see nothing wrong with living in harmony with our planet and trying to protect it. If there is a God who created this magnificent world then I would think God would want us to take care of it and not abuse it and by extension to take care of and not abuse our fellow humans. After all we are a part of this creation too, we are tied to it and cannot live without it. The Earth however can survive very well without us, she has in the past and will most likely survive and thrive without us in the future.
So on this Good Friday and Earth Day, I will reexamine my commitment to green living and contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. I think he died to redeem all of creation and we should honor that by living the best life we can.
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