The findings of astrobiology put today's environmental concerns into perspective.
When Frodo sailed into the West, never to return to a Middle Earth that was itself slipping away, I got choked up. When Narnia was no more, I felt a longing of regret:
The spreading blackness was not a cloud at all: it was simply emptiness. The black part of the sky was the part in which there were no stars left. All the stars were falling: Aslan had called them home.
As a billion people observe the 40th Earth Day today and think about the noble goal of preserving (and for Christians, stewarding) the planet on which we live and move and have our being, I am thinking about heaven.
There's a reason the Bible promises us a new heaven and a new earth. This world, as seemingly solid and as breathtakingly beautiful as it is, is transient beyond our comprehension. And despite our best (and sometimes misguided) efforts, this pale blue dot in a sea of inky blackness is headed for extinction. That's not a world-denying premillennial eschatological perspective that cannot be verified. It's the latest findings of the new science of astrobiology.
According to Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee, life on earth is the result of a precarious - and temporary - balance of air, rock, and solar activity. In The Life and Death of Planet Earth, They write, "Our neighboring planets, Venus and Mars, one blisteringly hot and the other frozen, have provided valuable insights into how rare, unique, and wonderful our own home is."
Ward and Brownlee, authors of Rare Earth, say the planet is already in decline and make the following predictions related to earth's eventual demise:
Given these projections, the old hymn, "This World Is Not My Home," resonates with me on this Earth Day.- The long-term climate threat to human civilization comes not from global warming, but from a new ice age: "Human civilization has arisen in a brief ?interglacial' that has lasted only about twelve thousand years and may already be ending."
- The loss of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 100 million years will spell the end of plant life (meaning the Age of Plants is 95 percent over);
- All life, even microbial life, which most scientists believe began 3.4 billion years ago, will be extinct in a mere 500 million years;
- When earth, currently estimated at 4.5 billion years old, is 12 billion years old, it will be swallowed by an expanding sun.
This world is not my home, I'm just passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
Yes, while we pass through this world, let's take care of it for our good and for God's glory. But let's remember that Jesus has promised to prepare an even better place for his followers. For us, the end of the world represents the beginning of something far better.
Posted by Stan Guthrie on April 22, 2009 10:40AM
Comments
I have had similar thoughts and words, but I couldn't have said it better.
I also think of this verse from Romans which reveals what we are seeing today...Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Posted by: Servant at April 22, 2009
Stan Guthrie must not be a very big N. T. Wright fan. I'll see your "This World Is Not My Home" and raise you a "This Is My Father's World":
This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:
Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.
Posted by: Wonders for Oyarsa at April 22, 2009
Actually, I like Wright's perspective on the afterlife but struggled how to introduce it in this brief blog post. So I'll just reproduce a short excerpt from a book I am writing and leave it at that:
"Karl Marx smeared religion, calling it the 'opium of the people,' giving oppressors the opportunity to exploit the pacified, heavenly minded masses. Others, taking a similar tack, say we have gone too far in emphasizing heaven over earth. Tom Wright, in his excellent book Surprised by Hope, says this is a false choice. Wright examines the old comment that “we are so heavenly minded that we are no earthly use” and finds that too often we dichotomize what ought to be left together:
"'But in the Bible heaven and earth are made for each other. They are the twin interlocking spheres of God’s single created reality. You really understand earth only when you are equally familiar with heaven.'
"Indeed, when Jesus talks about heaven he is usually talking about earth, too. The two realities are linked—or, to use Wright’s word, interlocked. Rather than promoting a benign neglect of this world, Jesus uses heaven as a spur to greater godliness, trust, and Christian activism."
Posted by: Stan at April 22, 2009
On this Earth Day I was thinking about what C S Lewis had written in his essay "The World's Last Night." He rejected Develpmentalism and believed in Christ's literal Second Coming to earth. Since we do not know when this will be, we must be wise stewards until he comes. You can read an article I wrote about this by clicking on my name above or going here: http://live.hollywoodjesus.com/?p=3833
Posted by: Mark Sommer at April 22, 2009
Heaven, 'God', devil, and hell doesn't exist, they don't need to.
The story of the Tortoise and the Hare isn't real. It never happened, it could never happen, it will never happen. It's the idea is what's important, not the story.
God is too human to be real, but the idea that people should be nice to one another and not going around killing in the name of God or in the name of peace.
Posted by: Hi at April 23, 2009
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