Categories: uncategorized
Date: 07 June 2009 08:56:12
The Guardian has another of it's occassional articles showing the positive sides of evangelicalism. This article is about a conservative US evangelical who is working as an eco evangelist in Kenya.
The article is interesting on several levels. Firstly, it highlights the changes which are occuring in evangelicalism and the rise of progressive evangelicalism in the US even amongst the right. Secondly, it gives an interesting account of somebodies calling and how that was put into action. Thirdly, it shows how both evangelicalism and the environmental movement are able and willing to work with others, particularly when the future of the planet is at stake. Following on from this the point is made that social movements are loose coalitions rather than oppositional pressure groups. Penultimately it explains clearly but in a user friendly way Christian environmentalism and some of the theology involved. Finally it makes the point, which seems to surprise the Guardian journalist but few others that there is not a clear pro-anti secular divide in this country after all. Most people are actually quite happy to recognise and work with alternative faith positions to their own.
Within the article there were two quotes which particularly struck me.
The first was from the environmentalist, Paul Kiongo, who challenged the view that if you take Revalation seriously you do nothing about environmental distruction. He said, " The deeply embedded view is that Christ is returning soon, so why should we care for the environment? Well, what if I had a child with leukaemia and I said to my wife, 'We don't need to give him food because he's going to die anyway'? Man, it's the same thing!"
The second one came from George Monbiot. He said "We are facing a global crisis and we must use every tool at our disposal in preventing climate breakdown and a food and water crisis. I don't mind how the message reaches people or who is doing it,"
This was an encouraging article, showing that in amongst all the minority crap the media so often concentrate on that positive realities can be sometimes reported aswell.....even if the journalist writing seemed genuinely shocked that this reality existed.