To vote for Jesus is to fulfill the responsibility that we have been given by Jesus to possess the earth's resources in a way that promotes the flourishing of humanity on the earth as we protect the earth...

This week, we have been spending our time together addressing the issue of the environment. We have been asking and answering two questions. And the two questions are “What policy would Jesus promote when it comes to the issue of the environment? And what would Jesus say we should do as a country about the care and concern for the environment?”

So far we have discovered that we have been divinely designed to live in relationship with God and one another and have been given responsibility to rule over the earth as His representative here on earth. The letters that make up the Bible teach us that humanity has been given a special place within creation above every other aspect of creation. God's Divine design is for humanity to have the responsibility to gain mastery over the resources of the earth for the flourishing of the earth and all of the creatures that live on the earth.

However, to achieve mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth does not mean that humanity can exploit the earth's resources in a way the hinders or hurts the earth. To gain mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth does not mean that humanity and governments can implement policies when it comes to the environment that threaten the flourishing of the earth and all of the creatures that live on the earth.

And the reason that I can say that with such emphasis is because of what God had to say when it came to how humanity was to gain mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth. You see, just one chapter later, in Genesis 2:15, we see God unpack the responsibility that He gave humanity when it came to gaining mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth. So let's look at Genesis 2:15 together:

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

When God placed Adam into the Garden of Eden, He did not simply place Adam into the garden to have a vacation. God placed Adam into the Garden of Eden and gave him a job. Adam’s job was to cultivate and keep the garden. To understand what Adam’s job description and responsibility entailed, we first need to understand what the phrase cultivate and keep means. The word cultivate, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to serve. The word keep here literally means to protect.

You see, God gave Adam more than just the possession of the Garden of Eden; God gave Adam the responsibility of protecting the Garden of Eden.  And it is here that we see revealed for us the reality that part of our responsibility that we have been given by God as His representatives here on earth is to serve the resources of the earth in a way that results in the flourishing of the earth. While God created the earth with all the resources that are necessary to promote human flourishing, those resources are not simply here to be exploited and abused in a way that hinders the earth's ability to flourish. Humanity has been given the responsibility to wisely steward those resources in a way that serves the earth and promotes the flourishing of the earth.

In addition, part of the responsibility that we have been given by God as His representatives here on earth is to protect the earth in such a way that promotes the flourishing of the earth. While God gave the earth to humanity in such a way that is was to be possessed by humanity, the earth and its resources are not to be neglected by humanity. Instead the earth and its resources are to be protected by humanity in a way that promotes the flourishing of the earth and humanity.

Now this leads us directly to the discussion about the issue of global warming. Global warming is a hypothesis that the doubling of the earth's carbon dioxide from preindustrial times would raise the average surface temperature, before feedbacks, between 1.8 and 2.16 degrees. Now feedbacks are those things in the environment that minimize the effects of global warming.

This hypothesis is based on computer projections about the future impact of different factors to global climate. However, when the various feedbacks are factored into the computer models, which lower the earth’s temperature by 58%, then the temperature change is between .76 to .9 degrees.

Now a natural question or objection at this point could be "Well Dave, isn't global warming settled science? Isn't there universal agreement regarding global warming?" My response to those questions and objections would be this: While the vast majority of the scientific community agree that there has been global warming, there is disagreement when it comes to the impact that humanity has had on the issue of global warming.

For example, over 31,000 degreed scientists, including 9,000 with PHD’s have signed a petition that there is no convincing evidence that human release of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases is causing, or will cause a catastrophic heating of the earth’s atmosphere. In addition, the earth’s temperature has remained steady, or has fallen in the last fifteen years, a result not predicted by the global warming computer models.

Also, science has shown that the earth has cyclical patterns of heating and cooling. As a matter of fact, if you are old enough to remember the 1970's you will remember that the major concern was that the world was going to experience another ice age. In the seventies, the scientific study was on the effects of global cooling, not global warming. Prior to the seventies, the last increase of global temperatures, which occurred from 1910-1940 was prior to the world increasing production of greenhouse gases. Also, over a four hundred year period, the concentration of sulfur dioxide and smoke in London was lower than it was in 1585, which is before the industrial revolution. Also urban pollutants have decreased 90% since 1930.

Now you might be wondering "How can that be with all the increased use of fossil fuels in the world during the same time?" The reason why this has occurred is due to the reality that the economic development of a nation enables a nation to overcome air pollution. You see, extremely poor countries have no air pollution, because they have nothing to pollute the air.

However, when nations begin to develop economically, there is increased air pollution due to introduction of fuels that cause air pollution. However, once a nation develops to the point that they have a per capita income of $30,000 a year or higher, their air returns to the same quality that it had as an undeveloped nation. You see, as Lomborg and others have pointed out, the science is not nearly what is often portrayed.

Now right about now, some of you may be wanting to respond by saying "Well Dave, what about the melting ice in the polar regions of the world. What about the polar bears that are dying? What about all the science that was communicated by Al Gore in his movie "An inconvenient truth?" The response to those objections would be two fold. First, when it comes to the ice caps, the glaciers have been shrinking slowly ever since the end of the last ice age. In addition, both the arctic and Antarctic ice caps have been expanding since 2008.

Second, regarding the movie "An inconvenient truth", a British court ruled that the movie was so full of errors that it could no longer be shown in government schools without a corresponding list of all the serious errors and refutation of its errors. Well that must have been inconvenient for Al Gore. So, with all that in mind, what policy would Jesus promote when it comes to the environment? And what would Jesus say we should do about the care and concern of the environment? It is the answer to this question that provides for us a timeless truth when it comes to voting for Jesus.

And that timeless truth is this: To vote for Jesus is to fulfill the responsibility that we have been given to possess the earth's resources in a way that promotes the flourishing of humanity on the earth as we protect the earth. You see, to vote for Jesus is to recognize that we have been divinely designed to live in relationship with Him and one another and have been given responsibility to rule over the earth as His representative here on earth.

To vote for Jesus is to recognize that we have been given the responsibility to gain mastery over the resources of the earth for the flourishing of the earth and all of the creatures that live on the earth. To vote for Jesus is to recognize that the earth was created with all the resources necessary to be developed in such a way that the  earth would benefit from the development of these resources. To vote for Jesus is to recognize that the earth was created with all the resources necessary to support the spread of the human population over the earth without harming the earth.

However, to vote for Jesus is to recognize achieving mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth does not mean that humanity can exploit the earth's resources in a way that hurts the earth. To vote for Jesus is to recognize achieving mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth does not mean that humanity and governments can implement policies when it comes to the environment that threaten the flourishing of the earth and all of the creatures that live on the earth.

To vote for Jesus is to recognize that part of our responsibility that we have been given by God as His representatives here on earth is to serve and protect the resources of the earth in a way that results in the flourishing of the earth. Humanity has been given the responsibility to wisely steward those resources in a way that serves the earth and promotes the flourishing of the earth. While God gave the earth to humanity in such a way that is was to be possessed by humanity, the earth and its resources are not to be neglected by humanity. Instead the earth and its resources are to be protected by humanity in a way that promotes the flourishing of the earth and humanity.

You see, as so often is the case, Jesus does not fit into one political party or ideology. Jesus is for human flourishing and Jesus is for the environment. Jesus is for humanity possessing the earth and Jesus is for humanity protecting the earth. Jesus is for us ruling over the earth for our benefit and Jesus is for us serving the earth for its benefit.

So are you fulfilling your responsibility to represent Jesus by  possessing the earth's resources in a way that promotes the flourishing of humanity on the earth as we protect the earth? Do you view, talk and treat the environment in a way that promotes human flourishing while wisely managing the resources of the earth?

Because the timeless reality is that to vote for Jesus is to fulfill the responsibility that we have been given by Jesus to possess the earth's resources in a way that promotes the flourishing of humanity on the earth as we protect the earth.