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Re: Moyers Revealed
By: Christina Holder|Published: October 19, 2006 10:31 AM
Topics: Environment, Politics & Government, Religion & Society


Continuing the post I began a few days ago on God and the environment, I wanted to address a comment posted by a reader named Dean under my original post. Dean took issue with my post, and I am addressing his comment below. Other Breakpoint writers, feel free to weigh in!

1) It's important to issue some warnings about groups and films that may be more propaganda than they are complete truth. I would have the same grievance with any propaganda.

2) You said, “Breakpoint folks consist of a bunch of conservatives who want Republicans to maintain control [of Congress].” Actually, writers at Breakpoint have varying political views, and some of our discussion on the blog recently has specifically addressed being careful to not put a political party above our relationship with Christ. See our string of posts called "Fasting from Politics." There is room in the body of Christ for both Republicans and Democrats.

3) Finally, your characterization of the “Breakpoint crew” as being anti-gay, opposing “any type of environmental measures,” etc., and distorting Bible verses for our benefit is grossly incorrect. We are not against homosexuals. Far from it! We believe that all people—including the Breakpoint writers—have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But we do believe what God’s word has to say about every moral issue. In the case of homosexuality, the Bible is clear that sexual immorality of any kind is not something God wants us to engage in (Romans 13:12-14 and 1 Corinthians 6:8-10).

Also, my post clearly does not say we should write off the earth and pollute it at will. My post pointed out some warnings we need to consider. What does Scripture have to say about caring for the environment? It says we are to care for the earth, but also have dominion over it. I talk about this at the end of my original post. I'm not against taking care of the earth. My complaints with some of the environmental groups out there is that they value creation over the God who created it for us to live off of and to sustain ourselves. For example, in the Is God Green? movie, one woman protests that “the earth is God’s body.” This is a misrepresentation of Scripture. Jesus said that we, the church, are His body (1 Corinthians 12:27).


Comments:

Dean, I believe you're looking at the wrong post. To see your comment and Christina's response, go to http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2006/10/moyers_revealed.html#comments
Posted By: Gina Dalfonzo on October 26, 2006 2:54 PM
How do I see the comment I posted yesterday
Posted By: Dean Ohlman on October 26, 2006 2:45 PM
I wanted to make it clear to everyone reading that any blog post on this site does not necessarily reflect Chuck’s position. The posts you read here are the opinions of The Point bloggers, and even we disagree... Also, Dean, you assume that Dr. E. Calvin Besiner is lying. Please see “Dr. E. Calvin Beisner Responds” at www.jimmyakin.org. Here's an excerpt from Beisner's counsel to Moyer's counsel (posted on Jimmy's site): "He sincerely believes that he accurately summarized in the newsletter his recollection of a private conversation with your client that was not recorded prior to the interview on camera. He also believes his recollection may have been influenced by a conversation he and your client had on the way to the airport following the interview." We've got two different recollections here.
Posted By: Christina Holder on October 25, 2006 2:08 PM
Hi all, Take a look at www.jimmyakin.org. This blog was one of the first to talk about Beisner's statement about Moyers. Moyers offers a rebuttal on Jimmy's blog. An excerpt from Moyers' email to Beisner: "You are not telling the truth. In fact, what you wrote in the ISA newsletter is an outright lie. You claim that 'When Moyers interviewed me for the documentary last spring, he very candidly told me that he is a liberal Democrat and intended for the documentary to influence the November elections to bring control of Congress back to the Democrats.' I said nothing of the sort -- nothing. To the contrary, I told you that I am an independent..." See more at Jimmy's site...
Posted By: Christina Holder on October 20, 2006 9:59 AM
Thanks for the follow-up, Christina. One thought, and it's more a blog-wide thing, wouldn't it make more sense for the RE: posts to be posted as comments under the prior post? It's much easier to follow the conversation that way, and as it is, there almost seems to be too many posts, many on the same topic, which may not interest everyone. If all the responses were comments under the prior post (as is more typical of the blogosphere) it might make for even greater interaction. This also applies to the case of anyone coming from offsite who will miss the related following posts if they only check the prior post for responses to their comments, as is usually done.
Posted By: Westy on October 19, 2006 7:43 PM
Just a quick point: I think it's a fallacy to say there must be a "balance" between care for the earth and dominion over it, because I don't see these commands as different from one another. God gave us dominion over the earth FOR THE PURPOSE of caring for it, cultivating it, etc. To have dominion over something does not mean to neglect it or exploit it merely for one's own gain. To give a small example, let's say I own a dog. I have dominion over my pet. I exercise that dominion by putting a fence around my yard to keep him inside, by taking him to obedience classes, etc. But if I'm a good (and I would argue, a Christian) dog-owner, I do these things for the good of the dog, and not merely for my own convenience. The fence keeps him from running away and possibly starving (since he's not used to hunting his own food) or getting hurt by a bigger animal. Obedience training makes him calmer and more pleasant to be around - that way, he'll get more positive reactions from other people and I can better protect him from danger. And so on. So it is with the earth. You're right that the creation is not higher than the Creator, and as servants of the Creator, we must exercise dominion over the earth. But God called His creation good, and so the dominion He gave us must be to the end of protecting His good creation, not for our own convenience or pleasure.
Posted By: Katharine Eastvold on October 19, 2006 5:40 PM
My profession of engineering and its 20 million degreed members worldwide hold the built-environment, and much of the natural environment in our hands. Note the way we are communicating as one demonstration of this point. There is no collective and intentional Christian influence in my profession and never has been. The "worldview" thinking espoused by Breakpoint has not resulted in any significant treatment of this fact (which also holds, in general, in mankind's other secular professions as law, medicine, accounting, etc). Our "built environment" works because of about 40,000 engineering codes and standards, largely developed and, in many instances, owned by the engineering profession. How much do they reflect God's will? Is this blog a place where such a question can be considered "on point"?
Posted By: Joe Carson, P.E. on

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