Fear, Climate Change, and Greta Thunberg

Back in December, TIME magazine named Greta Thunberg as their person of the year. Whether or not you agree with Greta Thunberg, this seemed like a reasonable choice. Last year she quickly became a household name. This is in no small part because of her stance on climate change.

Often discussions of Greta involve some talk of her age and whether or not that makes her worth listening to on social and political issues. Though I think there is a discussion to be had around those issues, that is not the point of this article. What I came to realize quite quickly with Greta Thunberg, and what this article is about, is that the passion and urgency that she speaks with sounded very familiar. I began to realize that she sounded much like a fire and brimstone preacher.

Before I go on, I want to thank all of you who attended the first Q&A for Everyday Theology. There are still some kinks to work out, but I think this might be a good way for me to answer questions from you. I want to remind you that you can submit questions ahead of time on the Facebook page for my blog. By the time you read this we will have had our second Q&A, but if you want to see me answer questions about this article, you can come to the Q&A on March 19 at 8 pm EST. See you then.

The Fear of Fire

Fear is a powerful motivator. It can get most people to do things that they would not do otherwise. This is why courts often take into account the duress of a defendant when considering guilt or innocence. The problem with fear as a motivator is that often when the fear is gone people will go back to the old way of doing things. If the fear is gone then the motivation to change the way I live is gone. The best way for someone to change is for them to buy into the idea, not just think it is the only thing that won’t kill them. But it is easier to scare someone into submission than it is to change their heart.

It is at this juncture of fear versus heart change that Greta Thunberg and pastors overlap. I have heard a lot of evangelistic sermons. For much of my youth these sermons all had a similar theme: “You had better believe in Jesus because your other choice is to burn forever.” This method has two problems.

First, it puts the focus of Christianity on the penalties and not the blessings. I don’t follow Jesus because He provides me with cosmic fire insurance. I follow Him because He has proven to be just, kind, and righteous. Following Jesus has made my life better—not perfect, but better. He is the King and as the King He knows what is best for me.

Second, when Jesus talked about hell, He directed this wrath at religious elites and not commoners. I wrote a whole article on this, but the short version is that God condemns to hell those people who confess Jesus with their lips, but deny Him with their lifestyle. Interestingly enough, these are the same people whom the world rejects.

So, when I heard Greta talk about how she is fearful every day and that she wants us to panic because the world is on fire, I begin to see similarities. I have no doubt that Greta Thunberg is scared. I also know that if people are only motivated by fear, and that fear turns out to be unfounded, then the cause that Ms. Thunberg is promoting will fall by the wayside. Frankly, as a Christian, there are better reasons to care for the environment than fear.

And He Saw That It Was Good

In the story of creation, we see that everything God created is good. At the end of days three, four, and five God declares it good and after God creates humanity on day six, He declares it very good. As part of that sixth day God commands the humans that He created to take care of the earth. The very first command of God is care of the earth. Humanity was created to be stewards of the earth.

The fall of humanity brings complications into this. Not least is the idea that what Satan stole from Adam and Eve was the authority over creation. But even if that was the case, Jesus reverses the curse of Adam and in so doing restores stewardship of the earth back to humanity. The very first chapter of the Bible makes it clear that part of what it means to be human is to care for the earth. Yet there are Christians who have rejected this idea.

New Creation

I want you to think about heaven. What do you think about? Is there a golden gate? Are there angels with halos? Does everyone have white robes and walk on clouds? I think a lot of people would answer yes to at least one of these questions. The problem is that this is not the image that the Bible gives us. In fact, when talking about eternity with God, the Bible usually uses the term New Creation, not heaven.

I’m not 100% sure where all these ideas came from, but I can tell you their results. They result in people rejecting the physical world and clinging to an idea that eternity with God is only spiritual. Now this idea gets bolstered by a few different Scriptures. Paul regularly talks about the things of the world versus the things of God. Paul certainly lived at a time after Plato and was therefore potentially influenced by him. But I doubt that Paul completely rejected the physical world the way Plato did.

The other main Scripture that people use to reject the physical world comes from Revelation. In Revelation we see that God will in fact destroy the earth. The problem is that we are also told that God will make a new heaven and a new earth. God will re-create. This world may not be your home, but you will get another one just like it. John goes on in Revelation to tell us that in this new creation, heaven comes down to meet earth at the city of Jerusalem. God dwells among his people in a very real and physical world. There may not be a sun, but the light of The Son is all that we need.

Perhaps the most important point to be made in favor of a physical world is that Jesus’ resurrected body was physical. Thomas put his hands in Jesus’ scars. Jesus ate fish with the disciples. Sure, it wasn’t physical like we know it. He did walk through locked doors, but Jesus’ resurrected body was a body. Paul tells us that Jesus was the first fruit of the resurrection to come. That must mean that our resurrected bodies will have something in common with Jesus.

We Need Love, Not Fear

In 1 John we are told that perfect love casts out all fear. As I think about the issues around salvation and, yes, even climate change, I realize that what we really need is love. I am not a Christian because I fear God. I am a Christian because I love God. Likewise, I desire to take care of the earth, not because I fear its destruction, but because I love my Creator. He made this earth and therefore I love his creation.

Greta Thunberg told us that she wants us to panic, not to hope. But the truth is that hope for a better life is the only lasting motivation. Christianity brings hope to a dark world. Part of that hope is knowing that we have a God who cares for us and for our planet. Sin may have brought groaning and pain to the world, but God has chosen to use me to bring redemption to the whole world. I am thankful for that privilege. I leave you with this question: Do you act out of fear or love?