by Robert Horner
Severe weather. Drought. Sea-level rise. Desertification. Freshwater shortages. Pollution. Deforestation. Species extinction. Climate change.
Today we are faced with a looming global crisis. Our actions are altering our planet in ways that are harmful to ourselves and to life around us. Often, the actions we take today will continue to hurt us for generations to come. And these effects are sometimes irreversible. This is the current state of our world from a material standpoint. As a student researching sustainable development and renewable energy, I often find the scientific data about the destruction of our planet overwhelming.
As a Christian Scientist, I struggle to know how to deal with this situation from a spiritual perspective-from its true perspective. I know that this is our best hope for an effective solution.
No matter what material evidence we see, nothing can change the truth about our spiritual reality. No matter how grim the situation appears to be, we can always trust in the harmony of God’s creation. But I don’t think it’s enough to take comfort in this idea. We need to see solutions that benefit the world at large.
Yet there is no one treatment that can handle the complexities of our current global situation. The impacts we are having on our environment involve a web of aggressive mental suggestion about Life, Love, power, control, wealth, prosperity, well-being, matter, who we are, and what we care about. None of these suggestions carries particular weight over another, yet there is one material influence that we all must deal with before we can really tackle the environmental crisis: fear.
I think I figured it out when trying to watch parts of CNN’s cable television special Planet in Peril. I got that my love for Life, in all of its diverse manifestations, is being used against me. Seeing the current planetary destruction and hearing the dire predictions for the future, I become overwhelmed with, in a sense, a feeling of grief. At times I get so distracted by the fear of what may become of our harmonious habitat that I lose a sense of all the spiritual truths that can give me guidance to deal with the problem.
It is at these times that I realize the importance of handling the fear first. By allowing my thought to be distracted from seeking spiritual solutions, I am dooming myself to failure before I even begin to address the problem. Mary Baker Eddy includes “ignorance” in her definition of fear (Science & Health, p. 586). In this case, I see fear as a temporary ignorance of God’s harmonious creation-a creation that cannot fall into disharmony no matter what material claims come against it.
Once I see my fear for the future of this planet for what it is, I feel grounded in true reality. From that foundation, I can start to combat specific mental suggestions about the well-being of life on Earth. This isn’t a one-time thing, though. With a problem as complex as the destruction of our planet, I have to deal with fear repeatedly. And that’s okay. Dealing with it is part of the overall solution.
In future contributions to this new blog, I hope to address some specific current issues concerning our environment. My goal is to share some spiritual treatments that I am using paired with some practical human steps we can take to combat problems we currently face. But before we can treat specific issues, we must first conquer the shadow of fear that surrounds this topic. I welcome your feedback.
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I think you’ve hit it right on–overcoming the fear is the first order of business for solving this or any other problem. Fear is mortal mind’s first and favorite weapon to try to get us to accept the arguments it presents. It’s the way to beat us before we even clear the gate. Just as an animal in nature might puff itself up to try to instill fear in an opponent and cause it to avoid taking action, error attempts to use fear to relegate us to inaction as well. And, when you think about it, it can be a pretty effective weapon–instilling fear is much easier than trying to win a fight against an earnest, tough opponent! It’s how error tries to win based on perception rather than on reality.
I don’t know if it is coincidence or an intentional reference on your part, but Michael Crichton’s novel about global warming was called State of Fear (Harper Collins, 2004). The book puts forward the premise that (physical) science actually refutes global warming and that politicians and various environmental lobbying groups have largely used fear-mongering to promote the idea of a crisis. Obviously there are as many–and probably more–persuasive arguments by scientists that global warming is a huge problem. But how do we get an objective viewpoint, when even the “facts” seem to be able to be twisted to support the personal views of whomever is making the argument at the moment? Fortunately, we have a higher law, and a higher Truth, to which we can turn: God’s law. There is one God, and, consequently, one body of Truth. We can study this Truth through Christian Science.
Even on a material level, it’s a good idea to step back and remove emotion–fear–from a problem and try to solve it pragmatically. But, as you note, this can be difficult to do when faced with what seems like overwhelming, demoralizing evidence of a difficult problem. We can rely on God’s law to help us. How can we start?
Well, for me, Psalm 23 is a particularly good place to turn. It’s all about being calm and relying on God in the face of fear, and it even promises us green pastures and still waters–a healthy, unpolluted environment in which to express Life! Some may think it’s a bit overused, but finding comfort in familiar, simple truths is always a good starting point for getting some traction against fear.
Once we have overcome the fear, Christian Science demands that we take action [Matt. 10:8]. I look forward to your thoughts on how we can tackle specific environmental issues!
Incidentally, there is a very good podcast on this topic on Spirituality.com (originally broadcast on 4/17/07).
I get really overwhelmed when I think about all the problems the environment faces and all the ways in which I as a human being make them worse. How can I get past that? How do you when you’re actually studying those problems?????
Robert - thanks for writing about this important topic!
Anonymous - there are some great threads on this site that have some helpful responses to your comment:
http://www.tmcyouth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249
http://tmcyouth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=516
There is so much to say… to me, climate change and various other environmental issues we are facing today try to all combine together as one massive “monster problem” declaring that it is way beyond our control. Fortunately, no problem is bigger than God, and the responsibility for control is God’s, not our. Nothing is impossible to God, and I love the idea that His metaphysics are infinitely wise and infallible - waaay above the admittedly immense physics (of heat, chemicals, and massive water and aero systems, etc.) involved in the equation from a strictly human point of view.
Yay God! And yay! for people like Robert who want to take prayerful and practical steps toward a better situation. How else would you pray and what else would you do? Robert? Others?
Cheers, Susie
Anonymous,
It can be very easy to get overwhelmed. I think the first step, like I said above, is to deal with the fear. Trusting that nothing has the power to destroy God’s creation, or the Principle reflected in nature and our planet, often settles my thought enough to deal with specific issues.
Feeling overwhelmed is a distraction. If you are worried about a lot of issues, it is hard to focus on one. Yet, approaching one issue at a time is the only way we can give this problem a complete treatment. In some of my next blogs, I will be addressing some specific issues that I work on in this way.
Lastly, being aware of your own human contribution to problems in the environment is a good thing–it enables you to treat those beliefs, and can prompt you to take some of the practical human steps to correct the situation. Yet, it is important to avoid feelings of guilt. As ideas of God, we cannot be a burden to anyone or anything. Just as the children of Israel lived off of the manna God provided, we are truly provided for by the “sustainining infinite,” (S&H, vii:1) not the earthly consumption that leads to environmnental problems.
Robert,
This is the first time visiting this site and I was pleased to see your article. I, too, am concerned about our earth and what the general masses are doing to it. I love protecting habitats, have worked with sea turtles and whales, and sometimes I’m just very sad when I hear about how we’re wiping out species and poisoning this planet. I actually had an opportunity to catch green sea turtle eggs as they were being laid, and counted them. It saddens me so when I know all sea turtles are endangered. I try to do everything I can personally to lower my carbon footprint, recycle, consume less, and share the vision. One thing that helped me when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed was the idea that life is not in matter. All of a sudden, I could step back and know that life is God, spiritual and never was IN matter. So it never was in the sea turtle, materially speaking. This helps somewhat. And I know the bigger picture is that life is spiritual. But in our everyday life, it’s easy to see this world around us, this beautiful, awesome world fulll of biodiversity..and people just dumping on it with no respect. It’s a difficult issue for sure. I’ll keep trying to deal with it, as you are. Thanks so much for your words.
Robert~
I am so happy that you brought this situation up! I am in my school’s enviromental club and I pray about this too! Every week we study a new topic (this week it was how bad plastic bags are for the world and everything in it) and we make anouncements around the school about it to spread awareness. I am SO overly happy that you wrote about this because your article shows that no one peorson can change the world, but everyone can do little things like turning off the lights, unplugging things, even just spreading awareness. Thanks again so much for letting the Christian Science world know about this.
Noah K.
Thanks for this great blog, Robert! I’m really looking forward to reading more of what you have to say on this subject, to getting a better sense of how we might pray effectively on what is obviously a big problem in the world.
Interestingly, the Christian Science Monitor ran an opinion piece the other day, essentially stating that the fear of global warming and climate change has grown way out of proportion, that it is having a severe impact on children, perhaps even inducing traumatic effects in children. I don’t doubt that, from a strictly human standpoint, the environmental crisis is anything less than a crisis, but is rousing a lot of fear in society really the most effective way of handling the problem, or is it inadvertently causing other problems?
It seems to me that we’ll find hope in overcoming this problem as we love our environment more, as we see that “in atmosphere of Love divine, we live and move and breathe.” Climate change begins with us, in our thinking–and our thoughts ultimately determine whether that change is an improvement or if it’s destructive. With a greater appreciation and respect for God’s creation, we’ll be more apt to alter behavior that is causing global warming. But I don’t know, that’s just what I believe. Robert, do you think we can expect to see solutions to the climate crisis? What are some of the specific things that need to be handled before we can see this change?
Thanks again for the awesome blog!
I’m going to echo the others– thanks so much for this blog Robert! We’re so fortunate to have things like this blog that can anchor our thought to the good and true when so many other sources are telling fear-driven stories. I’ve found that more often than not I’m dismissive of the media’s coverage of climate problems and environmental issues- not because I don’t think its something we need to deal with, but because the stories are so sensationalist and driven by fear. But your blog is a great reminder that we’re not handling a physical planet with limited resources– we’re protecting and purifying an environment of thought, and that allows us to see the universe clearly.
Looking forward to future blogs on the topic!
This is good, Roger. Very helpful.
“Climate change begins with us, in our thinking–and our thoughts ultimately determine whether that change is an improvement or if it’s destructive.”
I feel like I can make a good impact on the environment now.
Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. Roger—I think you are absolutely right about fear and how it is being used. Well-intentioned people are using fear in an effort to motivate a populace that at times seems apathetic about the environment. The idea is that if they can find a way to get people to care about the environment, then it doesn’t matter how they do it. The ends justify the means. Fear also comes from dire predictions that scientists feel obligated to make in rebuttal to a largely political movement to discredit the theory of global warming. We must see through all of this. No matter how persuasive fear seems to be, we cannot rely on it to motivate people. As Christian Scientists we know that fear is material—not spiritual—in origin, and therefore will always result in other problems (as you said).
As for your other question, Roger, the short answer is an emphatic yes—I think we can expect to see solutions to the climate crisis. From a material standpoint, the situation seems increasingly bleak. Yet, Jesus brought people back from the dead! I know that we can handle this. It will be a challenge, but triumph over aggressive mental suggestion often is. The more I get demoralized over the magnitude of the shift in human momentum necessary to turn the tide on global warming, the more determined I become to realize a spiritual solution.
If I doubted for a second that we have the power to overcome this material crisis, then I would have to rethink my occupation and what I now consider to be my life’s purpose. I will address some more specific ways I use to treat global warming in a new blog entry coming soon!
I have to tell you that I made some recent purchases that were more expensive, but more environmental friendly because of this blog. And I didn’t do it out of fear or guilt, but instead, because I want to support those who are doing their best to support environmental solutions.
Anonymous,
I’m glad to hear about your recent purchases, and even more glad to hear about the worthwhile motivation behind them. As clearly you are aware, actions do not need to have material origins simply because they seem to occur in the material realm. Our actions should reflect our thought. If our thought is spiritual, then our actions betray that higher purpose. Buying “green” products is one of many examples of action that can result from spiritual thought and prayer about our environment. It is certainly a course of action that I have chosen to follow. Thanks for sharing your experience!