Environmental Pharisees

Environmental Pharisees

Jesus frequently came into conflict with the Pharisees--hyper-strict religious leaders of His day--because they erected rules that went far beyond the requirements of divinely revealed law. He accused them of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel; loading people with burdens no one could bear; and substituting the traditions of men for the commandments of God.

Some modern environmentalists are not much different, promulgating hyper-strict rules with unjustified moral fervor. They confuse debatable prudence with divinely revealed principle.

A case in point is opposition to soft toilet paper. Because recycled paper won't work, soft toilet paper must be made from freshly pulped trees. But, says Dr. Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council, "No forest of any kind should be used to make toilet paper."

Got that? "Should" is a moral term, and “no forest of any kind” makes it an absolute moral judgment. But whether or not we may cultivate trees solely to make toilet paper is a prudential judgment on which reasonable people can differ.

Legalism may be easier to satisfy than the law of love, but the Apostle Paul strongly condemned it:

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
(Colossians 2:20-23)

Kent comments:

I didn’t write the above – I’m not that talented!  But you can find a wealth of good information about the environment where this came from, which is We Get It.  Go there RIGHT NOW and sign up for their weekly email.  Just do it!  You won’t regret it.