The Earth is Dying

Now in the people
that were meant to green,
there is no more life of any kind.
There is only shriveled barrenness

The winds are burdened
by the utterly awful stink of evil,
selfish goings-on.

Thunderstorms menace.

The air belches out
the filthy uncleanliness of the peoples.

There pours forth an unnatural,
a loathsome darkness,
that withers the green,
and wizens the fruit
that was to serve as food for the people.

Sometimes this layer of air is full,
full of a fog that is the source
of many destructive and barren creatures,
that destroy and damage the earth,
Rendering it incapable of sustaining humanity.

Hildegard of Bingen
12 Century AD

Nearly a thousand years ago Christian mystic Hildegard of Bingen wrote a description of the environment that could have been written today.
The western world, Christianity, practices a theology of domination.
Taken from Genesis, God gives Adam dominion over the earth.
For many Christians this has become a license to exploit the world in any way we deem necessary.
Governments ignore the consequences of our terrible polluting so that they can perpetuate the wealth of the industries that support their campaigns for office.
Such short-sidedness for wealth and power will leave our children with a world of environmental catastrophe. 
In the West the philosophy seems to be get as much as you can, and do whatever it takes to keep it.
The United States spends billions on military expenditures yearly with no end in sight, but why?
With the firepower we currently have we could blow up the world. Why do we need to continue to expand the capability 21,000 times over.*

"God as Nature Sees God", Reverend John R. Mabry MA*
~for the cost of two fighter aircraft ($45 million) 300,000 hand pumps could be installed in Third World villages to get safe water.
~for the cost of a Trident sub. ($1.4 billion) a five year universal child immunization program against deadly diseases, preventing one million deaths a year.
~for the cost of one nuclear test ($12 million) 40,000 community health workers could be trained in Third World communities.

Do we fear our enemies more than we love our children?

The legacy we are leaving our children is one of violence and excessiveness.

 

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