2 thoughts on “A MultiReligious Call to Protect the Earth”
Great reinforcement article to the topic in the Huffington Post, the “Golden Rule” is universal across all faiths. Scientists have been bearing the weight of what is after-all mainly an ethical and moral argument for far too long. Those with set and closed minds (especially those who like picking on scientists) will find the religious leaders and institutions a very hard target to go after.
One unfortunate side effect of many religions is variations of “become many and spread the word”. Overpopulation is no doubt one of the main reason for the rate of exploitation of the planet. I would say a good religion would emphasize some definition of “enough” and that includes how many new human beings (or souls) that each family brings into this world as every one adds to the total strain of the planets resources and biodiversity.
Unfortunately in many parts of the world women are not allowed to choose whether they should have children either, often because of religion. When I see a poor beggar on the street with 4 kids, I often wonder, why did she choose to have 4 children when she obviously cannot support them? What gave her or the father of these children the rights to cause this misery for these kids, was their “god given right”? Or was it their freedom to have sex? Or is it a biological survival thing here that totally overrules all lateral thinking?
I know many people have been brought out of safer environments where they felt they could perhaps support a big family, but many clearly have not – so there is obviously a gap in understanding the responsibility as parents – or the total impact all our added contributions are to the planets resources. If anything the planet and its biodiversity should have been our gods, and respecting that means some sort of self control in reproductivity. I wish the worlds religions incorporate this idea into their beliefs.
Great reinforcement article to the topic in the Huffington Post, the “Golden Rule” is universal across all faiths. Scientists have been bearing the weight of what is after-all mainly an ethical and moral argument for far too long. Those with set and closed minds (especially those who like picking on scientists) will find the religious leaders and institutions a very hard target to go after.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/religious-activists-climate-change_n_7454094.html?utm_hp_ref=climate-change
One unfortunate side effect of many religions is variations of “become many and spread the word”. Overpopulation is no doubt one of the main reason for the rate of exploitation of the planet. I would say a good religion would emphasize some definition of “enough” and that includes how many new human beings (or souls) that each family brings into this world as every one adds to the total strain of the planets resources and biodiversity.
Unfortunately in many parts of the world women are not allowed to choose whether they should have children either, often because of religion. When I see a poor beggar on the street with 4 kids, I often wonder, why did she choose to have 4 children when she obviously cannot support them? What gave her or the father of these children the rights to cause this misery for these kids, was their “god given right”? Or was it their freedom to have sex? Or is it a biological survival thing here that totally overrules all lateral thinking?
I know many people have been brought out of safer environments where they felt they could perhaps support a big family, but many clearly have not – so there is obviously a gap in understanding the responsibility as parents – or the total impact all our added contributions are to the planets resources. If anything the planet and its biodiversity should have been our gods, and respecting that means some sort of self control in reproductivity. I wish the worlds religions incorporate this idea into their beliefs.