• ENVIRONMENTALISM CLASS PARALLELS WICCAN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

    from www.khouse.org

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    Fourth graders at the Port Huron School District in Michigan were scheduled to attend a three-day field trip to attend an environmental program called Earthkeepers. The value of this field trip has been called into question by parents who believe that the program includes portions that resemble many of the teachings of Wicca and American Indian religions.

    An article by Jason Pierce of CNSNews.com reports, “Some Earthkeepers activities include having children gather in circles and recite text in unison and establish ‘magic spots’ where children reflect on nature.”

    Because Earthkeepers is a trademarked curriculum used in Michigan, as well as 30 other states and worldwide, any changes to eliminate the objectionable material would be illegal. Even though parents may have their children opt out of the field trip, many believe the curriculum brings pagan religious ideas into the classroom under the guise of teaching children to appreciate the environment.

    There is serious reason to be concerned about religion in the classroom under the banner of environmentalism as well as the accuracy of so-called “scientific” support for some things being taught. “Junk science” is frequently used to support a radically drastic environmental position.

    It is popular to portray environmentalism as pitting big business (the polluters) vs. the small guy and helpless nature. But saving the environment is now a big business growth industry. In 1999, environmental groups received $3.5B in contributions, working from posh offices in big cities; far from the dedicated granola-eating environmentalists of 30 years ago, who were close to the land and worked for free to “save the planet.” Environmental organizations frequently engage in mass mailing campaigns that give unsupported horror stories and environmental claims. Some groups spend so much money on fundraising that only a very small percentage ever goes to saving the environment.

    Various Christian denominations are falling prey to efforts to recruit congregations into what is essentially a pantheistic belief system. The religious philosophy of radical environmentalists is based in the religious belief that god is in all and all is god; that earth is our mother (Gaia); that all living things have equal value and that mankind has overstepped its bounds, even being a cancer on the rest of nature. They say that socialism is the only form of government capable of saving the planet, which must be returned to its pristine, pre-human state. Capitalism, above all, is bad.

    A key player in introducing the pantheistic environmental movement into Christian churches is the Lucis Trust organization, originally called the Lucifer Publishing Company, founded by Theosophist Alice A. Bailey. Lucis Trust is a major consulting organization to the U.N. According to Dr. Michael Coffman, Ph.D. of Environmental Perspectives, "one of the mechanisms for ensnaring the Christian Church...comes through the Temple of Understanding, whose interfaith purpose is the 're-integration of the sacred into our lives' via 'the world's religious traditions' and through 'universal spiritual wisdom.'"

    Dr. Coffman goes on to say, “the Temple cosponsored a number of international interfaith meetings leading to the creation in 1992 of the National Religious Partnership on the Environment, also housed in the Cathedral of the St. John Divine. Billed as a 'federation of major American faith communities,' it is in fact a sanitized version of the new age Temple of Understanding packaged in a way that doesn't alarm Christians...”

    The Partnership sent environmental literature to over 67,000 congregations and 100 million congregants calling for the Church to make the protection of the earth a central message. Although written in 'bible-eze,' it nonetheless represents a deceptive interfaith attempt to shift the emphasis of the Church from the Gospel of Christ to one of protecting mother earth by creating guilt in Christians for not protecting God's creation.

    It is one thing to be stewards of the creation over which mankind has been placed. It is another to say we are all equally evolved and humans do not have any more claim on the planet than any other species.

    True stewardship demands wisdom based on sober science and sound economic policy. Such policy should encourage good management, rather than punish those who can't comply with the thousands of confusing, complex, arbitrary and constantly changing regulations that 'environmentalism' has created. We are to be caretakers, not worshipers, of the earth.

    Related Links:

  • Wicca, Ecology Debated in Michigan School Controversy - CNS News
  • Discerning The Times - DiscerningToday.org

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