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: