Reposting this by popular demand. Okay, so by demand of one person. Still, I take any kudos I can get.
This is ridiculously long to post on a blog, and it has a dated feel to it, but it’s just too good not to bring up again. I found it on my computer in a long lost file. This was printed in the early 90’s when Target Earth was in rapid expansion mode. It rattled a lot of cages when it was published!
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Do you really want to make a name for yourself? Would you like to be featured in magazines and interviewed on television shows? Here is a suggestion that is controversial, sure to make headlines, and yet unlikely to get you in any serious legal trouble: pile up some bibles and burn them in public. Make sure that all the news agencies know ahead of time that you are going to do this, especially the TV stations so they can capture the image on film. Paperbacks would burn the best. Build the fire in a safe place (the church parking lot would be perfect). Be sure you do not do this during a high-fire danger time. Get permits if you must. But then strike the match and glow in the sudden attention you are sure to receive!
Ridiculous? Yes it is. But it would be sure to get attention. Maybe even a spot on Oprah, and certainly a mention by Rush. The TV news shows would probably pay you for an interview (which would help offset the cost of all those bibles). For a few days you would get more press than Dennis Rodman and Howard Stern, although you would probably be disliked more than either one of them.
It would be hard to find a person who would say that all bibles should be burned. I guess there are people in the world who hold such views, but I have never met them. If they do exist, they are a small minority and in public they would not advocate such extreme actions. When pressed they might admit that the Christian faith is “subversive” or “superstition,” but they are unlikely to openly advocate bible burning. These people recognize the enormous public outcry that would result.
When it comes to book burning, the world has wised up. We can still wage war in the name of justice, or keep ethnic groups destitute in the name of free enterprise, but we cannot burn books in the name of education. Virtually every institution and individual in the world would condemn such action.
Christians in particular would be upset by the burning of bibles. The destruction of God’s revelation would bring together the Church and all of its strength. It might be the only event that could unite the Christian Coalition, the Vatican, and the World Council of Churches. Every church would be outraged, every pastor would urge their congregations to write letters, and every bible book store would be selling bumperstickers that say, “Bible Burning Could Be Dangerous to Your Health!” The response from the Christian community would be nothing short of tremendous. To destroy the revelation of God is blasphemy, and no person who is a follower of Christ would tolerate it.
But we tolerate it every day. God’s revelation is more than the written Word. It is also the created order. Psalm 19 begins, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” God’s wonderful creation is a revelation of the divine nature. Romans 1:20 makes clear that creation is evidence of God’s power and divinity.
What God observed as “good” in the creation account of Genesis is now under siege. Every aspect of God’s creation is being threatened: our atmosphere is being polluted and possibly permanently altered, fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce, top soil is eroding at alarming rates, thousands of species are endangered, and deforestation is rampant. All of this is occurring as we build mountains of garbage and argue over ways to dispose of our toxic waste. Most frightening, the human impact is enormous. Thousands of children die every day because they do not have fresh water, and millions go hungry because their parents cannot produce food on depleted soil.
To suggest that we should tolerate bible burning is absurd. Yet I still meet believers who suggest that it is acceptable to selfishly destroy God’s revelation in creation. In my mind, they are nothing short of fanatics calling for a book burning. They are ignoring that to destroy creation is to defile God’s handiwork. They are not seeing the impact it has on our neighbors, the people that God calls us to love. Like a smoker who refuses to quit even though they know the risk, a person who refuses to care for creation may be endangering his health for the sake of a quick profit or convenient lifestyle.
On one of my trips to Belize in Central America, I had the opportunity to fly in a small plane and see the country from the sky. As we left the city behind and began to fly over virgin jungle, my heart sank as I saw the smoke flumes shooting up from the ground. It was the dry season and it seemed that the whole country was in flames. Everywhere we looked more land was being cleared for agriculture or development. Toward the coast I could see mangroves being piled high and set ablaze; further inland I could see virgin rainforest being cleared by landowners eager to plant citrus trees. Even in the mountains, well above any good soil for planting, small areas were being cleared by Guatemalan refugees trying to eke out a living by planting a few acres of corn.
Throughout the world this scene is repeated again and again. In Zimbabwe they use their national parks for mining and coal burning energy plants. In Brazil they still “inoculate” indigenous people with DDT. In Haiti they still cut trees for charcoal even though 97% of the country has been deforested.
This burning, this scorching of the earth, is not limited to just a few countries that are far away. Closer to home, I have seen wetlands drained for more development. The old growth forest is being cut in the Northwest. The everglades in Florida are threatened by more amusement parks. The deserts in the Southwest are being overrun by four-wheel drives. Our urban communities are still blighted with polluted air, toxic soil, and “sick” buildings.
What a brilliant piece of work Satan has devised. By catering to our greed and ignorance, he is systematically destroying the very evidence of God’s handiwork. It is burning, just like a big pile of bibles in the parking lot. What better way to keep the skeptic in doubt than to deny an opportunity to see God’s revelation? What better way to feed our lack of faith than to take away tangible evidence of divinity?
Do we deny the world an opportunity to read God’s revelation in scripture? Of course not. There are dozens of excellent missions organizations that focus on the distribution of God’s Word. The hard working people at Gideons have put bibles in hotels, churches and other locations all over the world. I am amazed at the good work they have done and at the number of people I meet world-wide who have come to know the Lord by picking up a Gideon bible. Groups such as Wycliffe have gone to the remotest parts of the world to translate Scripture into hundreds of languages. There are regions, countries, tribes and villages that can listen to the Word of God because of the translation work of Wycliffe. Groups like the Gideons and Wycliffe have worked hard to spread the Gospel message as revealed in the Word. I applaud their work and encourage them to keep it up!
So where are the people working to preserve and promote the revelation of God through creation care? Where are the people trying to extinguish the flames? Are there believers who care? Where is the outcry in the Church? Those questions have been unanswered for too long. Fortunately there is now a response. Over the last few years a few Christian organizations that have been working to care for creation have begun to blossom. Others have planted seeds in individuals that are now beginning to grow. What started as modest “fringe” groups are rapidly becoming a movement within the Christian community. Their commitment is only matched by their diversity. They are focused on academic achievement, church involvement, missions, relief and development, activism, church camping, and scientific discovery.
A few years ago I felt lonely as a Christian environmentalist. It seemed as if there were far too many fires burning and too few volunteers. But the tide has turned, and I am encouraged by what is happening. The Church is responding, although tentatively at first. Friends at Floresta, Au Sable, the Evangelical Environmental Network, Green Cross and others are doing some great things.
This response is vital if God’s creation is to be served. The Church must be involved. I support the work of the secular environmental organizations, but I do not think they can achieve their goals without the light of the Gospel. At its root, the environmental crisis is a spiritual issue. We must change people’s hearts and replace greed, consumerism and apathy with generosity, faith and hope. A biblically based movement is the only way to achieve that goal.
A bible burning stunt might get you on Oprah. Burning the rainforest to plant orange trees might make you a fortune. But the pursuit of fame and fortune are far from the call to follow Christ. Let’s do something Jesus would be proud of: let’s save a few of the bibles from the bonfire. I urge you to become involved and learn more about the creation care. Go get a bucket of water, then look for the nearest fire!