Back in March 2008 Pope Benedict XVI decided there were a few new 'sins' that needed to be urgently addressed due to modern times a changin'. One big shocker was that he declared pollution a sin! The reason I am shocked is because I went to Catholic school for 12 years, at which time I was completely pro active about saving the planet and got nothing but riducule and teasing, including from local priests, teachers, and students (aka-the community). I recently read various debates about whether declaring pollution a sin would force any ripple in the Christain world, which is notoriously thought of as environmently unfriendly. This led me to imagine children teasing each other on the playground -> if one kid didn't put the recycle in the right bin the other kids could tell them they were going to hell.I kid not though- the ripple has begun...I just got word of the new GREEN BIBLE from earth first. This bible sets out to show where the good word tells us exactly how to care for the earth by being an environmental steward and not a destroyer. It contests the whole attitude that the Christian God handed us the earth to use up as we please, and points out passages from the bible that say God directly asked Adam to care for his garden of Eden - not rape it of every resource for your pleasure and shrug it off till the rapture comes. Amen!
From Business Week:
This fall The Green Bible will be published, complete with cotton/linen cover, partly recycled paper, soy-based ink, and passages about caring for the earth highlighted in green. The $29.95 edition of the Good Book also includes essays and a study guide about the spiritual mandate to protect the environment. Hoping to sell 25,000 to 30,000 copies a year, he plans to market The Green Bible to eco-aware churches and influential thinkers. Essay contributor Calvin B. DeWitt, a University of Wisconsin environmental professor and an evangelical Christian, says the Bible is “a kind of ecological handbook for right living on Earth.”
Photo: Business Week
That really is awesome. I'm really happy about the new wave of thought that is reaching all kinds of places that didn't really seem to be aware before. The planet is waking up and seeing that we really do need to make some changes for our continued existance. I wonder when the green Qu'ran is coming out?
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