Their Frenzies and Crusades
They do not see Tetzel in carbon offsets. They do not see shuning in the treatment the neighborhood gives the guy who doesn't sort his garbage according to the dictates of the regulatory bishops. They don't see a fierce imposition of morality in their crusades for the sake of saving us all from climate change. They do not see blasphemy laws in thought crimes legislation. They do not see their religion in everthing they do, and this is because idolaters are blind.
It's not the first time I've heard at least parts of the modern (postmodern) concerns over the essentially trivial as being religion-like, particular in regards to the environment. I guess I would add, though, that some do go into that mindset with their eyes open--not just those who Gaia-worship, but those who try to spin God into creation in a pantheistic/panentheistic way. There are also those who see the Christian hope of Heaven and the return of Christ as "escapism", trying to push their own concerns for the here-and-now.
There is less excuse for Christians -- who are not blind in this way -- for going along with any of it. If you have ever wondered how an ancient Israelite, who had been fed by manna from the sky, could possibly have been attracted to one of the Canaanite groves and high places, just look at the pressure you feel to flush the toilet less, to take shorter showers, to get a smaller car, and to go through any number of other gyrations to reduce your carbon footprint. This is what syncretism always feels like. The gravitational pull is always this strong. And this is not being said in order to make you empathize with that ancient Israelite who was going native. This is being said to stir you up enough to make a name for yourself the way Phineas did.
Of course, peer-pressure is starting to become legal-pressure. By what I've heard, it will soon be legally necessary to buy bio-hazard light bulbs. And there may be laws set up so our energy usages can be monitored (and can curtails be far behind?).
And so liberty is lost, with thunderous applause, as the last Star Wars movie far too prophetically stated.
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