Martha’s Vineyard is an island in Massachusetts known for the rich, famous and politically connected. It is a playground for presidents and celebrities. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission, which oversees the island’s environmental, economic and social policies, has teamed up with religious leaders in an effort to find “common ground” in the face of the climate change crisis.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission is hosting a Climate Action Week from May 8 to 14, 2022, and has urged the island’s religious leaders to collaborate to “develop a unified and united response” to climate change. Churches are being solicited by secular politicians to assist them with environmental policies. The churches have responded and their comments and suggestions to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission were published on February 28, 2022 in the local newspaper:
United Church of Christ: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” rings out from my early Sunday School years. As my faith and appreciation of God’s magnificent creations has grown, so has my understanding of “others” to include not just fellow playmates but everything other than me that God has created. The skies, oceans, trees, birds, sands — all creations — are my treasured “playmates,” worthy of having good things done unto them. [1]
Jesus’ words to “Do unto others and you would have them do unto you” are being reinterpreted to also include the planet.
Religious Naturalist: The word “matrix” derives from the Latin mater, meaning both mother and fertile woman, and is translated in late Middle English as womb. The planetary matrix came into being about a billion years before life originated. Life then emerged from within it, using some of its materials, and flourished in the wondrous habitats that it provided — the oceans, skies, lands, and inland waterways. Reverence for life, and hence human life, entails taking our matrix to heart. [1]
This is modern-day pantheism, in which the Creator is removed and the creation is venerated instead.
Jewish: One idea in Jewish thought is that all of creation is like a linked chain, in which everything is intrinsically connected to everything else, and our own human DNA double helix replicates this creational chain. So caring for myself means caring for the planet, when I recognize that there is no separation between myself and the rest of creation. [1]
We are not equal to the rivers, rocks, trees, and animals that also make up creation. Humans were uniquely formed in God’s image, designed to reflect His moral character. Regrettably, we are being reduced to the status of rocks, and we know that Jesus did not come to die for stones.
First Congregational Church: Nature has always been a source of wisdom and faith for me. With all the beauty of the world around us, I am presented daily with a spiritual connection, a feeling of the holiness of this world. The complexities of our interrelationships with each other, and the “simple” things like plants, fungi, and the soil hold infinite lessons and wonder. World climate change represents to me a call for humankind to assume responsibility and stewardship to care for our spiritual health. [1]
Even while nature may teach us about the Creator (Psalm 19:1), God’s word is our source of wisdom and faith. Only God’s word has the power to grant us forgiveness, holiness and direction.
Vodou (Voodoo): Vodou promotes the idea that there is an all-powerful energy of love and goodness containing all things and contained within all things. Within that model, Vodouisants acknowledge infinite specific types of energy that are associated with life on earth: wind, water, the fertility of the soil, the sun, and more. It also places a high value on balance. Like the philosophy behind yin and yang, Vodou recognizes that there is light and darkness; positive and negative; birth and death. Climate change indicates that the balance of our relationship to the planet is off. Coordinated, aggressive, widespread human action is required if we are to regain harmony. [1]
Voodoo aims to communicate with and worship the various spirits believed to be in charge of the different aspects of our lives. This is pure spiritualism. We were warned that in these last days, the churches would join with spiritualism: “The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” GC 588
Grace Church: We pray every week for the just and proper use of Your creation. [1]
Quaker: We believe that climate change is an urgent issue — which is spiritual, moral, and ethical, as well as economic and social. The sentiments expressed by Pope Francis in his encyclical on the environment “Laudato Si” resonate with us. We commit to work individually and with others to do what we can to be stewards of the great gift of our natural environment. [1]
We can see here that non-Catholic religious leaders have embraced Laudato Si’ and are proposing it as a solution to the climate crisis. Pope Francis has had a major impact on the churches, with his message resonating in the hearts and minds of many Christians throughout the world.
Grace Church: In the story of creation, Genesis says that God gives humans “dominion” over all creatures on earth. We need to exercise that “dominion” not as the right to do whatever we want to other creatures, but rather as the responsibility to care for all those creatures — a Christ-like form of kingship which entails caring instead of exercising power. [1]
Unitarian Universalist (atheist): Let us each do what we can, individually and collectively, so our children and grandchildren can experience the transcendent awe and wonder of this beautiful planet. [1]
In an effort to save the planet, all the churches are coming together and joining forces with political leaders. A precedent is being set as church and state unite to promote a “unified response” to the climate crisis. We already know that the churches will campaign for the implementation of Pope Francis’ climate encyclical Laudato Si’ (green Sunday laws). This is the direction in which this movement is heading.
This is the same unholy union of politicians, religious leaders, and spiritualism that is forming all across the world. It’s not only occurring on Martha’s Vineyard. Rome is leading this campaign, and we know from Bible prophecy that this unholy alliance will result in the elimination of all civil and religious liberty. It is critical to understand the global magnitude of what’s going on: secular forces are submitting to religious powers. This is what we’re seeing as we get ready for Revelation 13 and the coming mark of the beast.
Sources
[1] https://www.mvtimes.com/2022/02/28/faith-and-climate/
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