The Christian environmental trump cards

In the past couple of months, I've started to get the idea that I sent A Very Convenient Truth to press too soon. The book came back from First Choice Books in January, and since then, two major issues came out that are only touched on in the book; the latest revelation from the Lord makes three.

The two major issues -- on which I've since blogged in this space -- are biofuel and the BC government's carbon tax.

When I wrote the book, the debate over biofuel and whether grain crops should be diverted from food uses to fuel production was just starting and governments -- like BC's -- hadn't begun mandating a biofuel component. Frankly, I can't think of any issue that has turned on its head so swiftly as this one: biofuel went from being the panacea into a leading cause of a worldwide food shortage.

The carbon tax hadn't even been thought of at that time. One could argue that, in writing about a current issue, if one waited until all the facts were in and all the stories told, nothing would get published. On the other hand, AVCT does discuss the "witchcraft" present in the environmental movement: the effort to modify people's behaviour and manipulate their minds. The carbon tax, being pitched to the people and embraced by the movement as a way to "force people to change their driving habits", falls into that category.

And this leads to this latest revelation from God: another trump card that Christians have for dealing with the environment. The first is repentance for having failed at The First Great Assignment -- have dominion over the earth ... be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it (Gen. 1:26, 28) -- as a way of re-committing to that assignment and getting back on track with God's program. This second one is found (hallelujah!) in Romans 12:2 ...

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

Renewing one's mind happens with redemption and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit that changes us from the inside out. Real change cannot be imposed from the outside in -- just as people who are forced to go into treatment programs or whose rehab programs don't involve Christ often fall back once they've finished -- but has to come from within. With the Holy Spirit at work in one's life, one's entire DNA changes. The sinful behaviour of our previous life is scraped out and replaced with proper behaviour. It's a principle of recovering from sin in any other aspect of life -- sex, drugs, swearing, e.g. -- and that principle should apply to the "sin" of our having failed at the First Great Assignment.

(Sin is not just a matter of violating God's laws: sin is disobedience, and the premise of AVCT is that we've been disobeying God for the past few millennia by not managing His Creation the way He instructed us to.)

See, our mind-set does need to be changed. That mind-set is primarily self-centered and leads us to do things that are environmentally destructive. Maybe we're just too lazy to wash out tins and put them in the recycling, or separate out recyclable paper and compostables from regular garbage. Maybe we believe it's up to the government to provide the wherewithal to do it (the Town of Oak Bay, BC, for example, provides compost buckets that are then picked up with the rest of the trash*), and if the government won't, then there probably isn't a problem.

A couple of recent letters to the editor in some Metro Vancouver newspapers expose another area where our minds can stand to be renewed. They complain that public transportation "doesn't work for them" because it denies them their own "space" on the commute: no cupholders, no smoking allowed and you can't crank the stereo. Selfish, certainly not God-focused, and out of a mentality that refuses to accept responsibility. Unless the government does something -- and somebody else pays for it because I don't want my taxes to go up or fares to increase -- then I'm not going to be part of the solution (pout-pout).

(I could bore for Canada on how, when my family first moved to West Vancouver in 1962, there was no bus service. Eventually, we got a bus that went by every hour. Guess what we did? We made sure we were at the bus stop, waiting for the bus, by 12 minutes after the hour, or else we were hooped. And I remember dad and me having to cut out of more than a couple of ballgames at Nat Bailey (then Capilano) Stadium because we had to make the last bus. We didn't complain about inadequate bus service: we planned according to what was available.)

Attitudes like that have become ingrained in us as a species over centuries. It requires a Holy Ghost mind renewal to change it.

The other mind-set that needs renewing is to deny there's a problem. In part, that's a symptom of the presence of sin. But also, when we hear the shrill rhetoric and fear-mongering from environmentalists -- the Chicken-Little-on-steroids stuff -- we automatically switch off our brains. "Sod the price of gas," we say: "I'm going to use my vehicle anyway, and the Lord will provide, because I 'need' it." If you find yourself suddenly out of money because you're using so much gas, maybe the Lord doesn't agree that you "need" your vehicle as much as you think you do. Don't blame God for that: remember Psalm 127: Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.

That's why it's so vitally important to expand your personal relationship with God to include environmental matters and to repent for your previous actions that failed to manage His creation properly. Walk in His ways, so He will take care of you and supply your needs according to His riches in glory (including the carbon tax and any other high prices). You'll find it much less confusing: rather than listen to your own conscience -- which can be seared and change to suit your ability to "handle" it -- or the pronouncements of some self-styled expert, you're taking your instructions from the Big Sir, Himself.

And praise God that the Holy Spirit is there to renew our minds when we ask Him to, so that we emerge from the mind-set that has led us to do things that damage creation. We've been laboring under this "me first" mind-set, while God calls on us to turn that into a "Him-first" mind-set.

Not "earth first".

Not "Mother Nature first".

Not "environment first".

Him first.

*'sfunny: I was just reminded of how government attitudes have changed: back in 1989, I contacted the City of Victoria to ask about getting a "blue box" for their new recycling program. I was put through to an answering machine. I'm still waiting for the call-back.

The behaviour-modification tax arrives

A new poll shows 59% of British Columbians are against the planned carbon tax, which kicked in today.

I am shocked and surprised.

I understand that another poll finds 80% of Canadians are in favor of free hot dogs and 90% support the east-west flow of the Fraser River.

If you've read earlier postings, you'll have seen that I'm against it, too -- although not necessarily for economic reasons. After all, with gasoline now over $1.50/litre, how much more damage can an additional 2.4 cents/litre make?

That's not really the point. Nor is the argument that the carbon tax shifts the burden away from income tax: when you're paying $30 for almost half a tank of gas (as I did yesterday in Cobble Hill, where prices are lower than in Vancouver), it's no comfort to know that you'll see a reduction in what you pay to the Province come next spring.

The point here is that this tax has been "sold" -- and embraced by the environmental movement -- from Day One as The Way To Change People's Behavior and force them to leave their cars at home. Behavior modification -- mind manipulation -- is witchcraft, and I believe that, even if the people protesting the carbon tax don't realize that in the natural realm, that's one of the intangible reasons behind their anger.

Putting it another way, it's one thing for the sheikhs of Farawabia to raise oil prices or for the greedy oil companies to be in collusion to keep prices high to line their own pockets; but here is our democratically elected Government Of The People, working with a particular interest group to manipulate the behavior of the general public -- basically forcing the world view of that interest group on everybody else.

In A Very Convenient Truth, I point out that witchcraft is one of Satan's Hot Hits -- a sign that he has his hands all over the dialogue on the environment and that God has basically been left out of the discussion. This was written before the carbon tax came in, but it was evident even then that the environmental movement considered it was perfectly OK to use various techniques to manipulate people's behavior and impose its own world view on others, because the overall goal was to protect Mother Earth.

Jesus Christ didn't manipulate people to follow Him. God always gives us freedom of choice -- life and blessing or death and cursing -- and while He makes it clear what He wants us to choose, He never takes that freedom from us. If the Creator of the Universe and His Son are not going to impose Their world view on us, why should we, who are no better than our brothers and sisters, attempt to do it?

What's a Christian to do? Refuse to be manipulated. Refuse to allow such actions to get in the way of serving the Lord. "Serving the Lord" doesn't have to mean "doing things for the church", but simply pursuing the activities for which He has given you specific gifts. Trust that the Lord will provide what you need, no matter what the price of gasoline or anything else might be. You may need to cut back in other areas, but remember that God always calls us to be circumspect in all things. Remember to count the cost, as Jesus said (Luke 14:28), and make sure the environmental cost is part of the equation; but remember that it is only a part of the equation -- not the deal-breaker. Re-commit to staying close to God in everything you do, and trust that He will take care of the worldly things as we keep seeking Him.

Carbon Tax and Peter's Fish

In discussing voodoo economics in the form of the BC government's carbon tax, the question arises, What's a Godly environmentalist supposed to do?

Begin by refusing to worry about it. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and render unto the Lord that which is the Lord's.

In other words, begin by repenting before the Lord for whatever role you yourself played in not managing Creation properly. We're all responsible for that, and this whole mess has been caused by the fact that we haven't been good stewards of the earth He has given us to live in.

Then, we can seek Him for guidance on what He wants us to do and how He wants us to do it. Then go ahead and do it, trusting that He will provide the means.

When God tells you to do something, He doesn't tell you to afford it - He tells you to do it.

If, for example, we hear a call from God that involves driving from West Vancouver to Abbotsford, we can't let "gas costs too much (with or without the carbon tax)" to be an excuse. We need to say, "yes, Lord" and then trust Him to

1. provide the resources
2. provide the money to pay for the resources (including the carbon tax)
3. mitigate any environmental damage that might be done -- after all, He's God, and He would never give us an assignment that involved destroying His Creation.

Don't let things like the carbon tax dissuade you from doing what the Lord has called you to do. The carbon tax can be an instrument of Satan to throw a roadblock in your way by making something "too expensive". Look at it as another way that God is forcing you to rely on Him and to seek His guidance. We should never use the resources He gave us foolishly, but we must know that those resources are there for us to do His work.

Here's another way to look at it. Remember when the disciples were asked whether Jesus paid taxes, and He sent Peter fishing?

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take and give unto them for me and thee.

-- Matt. 17:27 (KJV)

Jesus tells Peter to go fishing; Peter was a fisherman. INTERPRETATION - don't worry about the tax money: go back to what you are anointed to do, and the tax money will be provided and then some. BUT ... don't just do the job in any way: do it in your most skillful way -- casting a hook vs. dropping a net overboard and grabbing whatever comes up -- and your need will be met.

And of course, this is all done under the direction of the Lord Himself.

Praise God, through Jesus we can hear that same direction ... and beat the enemy, with his behaviour-modification carbon tax, on his own turf.

The Carbon Tax - Voodoo Economics in the 21st C.

In the budget announced this week in Victoria, the government of British Columbia brought in a measure that's been getting a lot of attention: the carbon tax. It's adding a couple of cents per litre (or gigajoule) of fossil fuel as of July 1, and while there's the usual mixed reaction -- some environmentalists think it's great ... other environmentalists say "it's a good first step but much more needs to be done" (a annoyingly recurring theme from that sector) ... taxpayer groups say it's another tax grab ... and ordinary working stiffs who have to drive to make their living are upset at seeing another increase in the cost of doing business over which they have no control.

But something that seems to have slipped through the cracks is ... THIS IS THE FIRST (that I can think of) TAX DESIGNED TO MODIFY BEHAVIOUR!

Yes, there have been the "sin taxes", but those were never proposed to force people to stop doing whatever it was they were doing -- not overtly, anyway. Cigarette and liquor taxes are purportedly to pay for the health care costs associated with smoking and drinking. Recycling fees are supposed to pay for the costs of recycling things like tires and batteries. The levy on blank CDs and tapes, while interesting in that it presumes that the purchaser intends to use them to break copyright laws, is not intended to get people to stop breaking copyright laws. But practically any time this "carbon tax" has been discussed, the talk has been that it will "get people out of their cars and onto public transit".

It is, in fact, a punitive tax with a negative-inference reward: be a good chap and stop driving your private vehicle or using so much energy, and you won't have to pay this nasty tax.

In other words ... behaviour modification. "Voodoo economics" -- literally.

*** BLATANT PLUG ALERT ***
In my book, A Very Convenient Truth, we discuss how Satan has gotten his hands into all aspects of the environmental issue, and that the whole thing has become a cornucopia of Satan's Hot Hits -- the various elements that are present, and which are Satan's playground. One of these is witchcraft, in the sense that that is the word that applies to any attempt to force someone to change their thinking.

Even if the cause appears honorable, witchcraft is still witchcraft. Change that is forced from the outside never truly takes hold. If the price of gasoline truly caused people to pursue alternatives, they would have stopped driving long ago. When I was at CFAX Radio in Victoria several years ago, we had an online poll, which asked "at what stage will the price of gasoline cause you to stop driving?" The majority said they'd be mad enough to stop driving when the price hit (are you sitting down?) 75 c/litre.

Well, 75 cents a litre is an impossible dream now, from the other side ... and people are still driving. A couple of pennies more for a "carbon tax"? I doubt it.

People will change their behaviour when they are truly convinced that it's the right thing to do. It's the same as with anything else in life: change must come on the inside. That's why God lays out the good and the bad, the blessing and the cursing, the life and the death, and leaves us to choose. He makes it abundantly clear which He wants us to chose ... and He makes it abundantly clear that the good/blessing/life choice is wonderful beyond our wildest expectations ... but He leaves the choice up to us. He knows we're rebellious by nature, and that if He imposes His Will on us, we'll never truly accept it: and that's what He really wants from us ... to truly accept His Will and His Love and His Blessings.

And, oh by the way ... if we do that, He will take care of the land -- and everything else.

(A Very Convenient Truth is now available at the Christian Book and Music Centre in Victoria, with more bookstores to come: or you can order it by contacting me through the "comments".)