Non-Christian religions are so little understood in the Western world that it is not commonly realized that in stark contrast to Christianity many religions teach that everything physical is an illusion, and others claim that everything physical is evil. And, of course, atheists see nature as the product of mindless chance. Why go to pains to preserve an accident or an illusion or something evil? And godless philosophy teaches that advance comes through survival of the fittest (ie the extinction of the less fit). If for millions of years so much good has come from mere chance and from the strong displacing the weak, why suddenly change the rules?
Environmental protection makes so much sense that many non-Christians leap on board without even noticing that it clashes with their basic beliefs. Christianity, however, has these beliefs at its heart. Followers of Jesus reject greed and the ‘might is right’ mentality. They stress the protection of the weaker and the defenseless, and they exalt the physical realm, insisting that it is good and that nature is as much a work of God as our own souls. The Bible opens with God giving humanity the responsibility to look after nature. (Genesis 2:15) And it indicates that nature is so important that the final result of the death Jesus suffered will not only be the salvation of every person who will accept it, but the restoration of nature. (Romans 8:19-23)
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