Discussion about scientific issues as they relate to God and Christianity including archaeology, origins of life, the universe, intelligent design, evolution, etc.
Is it possible that the human population can grow so large that our present standard of living can no longer be sustained and as a result the population declines precipitously? [Note: I am not referring to a disease outbreak such as the Black Death which we already know wiped out a significant fraction of humanity.] This could be due to pollution, ocean acidification, food production collapse (plant or animal disease), insufficient cheap energy, etc. If so, what do you think a likely cause may be and what, if anything, can be done (is being done) to prevent it? If not, why not? [It's never happened before is not a good answer.]
See for example http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/14219500.htm
Issue seen as biblical rather than political
By Lani Perlman
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Evangelical minister Scott Freeman is part of the Care of Creation Center effort.
Scott Freeman is not your typical tree-hugger.
For years, he said, he believed that concern for the environment was "all a bunch of liberal politics."
But, said the senior pastor of Northside Church of Christ in Waco, Texas, "the more I began to pray and pay attention to the change in climate and the way we pollute, I began to see how deep the need is."
Now Freeman, a father of three, is trying to be better about recycling. He's talked to his wife about composting. And in early September, he became one of 86 church leaders to sign the Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation, a call to conservation from religious conservatives.
Sure it can, I voted yes. I guess in the first world we are somewhat isolated from the direct effects of not caring for our environment. But where I grew up in Africa, I personally saw the effects of overgrazing, pollution and the resulting unclean environment, especially water, and the excellent breeding ground for diseases had some devastating effects on the local population.
Some of my family are missionaries in Mozambique, and they have some horrific stories of complete villages starving to death because the resources around the village has been exhausted and dying of diseases like malaria etc.
I gather from my friends in India that it is equally as bad there. I wonder how long we in the first world can escape the effects of what is not necessarily overpopulation, but a somewhat cavalier attitude towards how we handle population growth and the increased consumption.
Acts 17:24-25 (NIV)
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. [25] And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else."
Although I think the more likley scenario will be people get to nutzo and God comes down and deals the final blow to humanity, which I suppose would be the same thing. Man destroys the world God destroys those who destroy the earth.
Rev 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
With the resources we currently have at our disposal we wouldn't for the forseable future see a dramatic decline in how we live. I think were doing a decent job at least in Canada of protecting renewable resources. Forest fires can take as much if not more than humans do every year.
1Ti 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
1Ti 6:21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
Resources have always been a limiting factor on populations, including humans.
In fact, the recent population explosion is a direct result of human populations increasing due to increased food, better medicine etc that have come about due to better technology and science to a great extent over the past 100 years.
Distribution is not consistent and we are seeing increased human suffering in those areas where sustaining those increased populations are challenging the existing supply, distribution and supporting infrastucture. This has always been the case to some extent, but it is known and seen more now for those who want to see it because along with these other elements we have advanced technologies in communication which are placing these elements in the public eye more than ever before as well.
The question for me is now more, what does the Church do in this environment? Do we have a responsibility as Christians to respond to this need outside of government? I think any reading of the Scriptures and Christ's teaching answers that question clearly with a resounding yes.
The extent of that response and the degree to which Christians can live in affluence without responding sacrificially to that need is a question for each person to answer for themselves and ultimately before God.
Greed is just as powerful a controlling factor in Christians lives as can be lust, pride, gluttony etc. Some sins are more socially acceptable than others. That doesn't make them less an issue. In fact, the more insidious they are the harder it is for us to face them it seems.
Maybe not where you were going, but the answer to your question is yes. Population is tied to resources in terms of human numbers. Distribution world-wide is not equal. How we as Christians respond to that says a great deal about how much importance we place upon Christ's teaching in this area. I certainly can understand arguing methodology as to how we channel the effort. Sadly, too many of us Christians, myself included, argue methodology only as a mask to hide our own unwillingness to give sacrificially out of what we think we own. Too late we discover, it is in fact us who are owned by our possessions if we are not alert to it.
