A scientist once said that, after years of study in his field, when he came to know Christ he felt as though he’d reached the summit of a great mountain and all the Christians were already there waiting, secure in a knowledge he’d been seeking all his life.

The Bible has the answers not only to the condition of the human heart, but it contains revelation that modern science is only just now discovering – or, for which it has only speculation.

Previously, I researched and wrote on the harmony of science and scripture and the Bible’s prolific mention of climate change; a friend and physicist Glenn Walker wrote an excellent guest article on science and the origins of the earth.

With our earth in upheaval due to natural disasters, and two tsunami dreams the Lord gave me fresh in my mind, it is worth remembering that scripture talks a great deal about changes in the earth due to pollution. Here is a partial list of references:

• “Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it” (Numbers 35:33)
• “For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants…the men of the land who have been before you have done all these [sexual] abominations, and the land has become defiled” (Leviticus 18:25)
• “The earth mourns and withers…it is polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty” (Isaiah 24:4-6b)
• “They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood” (Psalm 106:38)
• “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.” (Romans 8:22-23)
• “How long must this land mourn? Even the grass in the fields has withered. The wild animals and birds have disappeared because of the evil in the land. For the people have said, ‘The Lord doesn’t see what’s happening’!” (Jeremiah 12:4).

The scripture is very clear about pollution and its causes. Sin is the primary reason the earth suffers. Specifically, scriptures highlight bloodshed, sexual perversion, disobedience to laws, breaking of covenant, and infanticide (abortion).

If people repented, would the earth be calmer? Studies have shown that in regions where people repented of their sins, not only did their overall quality of life improve, droughts ceased and their crops flourished.  This phenomenon was documented by George Otis, Jr in his “Transformation” series, such as the village of Almogonga in Guatemala, which has been experiencing revival since the 1980s.

The earth is under a curse (Genesis 3:17) and will eventually pass away:

“The heavens and the earth will perish, but You remain; And they all will become old like a garment, And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” (Hebrews 1:11-12)

The Bible does say that we are to care for the earth and its creatures (Psalm 8:6, Genesis 1:28-30, Psalm 115:16). “The righteous man cares for the health of his animal” says Proverbs 12:10. But is it possible that those who are most zealous about “saving the earth” may be propagating the very lifestyles and agendas which bring about the greatest destruction to our planet?

Photo credit: Sunset at Wineglass Bay, Tasmania, used with permission from jtbarts.com