God formed earth for mankind.
Isaiah 45:18 declares, “For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited), ‘I am Yahweh, and there is none else.'”
In Genesis 1:26, we read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”
The modern environmental movement is about more than just protecting earth’s creatures and resources (something we must do as good stewards of God’s creation)—it’s an inversion of God’s design. This movement puts the creation in dominion over man—the opposite of what God instructed. God formed earth for mankind, to use, to tend and keep, to exercise dominion over, to enjoy, and to glorify God with: “The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, But the earth He has given to the sons of men” (Psalm 115:16).
But today’s environmentalism says humans are a blight, a disease, on this planet and we need to start removing ourselves for the betterment of everything else. Consider this quote from a new study that claims we need to halve the world population, taking it from 8 billion to less than 4 billion, by 2200:
The authors argued that data shows population growth leads to a decline in wildlife abundance, an increase in CO2 emissions, an increase in energy consumption, a greater ecological footprint, greater freshwater use, mineral extraction, plastics production, and pesticide use.
“Global environmental problems are caused by people, nothing else. The more of us there are, the greater our overall economic demands and the greater the associated environmental problems,” the authors asserted.
They draw the conclusion, therefore, that “in the long run, population growth itself is unsustainable.”
According to these researchers, humans are the ultimate problem and the only sustainable solution is for us to get ourselves out of the way by continuing to decrease the global fertility rate (which is only at 2.2, barely above replacement level) through providing more “reproductive health services” (by that they surely mean abortion [murdering children in the womb] and birth control) and “improving girls’ educational opportunities, especially in poorer countries.”
This kind of thinking regarding humanity has been around for a very long time, but it’s important to note that none, none, of the dire predictions of these alarmists have come true in decades past. And that’s partly because these researchers view mankind as primarily consumers, not as producers.
Part of having dominion over this planet is that we don’t just endlessly consume—we “tame” the world for our good and God’s glory. In other words, we put ourselves to work on how to solve problems . . . and history shows humans are good at coming up with solutions! As the population grows and new problems arise, humans have invented new technologies to cope with the problems or to solve them. People are doing that right now!
Here are some examples one of our staff members shared with me:
- Plastic pollution is a massive problem around the world, and there are companies working to produce a plastic replacement using renewable algae or mycelium (fungal networks). Others are working to use fungi to break down certain types of plastic.
- Researchers are using AI to monitor bird activity around wind turbines and then adjusting turbine activity to prevent collisions and protect birds, especially raptors.
- And one farmer in the Netherlands—a nation that has always struggled with not having enough land—has created a cow farm that floats on a harbor and is a “closed loop” system (zero waste).
Yes, humanity is very good at using our God-given intellect and creativity to solve the problems facing our world, and we will continue to do so. The great threat to humanity is not that there will be too many people. The problem is the looming population collapse! As fertility rates continue to plummet around the world, the population ages, the workforce shrinks, and the economy suffers or even collapses. A article on this new study put it this way, with a quote from other researchers on this coming collapse:
“Even if below-replacement fertility is sustained only for a few centuries, the size of the global population could become very small.” . . . This means that a whole slew of harmful effects to society will follow population decline, likely including a decline in basic services and infrastructure; unemployment; a decline in innovation; insufficient end-of-life care for the elderly; and a decline in mental health.
Even the World Economic Forum (WEF) has admitted that the effects of population collapse will be “severe.”
As mankind increasingly ignores God’s command (which He has never revoked) to “be fruitful and multiply,” a command which came in tandem with his command to have dominion, humanity will suffer. God’s instructions to the first human couple were to both have children and take dominion. As a whole, humanity can’t ignore either part of God’s design for us without serious consequences.
But environmentalists don’t just get their view of mankind wrong, they also have a wrong view of God. Many of them are either atheists, who do not believe God exists, or pantheists, who think that God is in everything or that God is nature (or “Mother Nature”). The result is that they worship the creature, rather than the Creator, and are reduced to foolishness (just read Romans 1).
The Biblical God—the only true God—is a generous God who specifically designed earth to be inhabited by humans. Yes, it’s a fallen creation; it’s groaning; it’s filled with “thorns and thistles.” Having dominion is hard work now, but God has still provided generously for our needs through His creation. Wise stewardship, creativity, and thankfulness to God are what are needed to solve our environmental crises, not a severe reduction in the population of those who bear that Creator’s image!
