Everyone worships something… that is just how God made us. But in a world that is corrupted by sin and in constant rebellion to its Creator, that worship gets distorted and twisted in ways that dishonor God. We can understand how that would happen in a jungle tribe where there is no direct access to what God has revealed about the right way to offer worship, but what about in America today? There is access to the Bible on everyone’s phone or laptop, and the instructions are clear.
But That’s the Problem
Many people claim that the problem is just that—the God of the Bible is much too demanding. He expects people to only worship him, follow a list of rules, act a certain way, hang out with certain people, and avoid certain people. So many expectations and such harsh judgment! They would prefer a loving god who accepts them for who they are and validates their choices. If they could find that god, they would probably worship him . . . or her.
The Apostle Paul outlines this type of thinking in Romans 1, describing a recognition of a powerful and divine being who is rejected and replaced with idols preferred by the individual. These idols put up with and even seem to condone and celebrate the immoral acts that the Creator rejected, so the people’s slide into sinful, shameful acts continues until their hearts are so darkened and hardened that God gives them over to their passions.
A Shocking Twist
So I was surprised when I saw a recent commercial from Apple. The immediate tone is that someone very important is coming to HQ, and everyone is anxious to perform at their best. Evidence of “sins” is being hidden, and bargains are being struck around the table. Thunder rolls as the earth shudders and the breeze flutters, carrying this powerful being who suddenly appears at the head of the table. Mother Nature and her assistant have arrived with her royal announcement, “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting,” as a young lady gasps in awe.
The CEO asks how the weather was (how cliché) and she responds, thunder rolling and sun blocked by clouds, “The weather was however I wanted it to be.” She immediately begins chiding them about their promise to get to a “zero carbon footprint” and wants to know how they are doing. They report on their progress and how they will be eliminating plastics in packaging by the end of next year. And using all recycled aluminum. And getting rid of leather. But Momma steps in to give the poor guy at the table wearing a leather jacket the bad news that he should be phased out. So, would it be better for him to be dead than the cow he is wearing? Her face says it all: humans are worth less than cows.
Next, they move to how all of the clean electricity their stores and offices run on. And where, she asks, does all of this clean electricity come from? “Thanks to you and your powerful wind and sun.” Then she gets both upset and smug when he starts to explain their “carbon neutral protocol,” scolding him for assuming she doesn’t already know. (But why is she there if she already knows?)
Another lady talks of their penance in planting entire forests and grasslands with the goal of permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere. (But wouldn’t that kill all the plants and algae? Mother Nature seems to miss that part.) Then the water offering of 63 billion gallons is presented, and the goddess finally seems to be pleased.
She is then presented with another token: the first carbon-neutral product line. But she still wants them to do more. So the CEO continues to promise more “good works” to appease his goddess: all products will have zero climate impact by 2030. Her response, “They’d better!” After setting the appointment for next year, she leaves the room and we hear, “Don’t disappoint your mother!” Everyone relaxes because she thought they did OK.
So the sacrifices must continue—that is, the “blood” must continue to be spilled. But that is not how the God of the Bible treats his creatures. Although we rebelled against him, he was willing to take on flesh and bear the penalty for our sins in his own body so that the temporary payment of goats and calves would be ultimately satisfied in the sacrificial death of the perfect Lamb of God (Romans 5:6–8; Hebrews 9:11–15).
The Gaia Cult
While people claim they don’t want to worship a god with so many demands, that is exactly what they are doing, and this video reveals the heart of the matter. The ancient goddess Gaia is the embodiment of the earth (Terra being the Roman equivalent) who brought forth Uranus and then the Titans and others through various means. While there was not a strong and devoted form of this throughout history, the veneration of a mother goddess connected to the earth is present in many cultures. And that idea persists today, especially in the neo-pagan ideas of Western culture seeking to save the planet from the scourge of man-made climate change. Placards at Earth Day marches and various environmental causes make a plea to “Love Your Mother,” and those who have sought to revive forms of goddess worship from European paganism continue that type of worship. The modern green movement has adopted Mother Earth as their goddess, and her sacraments and offerings are clear in their worship.
A Malevolent and Omnipotent God?
The video has several illogical aspects, as we would expect from any worldview that doesn’t begin with God’s Word as its foundation. The key point comes in replacing God with a goddess and attributing his attributes to her. If the weather was “however I wanted it to be” as she arrived, then why doesn’t she just fix climate change? People accuse God of being a capricious, malevolent bully who could exercise his omnipotence to end suffering if he wanted (an oversimplified view that divides God’s character rather than acknowledging his whole being), but this seems to be overlooked in this Mother Earth character.
Let’s stop and think about that for a minute. She is claiming to have all-powerful control over the weather, the same ability as the true God. If she has the ability to make the weather however she wants it, then why doesn’t she do something about famines and wildlife population devastation through habitat loss (from wildfires, flooding, etc.)? It sounds like she really doesn’t care about these things. And it sounds like she is capricious and malevolent. Yet these technocratic overlords are willing to worship this goddess and demand everyone do the same while telling Christians that our God is evil for not preventing hurricanes, droughts, and melting ice caps. It seems there is a double standard at play.
Dr. Owen Strachan addresses many of these aspects in his Grace & Truth podcast episode “Apple’s ‘Mother Nature’ Figure and the Divine Feminine.” As Dr. Strachan notes, it is not a rejection of any divine being, but the embrace of a divine image who condemns people for their actions and requires sacrifices for those sins. She doesn’t offer up herself, but her gospel is a message of work harder and do more to prove you are worthy of my affection—that is a capricious and malevolent god. The gospel of our technocrat overlords, as Dr. Strachan calls them, is not a gospel of grace, but a gospel of works, which demands acts of sacrifice before love is extended.
But that is the exact opposite of the true gospel of the true and living triune God of the universe. The true God loves in a way that gives sacrificially of himself and expects nothing in return.
John 3:14–17 KJV – “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
So don’t be deceived by those who tell you they don’t want to worship a malicious God who demands sacrifices and won’t forgive while at the same time telling you to reduce your carbon footprint and stop wearing leather jackets. They are deceived themselves, blinded by the sin in their hearts. And your job, as an ambassador of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 20–21), is to tell them of the glorious hope and rest they can find in the true gospel of grace through repentance and faith in the God who was the Creator and then stepped into his creation to offer his life for sinners, rise from the dead for their justification, and now sits at the right hand of the Father as the Spirit works in the world to bring conviction to sinners and give power to the saints until Jesus returns. Point them to the God who loves, giving of himself for their salvation, not a petty go
