Ecology and Eastern Orthodoxy (Outside Reading)

            For one of my readings, I will review the views of current Eastern Orthodoxy on Ecology. One of the most active environmentalists in this religion is the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. He views what has happened to the earth as evidence for the sin of mankind; climate change is seen by him as a sin by humanity against God because his creation is desecrated from the purity it should have in order to satisfy man’s unceasing need for ease of life. The reason for the waste on the environment is because humanity has lost its spirit of worship; no one seeks to love the earth as God does. By looking solely at the earth’s economic value, we have ceased to love the first of God’s creations. This whole ordeal in not a “political or social fashion”; it is a necessity for all humans of all varying beliefs to repent and turn to the Creator to escape from the mess we have created. Turning means action. Action requires sacrifice. Only through this can we seek to see what God originally called “very good”. I tend to agree with the Patriarch on many of his points. Should we claim to love God, we must be willing to sacrifice for the safety of what God made. This extends to all things: the environment, the poor, the unborn, and even all who are already well off.