In 1999, the Wachowski brothers, (now the Wachowski sisters) accidentally created one of the great Christian conservative movies of all time: The Matrix. While they quickly went on to remedy this mistake with two disappointing sequels, the original still stands as a classic.
One of my favorite moments of the film is when the villain Agent Smith expresses his hatred for humanity in a monologue that reads like a modern environmentalist manifesto- or at least, like Ricky Gervais’ Twitter feed.
“I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.”
Environmentalism is good. Stewardship of our home planet is noble and worthwhile. But there is another vein of environmentalism that seems to have gone very wrong. The nobility of environmentalism has been woven together with a deep hatred for humanity and a perverted worship of creation. No surprise here- this has always been Satan’s whole gig.
Thankfully there are two types of environmentalism. One sees humans as the virus that must be extinguished, and the other sees humans as God’s image-bearers who have the incredible ability to cultivate and protect our world. One sees the human as a servant of creation, and the other sees creation as a gift to the human.
How can you tell the former from the latter? Look at the proposed solutions. If these solutions involve central control, loss of freedom, fewer human beings, less free speech, euthanasia, or abortion, you know you are talking to an “Agent Smith” environmentalist.
Don’t accept the false choice the progressive Left gives you between loving humanity and caring for the earth. Have babies. Fight for freedom of speech and free markets. All of these will be essential in addressing the environmental problems of the future. Don’t let the Agent Smiths of the world win.
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I was just talking to my HS students in class about this today. The dominion mandate requires us to subdue and control the earth for humanity’s benefit, but the stewardship mandate requires us to take good care of it. God provided both instructions for humanity so that we take care of the earth but keep it in its proper role.
Amen! Thanks for reading and listening!