Is Climate Change The Main Thing? No

Climate change is happening and it is fearsome. Mankind, as stewards of God’s good creation have a responsibility to do all that is possible to preserve the environment.

Nevertheless, is dealing with climate change the main thing? The Christian must answer, 'No'.

For many ferocious climate warriors their answer is a violent, ‘Yes’. They unnervingly remind us of the medieval millenarians who would terrify whole cities with their proclamations about the end of the world. For more on these connections see here:

  https://sternfieldthoughts.blogspot.com/2020/01/climate-extinction-rebels-heirs-to.html

And hovering over some of this territory is a vague, mist-like, ‘environmental spirituality’, which has close connections with pagan groups like the Druids. Here trees and rivers have souls. Clearing litter from a river is an act of devotion. So, being environmentally sensitive is somehow spiritual. This has found its way, especially via the Green Party, into main-stream politics. So, in September 2026 the Lewes Council, run by the Green and the Labour party, have adopted ‘The Rights of Trees Charter’.

There is no doubt that for the Green Party, these climate activists, and millions of others are rightly concerned about the environment – climate change is absolutely the main thing. Politicians and celebrities are in their number: Ed Milliband, Al Gore, Bernie Sanders, David Attenborough, Jane Fonda, Leonardo DiCaprio – the list is long.

One can question the methods of the ‘climate millenarians’, and raise an eyebrow at spending tax payer’s money on producing a ‘Rights of Trees Charter’, but to object to the essential push to halt climate change and its devastating impacts – that would be obtuse.

Especially for Christians who believe that God’s creation, though marred by sin, is nevertheless good, and that mankind has a responsibility to be its steward. And that is clearly reflected in some of the church pronouncements: The Pope has declared there is such a thing as ‘ecological sin’; the Anglican and Methodist churches are committed to net zero emissions by 2030; and the World Council of Churches has said we are in the ‘Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action’.

You could easily get the impression that halting climate change is just as much the main thing for the church as it is for Greta Thunberg.

And that takes us to the central question. Yes, halting climate change is important – but is it the main thing for the church? Should it even be a major emphasis?

The answer has to be no.

And not only no, but if the church puts too much emphasis on the importance of halting climate change is it in danger of flirting with heresy and blasphemy.

The answer has to be no because the major emphasis on the Bible story is not on the survival of this earth, but on the re-creation of the earth. This is where Christian hope is. The evidence for this emphasis in the New Testament is relentless. The Second Coming of Christ will usher in ‘new heavens and the new earth’, when this present earth is destroyed. This is what Christ says – ‘heaven and earth will pass away’; this is what Peter says, ‘the heavens will pass away with the roar’; and in Revelation, ‘heaven and earth flee from his presence’. Whatever the detail, there can be no doubt that when Christ returns the impact on this earth is going to be a lot more dramatic than a few icebergs melting.

And the Second Coming of Christ is not a minor doctrine in the New Testament. It is taught in 23 of the New Testament’s 24 books. If you put all the verses together, one in every thirty speak about Christ’s return. While there certainly is a Biblical teaching on man’s responsibility for the environment, it pales in significance when set beside Christ’s return.

This is why a Christian can never say that halting climate change for them is the ‘main thing’; rather, with their Master, they pray, ‘Thy Kingdom Come.’ For while the Second Coming and the destruction of this present earth is truly terrifying, entailing God’s righteous judgement on a rebellious, cruel, and contaminated planet, the story continues. And that is where the Christian focus must be. For in in parable after parable, the Kingdom of God is coming, and in Revelation we read of a life where all tears are wiped away and death is no more.

This is the great Christian hope. This is our main emphasis. But when the church makes climate action the main concern, so the heart of the Christian story is dulled. For rather than urging sinners to flee to Christ the Saviour to be delivered from the wrath of a holy God, people are encouraged to do their bit for the planet. Instead of being asked to choose between the broad and the narrow path, between heaven and hell, between God and Satan – we get asked to choose between plastic and reusable coffee cups.

But there is sadly more going on here than just a drumming down of the Christian hope. There is blasphemy and heresy.

The blasphemy is that it is not God who is centre stage, in fact He is not even on the stage. He is ignored. Operating within the enlightenment paradigm, it is assumed, ironically, that God the creator cares not a jot for His creation. So in this climate action faith it is man who is centre stage.

As man has spewed out the carbon dioxide, now man must being in ‘net zero’. This is salvation by works in neon lights, or rather massive conferences that cause a lot of emissions. Yes, the criminal is man, but so too the hero will be men working in unity to save the planet. The truth is that God controls the planet, every atom, but in the climate action faith, it’s all about man. That’s blasphemy.

And here’s the heresy: there is no recognition of the fall of man. The Bible is relentless in its diagnosis of the human predicament, Jesus especially so. It is out of the heart that all the mess comes (see Mark 7: 21 – 23). Human nature is embedded with evil. It runs through all of us. So the whole idea that we fallen creatures are going to selflessly and heroically save the planet is pie in the sky sentimentalism.

The norm for human beings is not getting together to sort out problems like climate change. The norm is war. As I write four major wars are in full swing: Russia and Ukraine; Iran and the USA; the Saudis and the Houthis; and Israel and Hamas. Each war means drones and missiles – and so a massive amount of emissions, and massive damage to the environment. Has the scientific reality of the danger of climate change brought about peace? No. The correct science about climate change has not changed Jesus’ correct diagnosis about human nature.

I have no idea who said that the good is the enemy of the best, but it is startlingly true here. Looking after the environment is good, but it becomes an enemy when it diverts Christians from seeking the best: the Kingdom of God.