We No Longer Need God

We no longer need God to sustain us. We have science and technology. From the beginning of history, humans have known God as both the giver and the sustainer of life. Our ancestors planted seeds and prayed for rain. They thought the sunshine was a blessing, and they bowed their heads at harvest time. They gave thanks when livestock was born. Now, even those who believe in God no longer see him as the sustainer of life. Food comes from a grocery store and clothing from the mall, and shelter is desired for curb appeal.

Our contemporary spiritual unplugging brings a great sense of control. If we are clever and lucky, we can take care of our needs. We all enjoy the fruits of technology. Psychologists and scientists declare us freed from our superstitious shackles: It's foolish to depend on God to send the rain and protect us from the lightning. Yet despite having a record amount of control over our lives, something is amiss.

Ten percent of the women and three percent of the men in our country need an antidepressant to get through a day, a day with no fear of starvation, invasion, or want. What's wrong? We find we can buy a house but not a home. We can purchase entertainment, but not contentment. We can travel the globe, but feel utterly imprisoned. We have degrees, but little wisdom.

Perhaps more than any generation, we have rejected the concept of God the Sustainer, If God made nature to sustain us, and if we reject his sustaining gifts, will there be no consequences? I believe that we will have untold misery as we reject God as the source of our lives.

In our country and around the globe, the weather is becoming hostile. We are having record numbers of hurricanes, heat waves, floods, droughts in large part because we are abusing God's creation. God planned nature to sustain us. We should work with his plan, but this will require a new mindset.

In October 2004, the Indian subcontinent was flooded by a deadly tidal wave. Such events happened and will continue to happen., but one of the reasons for the record number of fatalities in this case was not the wave but the fact that all the mangrove trees along the shoreline, which normally hold back the waves, had been cut down to make way for the white sandy beaches so loved by the tourists.

As we manipulate nature without regard or concern for its underlying design, we will increasingly have to deal with unnatural problems

---J. Matthew Sleeth, MD

Serve God Save the Planet