Environmental gods & Friends For Change

“We promise to reg(ister) and pledge allegiance to the planet on which we stand.”

If it were up to the Disney Channel, kids all across America would be pledging allegiance to planet Earth instead of the flag.  Environmentalism good — patriotism bad.  Last week, while working on my blog, the television was tuned to the Disney Channel (my boys’ doing, not mine).  I don’t normally watch or listen to most commercials, but this one caught my eye.  I stopped typing and watched for just under two minutes as the teenage stars of the Disney Channel’s most popular shows made their pitch to kids (including mine) all across America to “go green.” (watch the full video here)

Friends for Change is Disney’s brilliant idea to “help heal the planet” by encouraging everyone, especially children and teenagers, to be environmentally conscious.  While I do not doubt the sincerity of these young people in wanting to do good and make a difference, I strongly disagree with the cultural theology that is being espoused by these actors and actresses, many of whom are probably not riding eco-friendly bicycles to the sound stage or taking public transportation to their music gigs. 

The commercial begins with a question, “You know what the most powerful force in the world is?”  The answer, supplied immediately, is “friendship.”  The philosophy (or theology) behind theFriends for Change:  Go Green campaign is simple.  If 1 million “friends” can come together (and of course register and pledge at Disney.com), then this group can make a huge impact upon our planet.

In giving homage to the number one god of this age — radical environmentalism and the “green movement” — the Disney stars are either knowingly (or I suspect, unwittingly) advocating a secular theology (made popular by Baptist Al Gore) that worships the planet as a god rather than worships the God who created the planet.  Of course, this is nothing new.  The Apostle Paul, in the first chapter of Romans, talks about those who worshiped the creation instead of the Creator.  I wonder who was the Al Gore of the first century?

The most powerful force for change in the world is not friendship, but it does involve a “friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  Whether in the 1st Century or the 21st Century, the Gospel of Jesus Christ — His death, burial, Resurrection, Ascension, and Second Coming — continues to be the most powerful force for change in the lives of the people of planet Earth.  Pledge allegiance to the planet?  No thanks.  I think I’ll pledge allegiance to the Lamb who was crucified and rose from the grave.  Friendship power might seem cool today, but why settle for that when you can have Resurrection power?