Fundamental Evangelistic Association

selected articles from:
^©FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W. Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt Costella, Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor

The Earth Charter

Mankind's Latest Blueprint For A New Global Society
by Matt Costella

THE WORLD AND all therein is rapidly deteriorating.  Both those who know Christ as their Savior and even those who refuse to believe in Him now recognize this fact.  Mankind has proven himself to be morally depraved, physically limited, politically inept, and spiritually empty.  The earth is currently reaping the benefits of decades of ecological abuse.  Throughout the world, evil men are continuing to grow worse and worse in their activities, actions and attitudes.  Such evil, confusion and chaos should come as no surprise to those who know Christ and study His Word, for the Bible explicitly declares that in the latter days of the church age men shall be characterized by increasing evil, wickedness and apostasy.
        Unregenerate men and women throughout the centuries have sought to look within themselves for the answers to mankind's problems.  Yet no relief has resulted from their introspective ideas, philosophies and programs.  Nevertheless men and women still continue to search for answers within themselves.  The Bible has prophesied that the plans and surmisings of mankind will eventually culminate in a one-world economic, political and religious system.  Evil men today, refusing to acknowledge their inner depravity and sinfulness, have deceived themselves into believing that they still possess the inherent potential to solve the world's problems through cooperation and consensus.  They have articulated their plans and goals through various charters, manifestos and declarations, all of which are aimed at bringing about world peace through the collaborative efforts of men.
        One such document, the Earth Charter, highlights man's goal of global unity and his aim toward world peace.  Recently released in Paris, France, the Earth Charter has been hailed by thousands as the answer to a one-world society and a one-world system that will promise peace and prosperity to all mankind.  This Earth Charter is described by the Earth Charter Commission as "a statement of ethical principles similar to the United Nations' Declaration on Human Rights that will guide the conduct of people and nations towards each other and the Earth to ensure peace, equity and a sustainable future." Over 100,000 individuals from 51 countries reportedly have contributed to the final text of the charter, the drafting of which began eight years ago.  Backed by notable figures such as former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and United Nations Undersecretary-General Maurice Strong, the Earth Charter will appear before the United Nations for full endorsement and subsequent implementation in 2002.  Mohamed Sahnoun, special United Nations envoy for Africa who helped draft the Earth Charter, said, "We hope it will provide a third pillar after the International Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Charter to help govern people's relations with each other and the environment" (Associated Press, 3-14-00).  In 1993, Mikhail Gorbachev founded Green Cross International, an organization that has played a key role in the drafting and publicizing of the Earth Charter.  According to Gorbachev's Green Cross International, the Earth Charter "embodies fundamental values and principles and is intended to serve as a universal code of conduct to guide people and nations towards a sustainable future."
       This Earth Charter is a blueprint for a better world, a document by which the entire global community must abide in order to solve man's problems and the problems of the planet.  The Earth Charter explicitly states that mankind must join together in global unity or perish.  "The choice is ours," it states.  "Form a global partnership to care for Earth and one another or risk the destruction of ourselves and the diversity of life.  Fundamental changes are needed in our values, institutions, and ways of living." It adds that "our environmental, economic, political, social, and spiritual challenges are interconnected, and together we can forge inclusive solutions." The final paragraph of the preamble states:

We urgently need a shared vision of basic values to provide an ethical foundation for the emerging world community.  Therefore, together in hope we affirm the following interdependent principles for a sustainable way of life as a common standard by which the conduct of all individuals, organizations, businesses, governments, and transnational institutions is to be guided and assessed.

       The Earth Charter then lists four guiding principles by which the new, emerging global community is to abide.  The following are the four principles as well as selected, relevant quotations taken from the Earth Charter noted under each principle:

I. Respect and Care for the Community of Life:

• "Recognize that all beings are interdependent and every form of life has value regardless of its worth to human beings."
• "Affirm faith in the inherent dignity of all human beings and in the intellectual, artistic, ethical, and spiritual potential of humanity."

II. Ecological Integrity:

• "Adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being."

•  "Ensure universal access to health care that fosters reproductive health and responsible reproduction."

•  "Recognize and preserve the traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom in all cultures that contribute to environmental protection and human well-being."

• "Ensure that information of vital importance to human health and environmental protection, including genetic information, remains available in the public domain."

III. Social and Economic Justice:  

• "Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative."  

• "Promote the equitable distribution of wealth within nations and among nations."

• "Enhance the intellectual, financial, technical, and social resources of developing nations, and relieve them of onerous international debt."

• "Promote the active participation of women in all aspects of economic, political, civil, social, and cultural life as full and equal partners, decision makers, leaders, and beneficiaries."

• "Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities."

•  "Eliminate discrimination in all its forms, such as that based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, language, and national, ethnic or social origin."

IV. Democracy, Non-violence and Peace:  

• "Enhance the role of the mass media in raising awareness of ecological and social challenges."

• "Recognize the importance of moral and spiritual education for sustainable living."

•  "Encourage and support mutual understanding, solidarity, and cooperation among all peoples and within and among nations."

• "Demilitarize national security systems to the level of a non-provocative defense posture, and convert military resources to peaceful purposes, including ecological restoration."

• "Eliminate nuclear, biological, and toxic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction."

• "Recognize that peace is the wholeness created by right relationships with oneself, other persons, other cultures, other life, Earth, and the larger whole of which all are a part."

       The humanistic, naturalistic and socialistic nature of the Earth Charter is clearly evident in the aforementioned quotations.  Yet these principles are supposed to serve as a blueprint for a better world as long as all nations comply.  The conclusion of the Earth Charter document, titled, "The Way Forward," succinctly summarizes the aims of those who are crying out for a one-world system and reveals the desperation in the voices of those who have rejected the Divine counsel and are looking to mankind for one last chance to save the world:

As never before in history, common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning.  Such renewal is the promise of these Earth Charter principles.  To fulfill this promise, we must commit ourselves to adopt and promote the values and objectives of the Charter.

This requires a change of mind and heart.  It requires a new sense of global interdependence and universal responsibility.  We must imaginatively develop and apply the vision of a sustainable way of life locally, nationally, regionally, and globally.  Our cultural diversity is a precious heritage and different cultures will find their own distinctive ways to realize the vision.  We must deepen and expand the global dialogue that generated the Earth Charter, for we have much to learn from the ongoing collaborative search for truth and wisdom.

Life often involves tensions between important values.  This can mean difficult choices.  However, we must find ways to harmonize diversity with unity, the exercise of freedom with the common good, short-term objectives with long-term goals.  Every individual, family, organization, and community has a vital role to play.  The arts, sciences, religions, educational institutions, media, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and governments are all called to offer creative leadership.  The partnership of government, civil society, and business is essential for effective governance.

In order to build a sustainable global community, the nations of the world must renew their commitment to the United Nations, fulfill their obligations under existing international agreements, and support the implementation of Earth Charter principles with an international legally binding instrument on environment and development.

Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for I if e, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life.

       As believers, we need to understand that these ungodly men and women who place such a high priority on the inherent goodness and potential of mankind have come to such false conclusions because they possess a completely different set of beliefs than those of Bible-believing Christians that result from either their rejection of divine revelation or their ignorance of it.  Their worldview, that is, their set of beliefs about themselves and the world around them, is completely, admittedly different than that of the believer.  One's worldview governs his every action and activity in life because every individual's actions are rooted in his beliefs.  A worldview guides a person as to why he believes what he believes about where he came from, why he is here and where he is going.  Fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians need to understand why the unsaved, including those who have drafted this Earth Charter, think the way they do.  Only then can believers effectively and accurately answer the deepest questions of unbelievers from the Word of God and lead them into a new relationship with Jesus Christ, for only He is the answer to:

Man's Sin Problem

Naturalistic Worldview: Because man is simply an organism in the long line of evolution, man does not answer to a higher power.  Because he does not answer to a higher power, good and evil are relative to man's situation.  Man is inherently good, and must look within himself to achieve the greater common good.

Religious Worldview: Man is inherently good and must look at the exemplary life of Christ and follow His works and teachings in order to overcome evil.

Biblical Worldview: Man is inherently evil-a sinner by birth and deed (Rom. 5:6-12,18-21).  He must believe in Christ's substitutionary death and resurrection in order to become a new creation and be reconciled to the all-holy God.  Only then can evil be overcome through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

The Answer- Jesus Christ is the only way in which man can overcome his sin problem which separates him from God.

Man's Peace Problem

Naturalistic Worldview: Because man is naturally good, he can create peace among all nations through dialogue and global disarmament.

Religious Worldview: Mankind can create peace on earth through the establishment of God's "kingdom," which will result from dialogue, disarmament and the unity of all religions.  Again, Christ's life is to be the example of peace, but it is mankind who must implement the peace.

Biblical Worldview: No peace on earth will exist until Jesus Christ comes to inaugurate His millennial reign upon earth for 1000 years (Isa. 9:6-7).  Believers are to live peaceably among men, but mankind will never implement worldwide peace.

The Answer.  Jesus Christ is the righteous Judge Who will not only implement worldwide peace during the Millennium but Who can bring peace to the heart of every believing man, woman and child even today (Rom. 5:1).

Man's Ecological Problem

Naturalistic Worldview: Mankind is part of a web of life which began billions of years ago.  Man came from the earth (his Mother) and harms his own body when he pollutes it.  He can save his planet only through a drastic implementation of ecological awareness, education and programs designed to improve sustainability.  No hierarchical distinction exists between man, animal and plant since all came from the same Mother.  The human species is equal with all other species.

Religious Worldview: It is the same as the above, except it adds that the Divine is present within all creation and that all living things are equal in that respect.

Biblical Worldview: Plants, animals, and man were individually, independently created by God as separate entities.  Mankind is superior to plant and animal life because "God created man in His own image" (Gen. 1:27) and gave man the ability to discern between right and wrong, the ability to have a relationship with his Creator and the ability to live forever.  Yet man also possesses the responsibility to be good stewards of that which God has entrusted to him.  Plants and animals are to be used for food and clothing (Gen. 1-27-30; 2-9, 16; Man is distinct from plant and animal life and must live and act accordingly.

The Answer: Jesus Christ will create new heavens and a new earth one day after He has destroyed this present earth.  Man will not save the planet through his own efforts.  This world and all therein is reserved for fiery judgment (2 Pet. 3:7-13).

Man's Political Problem

Naturalistic Worldview: Poverty, injustice and oppression can be eradicated by mankind through equal distribution of wealth.  Man can live in harmony because his environment (which shapes his behavior) is equal to everyone else's, and he will naturally contribute to the common good since he is not evil, wicked or selfish.

Religious Worldview: Poverty, injustice and oppression can be eradicated by mankind through implementation of the Kingdom of God.  This "kingdom" results from man-made peace, justice and socialist politics.

Biblical Worldview: Regardless of the political system of the state, man is to obey the rule over him so long as it does not force him to do that which is contrary to Scripture.  Poverty, injustice and oppression is the natural outworking of man's sinful nature and will always exist as long as mankind finds himself in a place of authority.  Believers are "in the world" but not "of the world." Therefore, they are to function as righteous citizens within society and exercise their ability to do what they can to help it or improve it.  Yet they know that corruption and unrighteousness will continue as long as man finds himself in positions of leadership.

The Answer: Jesus Christ will establish a 1000-year reign on earth in which He will judge mankind's actions righteously and quickly (Isa. 11:1-10; 65:17-25).  No injustice will exist, for He will rule on earth as the righteous "King of kings."

Man's Morality Problem

Naturalistic Worldview: Because man is simply an advanced primate, he does not answer to a higher power.  No transcendent moral standards exist.  Therefore, right and wrong are not absolute but are relative to society, culture, environment and the "common good of mankind." Pragmatism is the dominating philosophy.  Hedonism is the acceptable lifestyle.  Abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, lesbianism, adultery, fornication, alcoholism and other sins are rampant when society embraces this naturalistic worldview.

Religious Worldview: Man does answer to a higher power, but the higher power has left mankind with no absolute guidelines.  The "higher power" is often simply the spirit of man within himself; therefore, morality is based on shared ethical principles.  Anything is right as long as no one else is harmed in the process.

Biblical Worldview: Man answers to a higher power who has manifested Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He, in turn, led the Holy Spirit to give man an absolute authority by which he is to govern his life (Jn. 16:13).  This authority, the holy Bible, is man's inerrant Guidebook of absolute truth in all matters of faith, morality, history and science.  To deviate from this authority is to break fellowship with the Creator.

The Answer.  Jesus Christ shed His blood so man cannot only live eternally with God, but also live a holy, righteous life while on earth.  Regenerated individuals discover how to live this life through the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16).  To deviate from this standard leads to corruption of the flesh and loss of fellowship with God.

        It is sad to note that today's naturalistic and religious worldviews are almost identical except that the religious worldview comes across as a "form of godliness." No longer do many "Christian" churches believe that man is inherently evil, that Jesus Christ is the only answer to man's problems or that God's Word is absolute truth.  The majority of professing Christendom today consists of nothing more than humanism and naturalism with a smattering of "Christian" words.
        Those who embrace a Biblical worldview because they believe God's Word are in the minority and currently serve as a "thorn in the side" of those who clamor for world peace and global unity, But God reveals in Revelation 21:1-7 that in the end, He will "make all things new." Those who put their trust in Jesus Christ will experience the joy of abiding in the physical presence of their Savior.  How can the believer be sure this will come to pass?  Jesus said, "These words are true and faithful." Faithfulness to Christ now will bring eternal reward later.

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