God Please Save Your Planet...from us.

Chapter One- What is Your Prime Directive?

When I was younger, I was captivated by one particular television series that told of a bright future where humans traveled the stars in search of new life, and new civilizations. Racial and ethnic tensions had been discarded in the interest of unity and peace. Space was referred to as "the final frontier". This was an obvious commentary on the common western motifs found in many television programs of the mid to late twentieth century. This television series offered a utopian message of hope to a world trapped in a nuclear Cold War.

Ironically, the series overcame nearly all interpersonal obstacles with the exception of misogyny. In fact, the final episode of the series even featured the struggles women face with something as ordinary as captaining a starship. Such gender equality was just too much for 1960's American men to handle. In fact, the pilot episode (which featured a female first-officer) was all but forgotten as the series went into full syndication.

By the time I started enjoying this science fiction series, it had been cancelled and gone into reruns, which I watched with delight. However, it soon re-emerged in the theaters on the big screen. By the mid-1980's a new post Cold War era inspired the next generation of this popular cult phenomenon.

Whereas, the previous series did not hold back from meddling with the development of alien civilizations, and in some cases outright tampering with historical events, this new rendition presented a new safety protocol designed to prevent contamination of underdeveloped cultures. In short these space faring explorers had a "Prime Directive" of non-interference. Eventually, this prime directive was extended to not tampering with time as well.

This new series would also greatly reduce the misogynistic overtones of the previous series (although, not entirely). Why am I talking about a science fiction classic in light of our global climate crisis? In short, because this utopian future is born out of a dystopian event. In the original series the details are vague and inconsistent. However, the latter series makes it unmistakably clear that nuclear war is the ashes from which this utopian future arises.

It is a noble aspiration to imagine humanity rising like a mythical phoenix from a nuclear winter. In fact, it is as likely as the titanic rising from the Atlantic Ocean and sailing into the stars. Dreams won't save us. We are indeed on a collision course with such a future if we don't course correct. Unfortunately, we humans have quite the track record for decimating our planet. Whether the breaking point will be nuclear winter or a slow burn through climate destabilization is yet to be seen. No one can know exactly how this story will unfold. But does that mean we shouldn't even try?

One of the greatest obstacles to changing course today is ironically enough, Bible believing evangelical Christians. The very people who should be leading the charge for protecting our environment are often the loudest opponents. The "Climate Book" made a very good point regarding how we draw energy from our environment. It presents the option of getting our energy from heaven rather than hell. What a profound thought! Fossil fuels, like oil, coal, and natural gas are pulled out of the earth. Conversely, clean energy, such as wind, and solar have the physical heavens for their source.

Christians and any adherents of the Abrahamic faiths should seriously ask themselves if they have been backing the right horse in this race for survival. I believe Christians are right about one thing. We all need to be saved, not from hell, but from the consequences of using hell as a natural resource. As a Christian, I believe that our prime directive should be to become a good steward of this earth. Is that not what our holy book indicates towards the end of the first chapter of Genesis?

We as humans have spent so much time trying to dominate each other and all life on this planet that we have abandoned our prime directive. Most Christians believe in an interventionist God. Despite this, we have not seen him intervene in nearly two thousand years. Perhaps, our creator is following some version of his own prime directive. Perhaps, there are some lessons that we need to figure out for ourselves before we will be ready for further instructions.

Whatever you believe, this is the only known planet that is currently capable of sustaining life. And we are acting like it's just one room in a hotel ready to be trashed. After all we are heaven bound, and God has many more mansions to trash in heaven. Right?

There are verses in the Bible that indicate that this earth was given to us by our creator. Do you know what that means? It means God trusted us with something he formed to be inhabited. Doesn't that make this in reality God's Planet?

So, yes, this planet needs saving, just like we all do. Perhaps, that is a prayer worthy of consideration. If you don't believe in a creator, why not go out on a limb and say the prayer anyway? What harm could it do? Certainly not anymore harm than we have already done to this planet we call home. We are already past the point of no return. There is an old saying: 'There are no atheists in a fox hole.' This war trench analogy is appropriate in these last moments. Say it with me: "God, please save your planet... from us." And I might add: "Before it's too late."

Perhaps, you have prayed for help for yourself, or your children. Perhaps, you have even prayed for your enemies. Well done. Why not try the most unselfish prayer imaginable? Pray for all other living things on this planet, because all life matters. Let that be your prime directive. If that doesn't take you to the stars, then I don't know what will. Let's all take a moment to look up and imagine a bright future filled with hope. And while you wait, do something to help that dream to become a reality. Don't let this be the end of our story. It is after all, just the end of Chapter One.