The creation of associations and associative barriers are ways in which our minds pair up concepts so that we can quickly understand a situation, without having to work through multiples of logical connections to reach a conclusion. When we hear the wail of a siren on a stormy night here in the midwest, we instantly think “tornado” and take appropriate action. When we’re driving at night and see someone else driving erratically, swerving without reason, we instantly think “drunk driver” and act accordingly.
Associative barriers are helpful in day-to-day life, both practically and spiritually.
However, while they are helpful in many areas, when we fail to recognize them and start making false associations (assumptions), these helpful mnemonic devices do us more harm than good.
For instance, because of the political landscape in America, a majority of Christians have aligned themselves with “conservative” causes because their “hot-button” issues - primarily anti-abortion and pro-family policy - is considered a key part of conservatism.  In making this alignment, though, these Christians often find themselves seeing other “conservative” issues as being their own, as well - from tax policy to defense to governing philosophy. Additionally, specific issues such as environmentalism, social responsibility, regulatory oversight are often associated with “liberal” policy, and have been co-opted as causes of the left.
So, when Christians without self-reflective ability to understand these barriers hear other Christians talking about things like environmental and social responsibility, their associative barriers instantly flag these brothers as “liberal” (or “emergent” or whatever anti-Conservative boogeymen are most assosicated with environmental/social action). Thus labelled, these brothers can now be “outed” and ostracized for their apostacy of aligning themselves with baby-killers, homosexuals and pedophiles.
Which brings us to today.
This post by the spinless, unnamed “Editor” of CRN today is indicative of this myopic and destructive mindset. They link to this story which describes leaders from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) meeting with government and industry leaders on the benefits of cutting energy usage in church buldings - which include demonstrating good stewardship of God’s creation and a potential $200 million savings from reduced energy usage. The CR?N commentary for this article? Here it is, in toto:
People may be headed to Hell in unprecedented numbers in our generation, but hewy(sic), at least they’re saving money as evangelical churches in this nation abandoned by God conserve energy.
Someone tell Julie that we’ve found the copy of the Book of Life she lent out. Apparently the Editor of CR?N has it since he/she knows the “unprecedented” numbers of people going to Hell in this generation. Sarcasm aside, this 1-sentence post, having been written by (we assume, since we don’t know their identity) a Christian,  is incredibly disturbing from so many angles, that it’s hard to choose just one. But we’ll try.
This one-sentence post is so indicative of the associative barriers I have observed in the church, including myself, over the past ten years that my reaction is primarily one of sadness. The author’s use of the English language doesn’t tell us whether it is the “evangelical church” or the “nation” which has been “abandoned by God” (a topic alone in which we could unpack all sorts of ungodly, dysfunctional thinking), but the implication seems to be clear that churches which participate in environmental sustainability initiatives have missed their mission and are hellbound.
I say nuts to that.
Being a good steward of God’s creation is part of the mission we, as a people, were given in Genesis. While I will be one of the first to stand up and declare my skepticism toward the belief that global warming exists and that man is a primary cause of it (I’ve seen much of the data, and - more importantly - the science behind it, and like John at VerumSerum, I find it a race to reach a foregone conclusion for political gain), I also believe that there are a number of basic “sustainable” ways of living which demonstrate our love for God in caring for His creation, and - in this society - would serve to hold Him to to show that He is the One True God.
Such things include:
- Conservation of energy
- Searching for alternative, sustainable and humane sources of energy
- Recycling
- Waste minimization
- Pollution reduction
- Species protection (within reason)
These things are not “liberal” or “conservative” issues - they are God issues.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.Â
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heavenÂ
So, please - let us not eschew doing good by God’s creation because some cause we disagree with fundamentally agrees with us on this issue! And, while we’re at it, let’s knock off cursing Christ’s bride and the house she lives in.
[Just to note - associative barriers cut in many directions, such as when some of us see Calvinists hiding behind every disagreement while others see "emergents" as the driving force behind anything/everything distasteful to them (and, therefore, to God).]
