Earth Charter Initiative

[Hardenbergh]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this thread in the appropriate forum.

Has the "Earth Charter" been discussed in these forums? I was unfamiliar with it until I heard Michael Youssef from Leading the Way discussing it on his radio program yesterday. The title of the program is "Shadow Spirituality" and it's being aired in two parts. He said that it was headed up by Mikhail Gorbachev and he expressed concern that they would be pushing this agenda in the schools. I've read a little about it and from what I've read, it seems that they're trying to replace the ten commandments with this new agenda.

The link to Michael Youssef's broadcast may be heard here:

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Leading_the_Way/archives.asp?bcd=2007-11-12 (Part 1)
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Leading_the_Way/archives.asp?bcd=2007-11-13 (Part 2)

He gave the website address for those who wanted to read more about the charter.

http://www.earthcharter.org/
http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2000/10/the_earth_charter.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Charter

[Foster Zygote]

I've read, it seems that they're trying to replace the ten commandments with this new agenda.

What have you read that lead you to this conclusion? Did you read actual statements from the organization, or did you read something written by a paranoid religious talk show host?

How can one replace the Ten Commandments in public schools or government? The Ten Commandments are not used as a basis for either.

Finally, the ECI has this to say about their mission:
To establish a sound ethical foundation for the emerging global society and to help build a sustainable world based on respect for nature, diversity, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace.

[Hardenbergh]

What have you read that lead you to this conclusion? Did you read actual statements from the organization, or did you read something written by a paranoid religious talk show host?

As a "for instance", here's one article titled, "The U.N's Ten Commandments", from a Christian source. I admit that there may be some paranoia involved.

http://www.cephas-library.com/nwo/nwo_uns_ten_commandments.html

Yes! Magazine developed a curriculum and guide to the Earth Charter for teachers.

http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2006/07/yes_educational_materials_for.html

http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2006/05/earth_charter_grassroots_organ_1.html

This an essay by member "jofree" from a GOPUSA forum:

http://www.gopusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25864

One quote by Mikhail Gorbachev stands out:

"Do not do unto the environment of others what you do not want done to your own environment...My hope is that this charter will be a kind of Ten Commandments, a 'Sermon on the Mount', that provides a guide for human behavior toward the environment in the next century."
- Mikhail Gorbachev, The Los Angeles Times, May 8, 1997

I haven't read enough about the Earth Charter to really form an opinion. The quote above sounds like it was taken out of context. I don't know if Gorbachev was suggesting that the Earth Charter will take the place of the Ten Commandments. It sounds similar to someone saying such and such is the "Bible" of this or that, giving it an air of authority.

http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/Earth_Charter_Ark.htm

[Hardenbergh]

Michael Youssef continued his talk about the Earth Charter this morning. He seems genuinely concerned about this agenda infiltrating the school curriculum. He said that we must be vigilant, not just feed the flock, but keep the wolves away. He thinks that the children are being brainwashed with nice-sounding words in the guise of wanting to protect "Mother Earth." He said that he has evidence that they're trying to push this on our schools and that he wouldn't even be talking about it without evidence.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Leading_the_Way/archives.asp?bcd=2007-11-14

[Foster Zygote]

He seems genuinely concerned about this agenda infiltrating the school curriculum.

That doesn't mean he's right. Segregationists were genuinely concerned about African American children infiltrating their schools.

[bluess]

Hardenbergh, did you read the charter? Which of the statements within the charter do you find dangerous or damaging to children? Or, since it seems that this is something you may feel is anti-Christian, which of the statements do you feel is anti-Christian?

BTW, thanks for the link, I'll be taking time this weekend to read the whole site.

[GeeMack]

One quote by Mikhail Gorbachev stands out:

"Do not do unto the environment of others what you do not want done to your own environment...My hope is that this charter will be a kind of Ten Commandments, a 'Sermon on the Mount', that provides a guide for human behavior toward the environment in the next century."

- Mikhail Gorbachev, The Los Angeles Times, May 8, 1997

I haven't read enough about the Earth Charter to really form an opinion. The quote above sounds like it was taken out of context. I don't know if Gorbachev was suggesting that the Earth Charter will take the place of the Ten Commandments. It sounds similar to someone saying such and such is the "Bible" of this or that, giving it an air of authority.


If you thought Gorbachev may have been suggesting that the Earth Charter will take the place of the Ten Commandments, you've clearly misunderstood. The problem seems to be that you've taken the context out of the quote. Willful ignorance, perhaps? Did you not notice the words, "... a guide for human behavior toward the environment in the next century"? Perhaps you'd be well served by investing some time into taking a remedial reading course.

[Hardenbergh]

Hardenbergh, did you read the charter? Which of the statements within the charter do you find dangerous or damaging to children? Or, since it seems that this is something you may feel is anti-Christian, which of the statements do you feel is anti-Christian?

BTW, thanks for the link, I'll be taking time this weekend to read the whole site.

When I heard Michael Youssef's program yesterday, he referred to a website that has a lot more information about the Earth Charter. It's their interpretation of what they believe will happen as a result of their propaganda. Of course, there are those that might believe that Contender Ministries is also spreading their own propaganda in retaliation. The name of the website is Contender Ministries. They fear that Earth worship will replace God. It is described as being part of the New Age Movement.

While supporters of the Earth Charter lump all religions together and portray them as the main obstacle to peaceful coexistence and sustainable life on Earth, they do not propose doing away with spirituality. The Earth Charter goes into detail about the need for faith and spirituality in human life. The preamble of the charter states "the spirit of human solidarity and kinship with all life is strengthened when we live with reverence for the mystery of being, gratitude for the gift of life, and humility regarding the human place in nature." Section 14 d. says that we must "recognize the importance of moral and spiritual education for sustainable living."

So, what spiritual beliefs do support sustainable development? In Session II of the roundtable for Religious and Spiritual leaders, we are called to "move from an exclusive preoccupation with Divine-human relations and human-human relations to renew human - Earth relations." In other words, Earth worship should replace any belief in a divine being. A requirement for achieving this goal, according to these "religious leaders", is "the voices of spiritual traditions along with secular humanism". They envision for the religions of the world "a major transformation from their theological and anthropological phase to their ecological and cosmological phase." Following one of the major themes of the New Age Movement, humanity is spiritually evolving from being worshipers of God to being gods ourselves. As they put it, "the human person is becoming de-centered and re-centered amidst the great concentric circles of life." If you've spent much time around members of the New Age Movement, you know that becoming "centered" is a major part of ones spirituality.

The forum of religious leaders concluded by agreeing on 5 shared principles, deeply embedded in the Earth Charter that they feel must be addressed. These 5 principles are as follows:


Reverence for Earth and the Cosmos
Respect for myriad species
Restraint in the use of natural resources
Redistribution of wealth and resources
Responsibility for future generations and for the community of life.

So how do they plan to bring about this spiritual evolution, globalization, and reverence for Earth and Cosmos? The roundtable participants put it this way:

"Education for sustainable development on all levels should include the history of the world's religions, historical and contemporary inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, and the creative engagement of the world's religions with peace, justice, and sustainability in a modern world. Furthermore, the world's media need to be more aware and supportive of these ethical concerns and of initiatives to address them."

One significant suggestion was made at the forum involving the creation of a world television channel devoted to issues of planetary concern. It was also suggested that they bolster support for their new spiritual awakening at the Forum for Religion and Ecology, The Council for a Parliament of the world Religions, the World Faiths Development Dialogue among other forums, organizations and global conferences. Through these channels, they hope to "clarify common values that most of the world's religions have in relation to the natural world". Those who are willing to quietly accept the humanist, New Age agenda will be welcomed with open arms, while those who contend for their faith in the one true God and our savior Jesus Christ will be labeled intolerant and demonized as standing in the way of peace, global centeredness and faith in Mother Earth.

http://www.contenderministries.org/articles/earthcharter.php

There are more articles here. It looks like they've exhausted the subject of the Earth Charter right to death. It makes me wonder if they're for it or against it.

http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&safe=active&client=pub-8936084402390914&channel=6813210543&cof=FORID%3A1%3BGL%3A1%3BL%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fadwords .google.com%2Fpagead%2Fimgad%3Fid%3DCNyRvMT445S7GB BkGFAoATIIbm4nw1eGMH0%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A62%3BLBGC%3 AE9E4E8%3BT%3A%23003366%3BLC%3A%23000099%3BVLC%3A% 23cc99ff%3BGALT%3A%23660066%3BGFNT%3A%23669999%3BG IMP%3A%23669999%3BDIV%3A%23333399%3B&domains=contenderministries.org&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&q=earth+charter&sitesearch=contenderministries.org

And they contend that the United Nations is paving the way for the Antichrist.

In recent years, we have seen an alarming rise of ecumenism and moral relativity in the western world. In an age where evangelical Christianity – and for that matter, Judaism – is seen as too “intolerant” or “divisive” for a civilized world, interfaith movements, the New Age Movement, and Unitarian Universalism are gaining in popularity. Nowhere is that more evident than within the United Nations. In researching this article, I have become convinced that influential powers at the United Nations are now paving the way for the Antichrist. What you will read in this article will be but a sampling of some of the most insidious evil I have ever read. If you are a Christian, you may find this article unsettling. However, I feel very strongly that it is imperative to make Christians aware of the powerful New Age influence at the United Nations. One other important point – I did not base this article on research performed by so-called “conspiracy theorists”. The reams of documentation from which this article is based came from official sources – the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

http://www.contenderministries.org/articles/UN_aaclucis.php

Sounds like it would make a hell of a script for a Steven Spielberg movie.

One thing is certain. Contender Ministries is against humanism.

http://contenderministries.org/humanism.php

Instead of singing, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus", it appears they're watching the United Nations during halftime.

http://www.contenderministries.org/UN/unwatch.php

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alanjackson/turnyoureyesuponjesus.html

[GeeMack]

When I heard Michael Youssef's program yesterday, he referred to a website that has a lot more information about the Earth Charter. It's their interpretation of what they believe will happen as a result of their propaganda. Of course, there are those that might believe that Contender Ministries is also spreading their own propaganda in retaliation. The name of the website is Contender Ministries. They fear that Earth worship will replace God. It is described as being part of the New Age Movement.


You've failed to address bluess's post...

Hardenbergh, did you read the charter? Which of the statements within the charter do you find dangerous or damaging to children? Or, since it seems that this is something you may feel is anti-Christian, which of the statements do you feel is anti-Christian?


Like bluess, I'd like to know your responses to those simple questions, Hardenbergh. Please involve yourself in the discussion and let us know how you feel. Show us you have a mind of your own for once and stop parroting those whining fear mongers.

Yes or no, did you read the Earth Charter (http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2000/10/the_earth_charter.html)?

Yes or no, do you feel the charter is potentially dangerous or damaging to children? If so, why?

Yes or no, do you feel there's something anti-Christian about the charter? If yes, what is it?

Do you actually find anything in the charter which indicates that Earth worship might replace God? If so, please quote the statement(s) that make you feel that way.

And just out of curiosity, does that picture in your avatar, the one with the person holding their hands firmly over their ears, have some symbolic meaning, like a hear-no-evil, willful ignorance kind of thing?

[Hardenbergh]

You've failed to address bluess's post...




Like bluess, I'd like to know your responses to those simple questions, Hardenbergh. Please involve yourself in the discussion and let us know how you feel. Show us you have a mind of your own for once and stop parroting those whining fear mongers.

I must admit I like to let the other members do most of the work.

Yes or no, did you read the Earth Charter (http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2000/10/the_earth_charter.html)?

Yes, I've read the Earth Charter, although that seems to be a preamble so I guess it's not really the whole document. I take that back. I assume the first paragraph of the document is the preamble. I misunderstood.

Yes or no, do you feel the charter is potentially dangerous or damaging to children? If so, why?

I think it could be potentially dangerous in the long run. It's premature to say. That website (Contender Ministries) seems to be warning people to read between the lines and to proceed with caution. Michael Youssef (of Leading the Way) seems to be a pretty sharp cookie and I don't think he's easily taken in by anyone. He has a lot of perception and foresight. He said that the charter appears to sound good on the surface but he said to look beyond the fine words and that it isn't as good as it all sounds. He said that he wouldn't even be talking about it if he didn't have any evidence.

Yes or no, do you feel there's something anti-Christian about the charter? If yes, what is it?

They talk about the Earth as if it didn't have a Creator.

Do you actually find anything in the charter which indicates that Earth worship might replace God? If so, please quote the statement(s) that make you feel that way.

I must admit that I was more concerned with "Contender Ministries" interpretation of the Earth Charter. Perhaps they're exaggerating but it does make you wonder about it.

And just out of curiosity, does that picture in your avatar, the one with the person holding their hands firmly over their ears, have some symbolic meaning, like a hear-no-evil, willful ignorance kind of thing?

No symbolic meaning at all.

[bluess]

Hmm..

I can see that if you believe that only your religion is acceptable, the thought that purveyors of all religions should come together in a stance of mutual acceptance and commonality would be distressing.

I can see that if you believe that the earth was created by your deity, the thought that your children may get the idea that not everyone believes the same would be distressing.

However, if you believe neither of these, teaching a child that he or she is part of a greater population, that not everyone has the same things, that their actions can effect others, and that each individual should behave in an ethical fashion doesn't distress me.

B

[maxpower1227]

I'm a lot more skeptical now than I have been in the past, but this is one of those things that just seems a bit out there to me.... an "Earth Charter", hand written on papyrus paper, placed in something called the "Ark of Hope"? Is that all true? Who comes up with this crap?

[TuftedPuffin]

Yeah, it's got cutesy symbolic stuff, which is obnoxious, but hardly threatening. The only kids who won't think of this as just another version of the morality they're raised with are the ones who're cynical enough to think that all this is ********, and that's hardly a trait unique to Christians.

[Beerina]

I'm a lot more skeptical now than I have been in the past, but this is one of those things that just seems a bit out there to me.... an "Earth Charter", hand written on papyrus paper, placed in something called the "Ark of Hope"? Is that all true? Who comes up with this crap?

Humans, raised with religion's ancient philosophy based on want and need, and it's associated "help the needy"-style, grotesquely suboptimal rates of success in overcoming it, when compared to, admittedly non-intuitive, brute, freedom-based capitalism's unarguable success in raising the average standard of living, require a new rationalization in their will to power, now that religion is so provincial, and quasi-religious theories of want and need in running out of resources, said claims themselves essentially fraudulent (http://juliansimon.org), comparing even less favorably in light of the massive degradation of average quality of life that, unarguably also, human overcontrol of freedom has when compared to the worst Sylvia Browne-like prognostications of gloom and doom, fit the bill?

[Hardenbergh]

I'm a lot more skeptical now than I have been in the past, but this is one of those things that just seems a bit out there to me.... an "Earth Charter", hand written on papyrus paper, placed in something called the "Ark of Hope"? Is that all true? Who comes up with this crap?

Many people seem to think that it's an agenda or blueprint for totalitarianism.

Agenda for Totalitarianism

Since the collapse of communism, Boff, Gorbachev, and several other leading socialists and Marxists have switched to planetary environmentalism as the means to advance their political agendas. Unfortunately, if socialists and Marxists ever were to gain global power, it would cost us our religious and political freedom, regardless of whether or not they saved the environment.

Although carefully hidden from the document itself, the charter is part of a larger agenda to establish a centralized, socialist or Marxist global super-government. This super-government, which charter founders affectionately refer to as "global governance," would enforce the principles of the charter. In Steven Rockefeller's own words, "No nation state can exist any longer as a separate island capable of providing in isolation opportunity and security for its people. Local and global security can only be founded on the principles of global partnership and the sharing of sovereignty, leading to the creation of new systems of global governance."4 At the 1995 State of the World Forum, Maurice Strong said regarding the Earth Charter: "We shouldn't wait until political democracy paves the way. We must act now."5 After the Charter is adopted and implemented - with or without a democratic process - the new "international body" will not "be subservient to the rules of state sovereignty, demands of the free market, or individual rights."

http://conservation.catholic.org/Earth%20Charter.htm
http://fatima.freehosting.net/Articles/Art4.htm

Inside this 'Ark of Hope' the Earth Charter is handwritten on papyrus paper, and ready for presentation to the United Nations; the Ark along with it's Gaia "Ten Commandments" – a new covenant to which every nation must adhere. Each panel represents one of the five traditional elements of pagan worship: Water, Fire, Earth, Air and Spirit. According to the Ark of Hope website, the Ark's dimensions are 49" X 32" X 32" and it was crafted out of a single Sycamore plank. The obvious meaning behind the Ark of Hope is to mock God's own Ten Commandments and the Ark of the Covenant. In this context the choice of Sycamore wood for the Ark of Hope's contruction is a revealing one. The Sycamore tree was sacred to most all the pagan religions in the middle east during biblical times, and in Egypt especially: To the Egyptians the Sycamore was a healing tree; The tomb of Osiris was built in Sycamore wood, and shaded by Sycamore trees; Burial in Sycamore coffins was a symbolic return into the womb of the mother goddess; The deceased hoped to live in the Sycamore tree. In the book of the dead there are examples of a letter the deceased would write to the Goddess of the Tree, containing a prayer so that she would provide water and air.1

http://www.realnews247.com/un_earth_charter_&_meditation_room.htm

[Beerina]

Agenda for Totalitarianism

Since the collapse of communism, Boff, Gorbachev, and several other leading socialists and Marxists have switched to planetary environmentalism as the means to advance their political agendas. Unfortunately, if socialists and Marxists ever were to gain global power, it would cost us our religious and political freedom, regardless of whether or not they saved the environment.

This concept itself is not new. Ayn Rand noted in the 1960s that ecologists (what environmentalists used to be called) seemed to be curiously populated by "statists" who loved government intervention, and, specifically, people who hated big business, all out of statistical proportion to the population.

She suggested that they were using it as a backup control argument once the normal socialist and class warfare rhetoric began to fall on deaf ears at the polls.

She wryly noted that they, being for animal rights among other things, "wanted Man to have no control of any animal...except other men".

[Jekyll]

This concept itself is not new. Ayn Rand noted in the 1960s that ecologists (what environmentalists used to be called) seemed to be curiously populated by "statists" who loved government intervention, and, specifically, people who hated big business, all out of statistical proportion to the population.

She suggested that they were using it as a backup control argument once the normal socialist and class warfare rhetoric began to fall on deaf ears at the polls.

She wryly noted that they, being for animal rights among other things, "wanted Man to have no control of any animal...except other men".

So either Ayn Rand was right, or she was indulging in ad ad hominems to hide that people being perfectly selfish have little incentive to reduce pollution without government intervention.

[Hardenbergh]

There seems to be some correlation between the Earth Charter and the Georgia Guidestones. I just heard about the Georgia Guidestones in the past few weeks through some wacky short wave radio ministry, Brother R. G. Stair, Overcomer Ministry.

http://www.georgiaguidestones.com/Message.htm
http://www.thegeorgiaguidestones.com/stones.htm
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/thegeorgiaguidestones.htm
http://www.radioliberty.com/stones.htm

In other words, it's all over the Internet.

Number 1 on the list from the Georgia Guidestones:

Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

If the upper limit for humanity is 500,000,000, that means that over 90% of us have to go! I say this because there are now over 5 billion of us "useless eaters", or "canon fodder", or "human weeds", or "sheeple", or whatever else they want to call us, roaming around taking up space and acting as a "cancer on the earth".

http://www.thegeorgiaguidestones.com/EarthCharter.htm

[Hardenbergh]

Apparently there is a movement to dismantle the Georgia Guidestones.

Dismantling "R.C. Christian's" Monument

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

The Georgia Guidestones have been part of the landscape in Eberton, Georgia for a quarter of a century. Tourists flood to Eberton each year to see the 19-foot-tall granite monument, often posing for pictures standing beside it.

After 25 years, a Christian organization named The Resistance is calling for the monument's immediate removal.

"The satanic Georgia Guidestones must be destroyed," insists John Conner of The Resistance. "The Guidestones should be smashed into a million pieces and then the rubble used for a construction purpose."

The notion of hacking the monument into smithereens for construction scrap has a certain appeal, given the hype of how it came to dominate the lonely landscape in the first place.


Whatever the reason for their existence, Conner and Company have organized a national movement for the destruction of the stones.

Conner is the author of The Resistance Manifesto, a publication that exposes Satanic influences in America, including the meaning behind the pseudonym "R.C. Christian", the name of the man who paid to have the monument erected.

The Resistance is a worldwide subculture of Christians "fighting the invasion of privacy from the growing New World Order."

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover032205.htm
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2004/main060104.htm