Yes I drive an SUV.

Mark Driscoll made a comment recently saying “I know who made the environment and he’s coming back and going to burn it all up. So yes, I drive an SUV.” He then "apologised" for it suggesting that people didn't seem to take it as a joke.

Some joke.

The core problem is that this position is one that I suspect he actually holds. Many others hold this position, and this includes people with no faith - the likes of Jeremy Clarkson come to mind. This is the typical position of those who care nothing for the environment, and who justify it from all sorts of positions, from a biblical argument or from a hedonistic argument, it matters little. And, incidentally, they both make a similar pathetic excuse for an apology when they get caught out.

His argument is that, because God made the earth and will come back some day, he doesn't need to care for the environment. That is just so much hogwash, for two critical reasons.

Firstly, yes Jesus is coming back - and I do believe this is true, although exactly how I don't know - that could be hundreds or thousands of years from now. We need to preserve the earth not because God needs it, but because our children need it, and their children, and so on for however many generations it takes. Driscolls arguments say more about his concern for the next generation than anything else.

Secondly, "he's going to burn it all up" is a strange interpretation of the second coming prophecies. In fact, as Rob Bell pointed out, God will make a new heaven and a new earth. It is not about "burning this one up", it is about renewing this one. It seems to me that the more people follow Driscolls approach, the harder work He will have in renewing it.

It is far too easy to lose your sense of humour, and I have been accused of this before. In all honesty, I don't think I have lost my humour, and I do think that this approach and attitude is dangerous and unworthy of the name of Christianity. You can joke all you want, but when your jokes are this poor, this close to your actual views, I fail to see the funny side.

And given how much more work Driscoll and his like have made for God, I doubt He will see the funny side either.