When the Power of Money Replaces God: The Spiritual Roots of Climate Collapse
Kim’s Dream Orlan Ravanera
Social scientists have emphatically and categorically stated that climate change is not merely an environmental problem, but a symptom of a deeply distorted and imperialist worldview. This worldview assumes that humanity exists apart from nature, endowed with absolute dominion over the Earth, and therefore justified in exploiting it without restraint. Under this belief system, nature is reduced to a commodity, a resource to be conquered, consumed, and discarded in the pursuit of profit. Both powerful religious interpretations and corporate interests have historically reinforced this mindset, allowing business as usual to continue despite overwhelming scientific and moral warnings that such a path is leading humanity toward ecological collapse.
At the heart of this crisis lies a dangerous misinterpretation of the biblical command to dominate the Earth. Rather than stewardship rooted in reverence, responsibility, and humility, domination has been redefined as ownership and exploitation. Environmental preservation has thus been systematically subordinated to profit-driven motives. This distorted theology, coupled with neoliberal economics, has created a moral vacuum where ecological destruction is normalized and even celebrated as development.
A painful and concrete illustration of this tragedy is the sale of Xavier University’s land to Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI). The university’s approximately 20 hectares, about 14 hectares comprise a mini-forest in Manresa. This ecological sanctuary serves as home to at least 40 species of birds and functions as a vital natural barrier against flooding in the city. The planned conversion of this forest into massive malls and condominiums represents not only environmental destruction but also moral failure. For the sake of approximately five billion pesos, a living ecosystem is condemned to extinction. This act stands in direct contradiction to the appeal of His Holiness the late Pope Francis in Laudato Si’, where he urges humanity to “hear the cry of the Earth, the cry of the poor,” including the silent cry of birds, trees, and fragile ecosystems.
Indeed, what is being erased is not merely land, but memory, heritage, and values. Portions of Xavier’s land were donated by Jesuit pioneer priests, including Fr. William Masterson, SJ, whose legacy included the establishment of SEARSOLIN, the Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute, which trained and empowered thousands of cooperative leaders across Southeast Asia. The destruction of the mini-forest also desecrated the burial grounds of these pioneer priests, beloved teachers who dedicated their lives to forming men and women for others, and who taught generations to maximize values, not consumer goods. Their legacy is now being buried beneath concrete and profit.
This betrayal reflects what an Oxfam study has long warned: that high veneration of the profit motive has already captured the mindset of all governments, all institutions, all universities, the mainstream media, and even religious organizations. Development has been reduced to a narrow obsession with growth at all costs, prioritizing consumer goods and financial returns rather than human dignity, ecological balance, and moral values. This is a profound departure from the Jesuit tradition of holistic education and social responsibility. As King Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes, “Fame, wealth, and power are meaningless, utterly meaningless.” And as the Gospel warns, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world, yet lose their soul?”
Killing Mother Earth Gaia is therefore not only an ecological crime, but also a spiritual degradation. It reflects a worldview rooted in the doctrine of survival of the fittest, a philosophy that mirrors jungle law rather than moral civilization. In this worldview, the strongest dominate the weakest, much like a lion devouring a cornered prey. Historically, this logic has justified religious wars, colonial conquests, and imperial domination. “You are weak, I am strong; therefore, I have the right to subdue you.” This was the same rationale used by imperial powers to conquer entire nations.
History painfully records how this ideology manifested in the Philippines. In 1898, U.S. President William McKinley justified the conquest of the Philippines by claiming divine instruction in a dream. Under the guise of liberation, American forces killed an estimated 600,000 Filipinos. The conquest was framed as a moral mission, even as it annihilated lives, cultures, and sovereignty. Today, modern imperialism continues in subtler but equally destructive forms through corporate globalization, and elite collaboration. The Philippines, now a neo-colony, has been reduced to either a market or a target: a source of cheap raw materials and a dumping ground for finished products, or a strategic military outpost vulnerable to becoming a battlefield.
This reality explains the tragic paradox of the Philippines, a country immensely rich in biodiversity and natural wealth, yet home to widespread poverty and hunger. Who controls? Who decides? Who profits? Certainly not the people, but a small group of oligarchs acting in collusion with imperial powers. Nature and human lives are sacrificed at the altar of greed.
As climate change accelerates, its consequences are no longer theoretical. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has declared that saving the climate is our common duty. Entire Pacific islands are already disappearing beneath rising seas, species are going extinct at alarming rates, and water scarcity threatens global stability. Glaciologists warn that if Greenland’s ice were to melt completely, sea levels could rise by up to seventy meters, leaving only about 2,000 of the Philippines’ 7,100 islands above water. Yet, despite global protests, Filipinos remain trapped in apathy, burdened by economic hardship, distorted religious teachings, and political disillusionment.
In coastal communities, fisherfolk already testify to rising sea levels damaging their homes. Mangroves and coral reefs, the breeding grounds of marine life, have been destroyed, pushing these communities into deeper poverty and hunger. Meanwhile, land-grabbing and violence against Indigenous Peoples continue with alarming impunity. In Mindanao alone, at least 101 Indigenous chieftains have been killed in recent years for defending their ancestral domains.
In Butong, Quezon, over 1,000 Manobo-Pulangiyon families have lived under makeshift tents along the highway for nine years, displaced from their 1,111-hectare ancestral land despite possessing legal certification. When they attempted to return, they were met with gunfire from private armies protecting corporate interests. Similar atrocities are unfolding across Mindanao. In Amai Manabilang, Lanao del Sur, Ilocano farmers with prior land rights have been forcibly evicted by government authorities in favor of foreign investors, destroying livelihoods and violating basic human rights.
In this context of ecological devastation, social injustice, and moral collapse, the Philippines urgently needs to rediscover prophetic Christianity, exemplified by Saint Oscar Romero of El Salvador. Canonized by Pope Francis in 2018, Archbishop Romero embodied the true essence of Christian faith: Prayer, Presence, and Prophecy. He stood with the poor, condemned repression, and challenged state violence. For this, he was assassinated while celebrating Mass. His final homily was a fearless plea to soldiers: “In the name of God and the suffering people, I implore you, I beg you, I order you to stop the repression!”
Saint Oscar Romero reminds us that Christianity is not about dominating the Earth, but about defending life, dignity, and justice. As the Dalai Lama wisely said, religion must go beyond prayer; ethical action matters more. Christ Himself was crucified for standing against injustice. Those who fight for truth, justice, and the protection of God’s creation need not fear death, for they ultimately rest in God’s loving embrace.
This is the calling of our time to reject distorted imperial worldviews, to restore reverence for creation, and to live a faith rooted not in domination, but in compassion, courage, and moral responsibility. All for God’s greater glory.
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