Dateline 1517: Pope Leo offers indulgences to the faithful who offer alms towards the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica. In response to this (and other Church corruptions), Martin Luther writes his 95 theses providing one of the sparks for the Protestant Reformation.

For those of you unfamiliar with indulgences, they are pardons of temporal punishment for various sins. In Catholic church theology, sin invites a duality of consequences: separation from God (the eternal) and earthly punishment (the temporal). Eternal consequences are governed by Grace won on the cross by Christ and thus, can only be redeemed through a return to relationship with Christ (via confession). Even after a person has been rescued from eternal consequences, however, temporal consequences must be addressed (either here on earth through trials and tribulations or via time spent in Purgatory). Indulgences were originally conceived as a method through which a person could use the merit of the church to satisfy these consequences. Prayer, recitation of the rosary, and reading of scripture were common devices through which this was accomplished. One thing to note in particular is that indulgences could only be granted for sin already committed – it was not a ‘get out of jail free’ card.

Martin Luther took issue with the idea of indulgences in general; however, he particularly took issue when the papal commissioner for indulgences in Germany began using indulgences to raise money for St. Peter’s Basilica. By giving alms, the faithful could absolve themselves of the consequences of their sin.

This brings us to carbon offset, the indulgence of environmentalism. A carbon offset is a device that allows a person to reduce the global warming effects of the CO2 produced by their daily activities: driving a car, using electricity, eating food. Various methods of mitigating one’s carbon footprint include planting trees and using renewable energy derived from solar energy, wind power, and bio-fuels. Like the indulgences, carbon offsets allow a person to ‘pay’ for their ’sins’ against the earth. And like indulgences, they offer a way for the corrupt to profit from the good intentions of the faithful…

Enter TerraPass, a company that allows you to pay to offset the carbon footprint caused by your driving and air travel. How does it work? You buy one of their passes that corresponds to your car and driving habits. Then they take the money and invest in research to develop new technologies that will possibly reduce future CO2 production. That’s right, with the right amount of money, you too can drive your SUV and be green at the same time – all while TerraPass makes money off of assuaging your guilt. Sound familiar?

If nothing else, environmentalism has shown itself for what it is: a religion through which one group gains power and wealth by creating guilt and then giving its adherent’s a method through which they can manage it. And like all religions that came before it (including Christian religion separated from Christian faith), it will never achieve true heart change. Only a relationship with the Creator can do that.