RFK Jr. and Tucker Carlson are engaging in the kind of open, respectful, and thoughtful dialogue about public policy that our nation and the world desperately need. As part of an engaging interview with Tucker Carlson, RFK Jr. provided Tucker with a profound rationale for his career of environmental advocacy (jump to the 01:16 mark for that portion of the interview). His reasoning is not the kind one usually hears from public policy advocates. He pointed to the “spiritual connection” humans make with the divine when we encounter nature. This is why, he says, we protect the environment: to preserve and protect that connection to the divine. RFK Jr. explained,
God talks to human beings through many factors—through each other, through organized religion, through the great prophets, through the wise people, and the great books of those religions—but nowhere with the kind of detail, texture, grace, and joy as through creation. And when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is, and recognize our own potential and duties as human beings.
Certainly, there are solid truths here.
God has spoken through His creation to reveal many things about His divine nature. Creation sings joyful songs about God’s glorious intelligence, attention to detail, vastness, beauty, creativity, power inventiveness, and never-ending energy, among other things. Psalm 19:1 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Certainly we should strive to be good stewards of natural beauty, seeing in it a reflection of God.
So yes, we can know God exists and can connect with Him on some level through nature—the world He created. We recognize that this is a world designed by a wise God as we trace His astounding handiwork in creation.
Romans 1:20 says, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Yet nature alone does not reveal the most critical truths humans need to know. Yes, since God is revealed through His creation, humanity has no excuse to deny God’s existence. But Scripture tells us this revelation is not by itself enough to rescue humanity from the separation from God due to sinful rebellion (Ephesians 2: 1-3, Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23, 6:23, etc.). God communicated additional information—indeed, the most essential information—when He revealed Himself in and through His incarnate Son. Hebrews 1:1-4 declares,
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs (Hebrews 1:1-4)
Note here that Jesus is greater than the prophets of old because He is the Creator—the one “through whom all things were created”—and because He is the one through whom our most pressing need— “purification for sins”—is revealed and accomplished.
Thus, the famous wilderness temptation of Jesus, contrary to RFK Jr.’s explanation, was not when or how Jesus became aware of His divinity and special mission. Jesus’s recognition of His identity and purpose came long before, through the study of the Scriptures. It is the Scriptures Jesus absorbed so well that enabled Him to respond correctly to all the deceptions of Satan in the challenging moments of temptation. In a profound mystery, the One through whom all things were created became a real human who learned to read and study as a child. Through years of thoughtful engagement with the Scriptures (words written by men yet inspired by God (2 Peter 1: 20-21), Jesus understood and confirmed in His own mind the uniqueness of His person and mission.
Surely Jesus loves nature, for it reflects divine goodness and overflowing generosity, but nature as such was not His vehicle to self-understanding. Jesus was not having a mere nature encounter. It is the same for humanity. Nature points all to the God who is real, but it is the Son who reveals most fully what and who God is, why He created and sustains everything, and the role we are to play as human beings in this earthly life.
Tucker and RFK Jr. both have pointed to their Christian faith as a source of inspiration for seeking truth and influencing the world for good. Both are familiar with biblical concepts, including the notion that the light of nature reveals profound truths to point humanity in the right direction, starting with acknowledging that there is a Creator. But they should also see from their own faith tradition that nature alone falls far short of providing a mandate for how to engage in this world. For this, we need the fuller, special revelation God has graciously given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the fullest revelation of what human beings need to know to live a life of purpose and meaning. So may we look beyond the glories of nature to the far more glorious reality—that the Maker of heaven and earth has called all to know, worship, and follow Him through His Son. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
A few additional thoughts, from a follow-up I posted to X this morning (August 28, 2024):
ICYMI – This video excerpt from his interview with Tucker highlights interesting remarks RFK Jr. made about how humans connect with God through nature. He says that pursuing this connection is WHY we ought to protect the environment.
Tucker Carlson obviously strongly resonated with RFK, Jr.’s words.
But there’s a problem if we limit pursuit of God only to what He’s shown us through nature and miss the fuller revelation of Himself God has given. The Christian faith both Kennedy and Carlson espouse calls for a far deeper connection to God.
Yes, the Bible tells us God’s creation in its magnificent design and splendor points humanity to Him and proves His existence.
Yet our “connection” with the divine is limited and subjective in nature encounters. Creation shows there’s a God, but to know more about who this God is requires greater revelation. That revelation was given to humanity in the form of Christ Jesus, Son of God. He was the Creator and the Redeemer. Even now, He sustains the universe, is the very image of God, and by the Spirit reveals Himself to save humanity from the separation from God caused by sin (Hebrews 1: 1-4, Colossians 1: 15-20, John 16: 12-15).
So we know God exists by the creation, but we know more specifically who God is and what He desires that we be and do, not by nature alone, but by the revelation of Christ the Son. Many religions worship nature, but Christians worship the God who made nature.
