by Lewis Loflin
Al Gore’s *Earth in the Balance* (1992) lays bare the spiritual rot behind modern environmentalism. Written as a Tennessee senator, it’s his gospel—pushing Roger Revelle’s man-made warming hype (p. 4). His eco-Armageddon flopped—30 years later, no doom. It’s evangelical “repent or burn” dressed as Gaia worship, not science. Gore hit Vanderbilt Divinity School (1971-72) for “spiritual issues” and “purification” (his bio)—not law, not reason. He’s a New Age mystic, not a God-fearing man.
Gore peddles repentance via “union with Gaia”—Christ’s echo, minus the cross. No scientist—he cites none, skips the scientific method—his “truth” is a rich kid’s globe-trotting sob story (thanks, Dad). It’s New Age fluff, pseudo-science, and leftwing power grabs—textbook for privileged eco-crusaders (see Pantheism). He’s been at it decades, framing it as an “arms race” (p. 7), pissed the Senate wouldn’t buy his eco-faith over law. So he cribbed nuclear scare tactics—doom sells better than data.
Science? He hates it—tech’s the villain. His buddies—John Kerry, Max Baucus, John Heinz (p. 10)—push the same. His intro oozes pantheism:
“We feel distant from our roots in the earth… civilization’s journey from nature to a contrived, arrogant world… lost our connectedness… Are we separate from the earth?” (pp. 1-2)
Hyper-religious drivel—life’s all spiritual. He ties it to politics:
“Social justice is inextricably linked in the Scriptures with ecology.” (pp. 246-247)
And breaches church-state walls:
“A Global Marshall Plan… [includes] a worldwide education program… to promote a new way of thinking about human civilization and the earth.” (pp. 354-355)
Gore’s “inner crisis” is the crisis—spiritual, not factual (pp. 10-11). It’s affluent progressives’ whine for meaning, ditching reason for Gaia goo. He mashes all faiths into one:
“Our religious diversity… a resource ignored by the faithful… a pan-religious perspective may prove important for our responsibility to the earth.” (pp. 258-259)
Enter fake Indian wisdom:
“Native American religions… ‘The earth is our mother… man belongs to the earth.’”—Chief Seattle, 1855 (p. 259)
Fraud—Ted Perry wrote that for a 1971 eco-flick, not Seattle. Gore doubles down with goddess worship:
“Prehistoric Europe worshipped a single earth goddess… harmony among all… swept away by masculine religions… Christianity killed it… a better understanding could offer insights.” (p. 260)
Historical bunk—pure New Age fantasy. Eastern occultism’s next:
“Hindu dictum: ‘The Earth is our mother’… Guru Nanak: ‘Air the Vital Force, Water the Progenitor, Earth the Mother.’” (p. 261)
And water fetish:
“Water’s sacred… Christians baptize, Quran creates from it, Buddha’s a ‘rain cloud’ freeing misery.” (p. 261)
Gore’s myth hit big—*Brother Eagle, Sister Sky* (1991) sold 250,000 copies, topped NYT bestseller lists by Earth Day 1992. Earth Day USA pushed “Seattle’s” letter—same fake words: “What happens when buffalo are slaughtered… forests heavy with men?” (NYT, 4/21/92). Susan Jeffers, the book’s creator, admits: “I don’t know what he said… but Native Americans lived this.” Lie—they killed to survive, not “harmonized.” Her afterword: “What matters is inspiration… we may lose all.” Truth? Nope—religious propaganda.
Gore’s *Earth in the Balance* is a mystic’s wet dream—Gaia over reason, fear over facts. It’s not science—it’s a cult, violating church-state lines, indoctrinating kids with lies like “Seattle.” His privileged angst fuels a leftwing eco-religion (see Leftism). Read it—prove me wrong. It’s the heart of environmentalism’s spiritual rot, far from Deism’s clarity (see Deism). Armageddon’s his sales pitch—reason’s my answer.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
Thanks to Grok, an AI by xAI, for aiding in expanding this article with prior material. The perspective and edits are mine. —Lewis Loflin
