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on Ecology
Must Christians Go Green? I saw an ad for The Green Bible: More than a thousand verses about the earth are lettered in green. It may come as a shock that the Bible mentions Earth care, since some Christians seem content to abandon our planet to ruin or think that only “environmental nut jobs” are concerned with going green. But God’s Word does offer insight into how we should treat what He created. Most important is the simple fact that it was God who created (Genesis 1:1). Like you and me, the earth is part of what He made and considered “very good” (1:31). He entrusted His handiwork to humanity, telling Adam and Eve to “fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over [it]” and placing them in the garden to “tend and keep it” (1:28; 2:15; Psalm 115:16). In this light, the pressing questions are “How can we be good stewards of the earth? How can we treat God’s creation with respect, a creation that groans with us in eager expectation of redemption (Romans 8:19-22)?” Should God-loving, Bible-believing Christians “go green”? The answer is both yes and no. Some items labeled as the “green agenda” are simply incompatible with a biblical worldview. For instance, the notion that humans are essentially parasites on this planet cannot be supported from Scripture. Nor can the idea that our primary role is to serve the needs of the earth, rather than the other way around. Neither of these reflects Bible truth about the created order. At the same time, much of green thinking does represent God’s desire for creation. For instance, the concept that we should use, not abuse, the earth is certainly a biblical ideal that ought to influence our thoughts on pollution and waste production/disposal. The notion that we are responsible for using the earth to leave abundant natural resources for the next generation is supported by God’s Word and should guide our choices about farming, industry, and other areas. The call to simplicity, contentment, and gratitude for limited possessions is biblical and ought to play a large part in determining what we value, what we obtain, and how we dispose of it when we’re done. These broad strokes require specific application in many complex areas of everyday life: the way we shop, eat, work, dispose of packaging, vote, and so forth. May God give us the wisdom to know how to apply scriptural principles and be faithful to His commission from the Garden of Eden. And may our descendants find cause to be thankful for the proactive work of today’s Christians who decided to care for the planet in a way that honored God and future generations — even if it earned us the label of “going green.”
Global Warming? Can faith and ecology coexist? Is the global warming phenomenon fact or fiction? Without a doubt, our northern and southern hemispheres were once covered with large ice caps. These resulted from a sudden tilting of the earth on its polar axis — the effect of water pooling like a huge raindrop on one side of the earth as it rotated during the great flood of Noah’s time. This 23.5-degree tilt is just the right angle to give us four seasons and the climate differential from equator to polar cap. One degree of change in this deflection either way would cause the earth to freeze or burn. What a great God we serve! These ice caps formed glaciers that gouged great holes in our planet. The Great Lakes were formed in this way and filled by the melting ice. Yes, the earth has warmed following the shock of this tilting. This conclusion, reached by a number of scientists, makes the Ice Age post-diluvial — third millennium b.c. This places it within the “young earth” conception of time and maintains the integrity of the Bible’s version of creation. God’s truth prevails. Global temperature is not man-made; its changes result from the natural effects of oceanic upheavals as waters circulate. This causes cycles of global warming and cooling, approximately forty years in length. Other explanations (cows belching, fossil fuels, Freon gases, etc.) are often politically motivated and have little, if any, effect on the greater environment. Man was given dominion over the earth and a responsibility to care for it until Christ returns. This gives man and the church a role of stewardship — faith and ecology, not doom and despair for political gain.
Work of Grace The Father’s intent and instruction to man at the start was that we rule over all God made: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas (Psalm 8:6-8, KJV). We see the concept of “rule” in Adam’s relationship with Eden’s animals. It emphasizes care and nurturing (Genesis 2:15, 19), as when a man “rules” his house well. Such gentleness and tender-loving care would mark Adam as a good steward in God’s garden. Everything on earth — each plant, blade of grass, piece of fruit, fish in the stream, crayfish, lobster, whale, nightingale, cockatiel, and dove — is His, for the Lord God made it all (Psalm 24:1). We have not created one iota of the creatures around us over which we rule. How humbled we should be as we reflect on this, and how honored! We are masters of what we have not created nor earned. It is by God’s grace that we were assigned the care of creation. Being stewards doesn’t mean we are free to exploit the earth for selfish gain. In the name of economic progress, bowing before the gods of materialism, societies run roughshod over nature. God left everything to us in good shape, but we have subsequently made a mess of things.
E-Care: Our Responsibility? Over the past century, much of the world has enjoyed unprecedented improvements in human health and life expectancy, political and economic liberties, and scientific advances. Has this progress been more threat to the natural environment than blessing to humanity? Biblical guidelines can help us clear the muddied waters of ecology. Sound environmental stewardship begins with key concepts from God’s Word:
Some environmentalists insist on “biological egalitarianism,” giving equal value and rights to all life forms. This unwisely negates the unique role and responsibility granted to people as stewards of God’s creation. Lowering them to the level of animals leads to beastly treatment of humans and removes them from the equation of creation care. In His instructions to Adam and Eve, God elevated humans above all non-humans with the responsibility of environmental stewardship (Genesis 1:26-28). While attempting to mitigate competing demands, human needs trump non-human needs when the two are in conflict. People alone have been created with rationality and moral capacity to exercise stewardship, to accept accountability for their choices, and to take responsibility for other creatures. Rejecting human stewardship is to embrace no stewardship at all. The ideal vision of environmental stewardship consists of God and His perfect law at the core and humans acting as accountable stewards. Since the Fall, creation has been subject to the curse of futility and corruption (Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 8:20, 21). Through Christ’s death, a process of restoration and reconciliation has begun (Romans 5:10, 11, 15-21), including the broader work of delivering all creation from its bondage (8:19-23). Meanwhile, freedom and responsibility must coexist within a legal framework that holds people accountable for harm they may cause to others or to the environment (13:1-7). The most effective stewardship is through rigorous commitment at the local level with virtuous human behavior in the workplace and in the government. There can be a positive correlation between economic growth and environmental quality. As we await the fullness of God’s kingdom, we continue to combat evil in ourselves and in our world. And we seek better ways to love God by honoring Christ and keeping His commandments. Greater concern and better means for dealing with environmental issues usually correlate with greater prosperity. Finding ways for nature and humanity to coexist requires ingenuity, economic freedom, human effort, and ultimately complete deliverance through God’s redemptive plan for all creation.
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