Greening faith - Christianity and environmental care

It is hard to be ignorant of environmental concerns unless you don’t own a TV, read the papers or hear the news occasionally. For the less fortunate, a look outside and sniff of the air may be enough to show you that humanity’s impact on the land is significant. In this hub I will be coming from the perspective that environmental concerns such as global warming and problematic green house emissions are valid and not overstated. It is not these issues themselves that I wish to tease out, but rather the intersection between the Christian faith and environmental responsibility.

Nature has a powerful effect on us. As you read, think about what nature means to you. I love the sea, the power of thundering waves, the relentless ebb and flow of the tide. I love the feeling of being at the mercy of the waves as the bear down on me when swimming, or the way they carry me along if I am lucky enough to catch one. I love the mountains, their sheer enormity, juxtaposed against my own smallness. I love to hike in the bush. I feel like I can achieve clarity and peace in my mind when I am out in nature. My thoughts subconsciously wander down spiritual paths. It flows from me as naturally as breathing, because I feel close to God when I am experiencing nature. I write from a position of bias. I am biased because I love the outdoors, and I am energised by it.

I think there is something innate in us to appreciate natural beauty. As we are made in God's image, I would suggest that the things that delight God's heart may also delight ours. And God delights in His creation.

There are many Christians who take issue with the current trend of the greening of the church. Here are some of the arguments presented in response to the question of the church actively acting to preserve and enhance the environment.

It has been argued that caring for the environment is almost idolatrous as there is danger of worshiping the created, rather than the creator. Worshiping nature is known as Pantheism, or the belief that God and the universe are identical.

Some people take a “me-centred” approach to environmental considerations. Importance is placed on “what is good for me” - an attitude rampant within and without the church alike. Central to this view is the belief that the environment should serve us, and that technological and economic advancement are of central importance. Care of the environment is subjected to what best serves economic need. This view is often justified with scripture.

Others suggest that environmental issues are not relevant to Christian life and evangelism, and distract from it - we are here to save souls not trees.  Put plainly, it is not our core business.

The first reason is simple.  We believe God created it.  How can we not value something God created? It seems nonsensical to value the creator but not his work.  It is like saying Monet was a great guy and then storing his paintings in a dirty old shed, or worse, painting over them for billboards or some other use.  In the story of creation as presented in Genesis, God describes each aspect of our world as good.  He clearly valued his own creation prior to any mention of people.

For those of you who like looking up passages, here are some references from the book of Psalms that reflect the importance of creation to God(Ps. 19 1-3; 104; 148).The psalms in general are full of references to God's power revealed through nature.  They also refer to creation itself worshiping God – eg  Psalm 96 :11-13.

Romans 1:20 tells us that God reveals his own nature through his creation.
From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature.

In Job ch 38 to 41  God finally responds to Job's questioning by outlining his power revealed through creation.  You almost get the sense that God is a bit like the grandmother with the brag book of all her grandchildren.  In Job 39  God says:  “Take a look at the mighty Hippopotamus.  I made it just as I made you.  It eats grass like an ox.  See its powerful loins and the muscles of its belly.  Its tail is as straight as a cedar.  Its bones are tubes of bronze.  Its limbs are bars of iron.  It is a prime example of God's amazing handiwork.  Only its Creator can threaten it.”

This is still true.  The only enemy of the hippopotamus is people.  No other creature can kill one.  The hippopotamus is hunted illegally for meat and its ivory teeth.  The pygmy hippopotamus weighs up to 500 pounds, and is in danger of extinction.  The primary threat to the hippopotamus is the destruction of habitat.

Secondly, God asks us to care for creation.  Aside from multiplying, it is the first thing God asks us to do, according to the book of Genesis.   Genesis 1:28 – we are told to subdue the earth and rule over the animals, fish and birds.  The word “rule” needs to be understood in a “whole bible context” view of what ruling or leadership is about.  Ultimately it is about loving servant-hood.  (Matthew 28:20 talks about the person who desires to rule must be the servant of all).  In Genesis 2:15 Adam is commanded to care and tend the garden.   We have already seen that God values all of creation, and his blessing is on all of creation.  Genesis 1:22 shows us that God blessed creatures, and commanded them to increase and fill the earth.  If we are looking at being responsible stewards of the earth, we need to monitor what we do to earth so that all of God's creation has the opportunity to be fruitful and fulfill its God-given purpose.

Interestingly, the Old Testament  has  much to say about land.  Leviticus is an instructive book to the Israelites about how to live their lives in relationship with God.  In Leviticus Ch 25 1-7 God instructs them to rest the land every seventh year.  This meant that they could plant and harvest what they wanted for six years, but on the seventh year they were to give the land a rest from human intervention.  They were explicitly told not to plant.  They were only allowed to eat what grew naturally, and then only as much as they needed as they were not to store food.  Animals were also allowed to eat whatever grew naturally.  This is a solid land care principle!  And, it is one that is relevant now.   God was encouraging his people to responsibly care for natural resources, for the land.  This is at odds with the open slather approach to land management now that leads to draining the land's resources to keep up with production needs.  Land and natural resource management is generally subjected to whatever advances productivity, provides fuel resources, and keeps the economy ticking.   This mindset contributes to pollution of our water ways, our air, desertification, deforestation, excess waste.  This approach to caring for the land is slowly destroying our environment, and habitat for plants and animals.   And it is also dramatically impacting the world’s poorest people.  

These quotes are from the “Environmental Stewardship (Creation Care) Guidelines for the Church of the Nazarene Constituency”. I downloaded the article some time ago but it seems to be either deleted or removed so I can’t provide a link to it. They provide considerable food for thought.

“The affluent world uses resources way out of proportion to its population. For example, with 5% of the world population, the average “ecological footprint” (how much productive land and water is needed to support one’s lifestyle) of the United States is 24 acres (10.6 hectares) per person. Worldwide, there exists only 5 biologically productive acres per person. If everyone used and discarded the amount of resources as those in the United States do, we would need over 5 planets to support the human population. For these reasons, Christians everywhere need to use our God-given natural resources with great wisdom”.

If you are interested in calculating your ecological footprint check out this site.  Again from the article:

"Our affluent society has such a destructive impact on the earth for two reasons: (1) consumer goods are relatively cheap and readily available, and (2) it is easy for us to use more than we need, and to waste what others need.

These quotes highlight materialism and selfishness that dominate our society. Materialism and selfishness don't readily allow valuing the environment, and also contribute to poverty and injustice. These issues are pertinent to all people, and must not be ignored by Christians - to do so is to walk the fine line of hypocrisy. I will write further about this in another hub.

Consider now the story of “Jim the evangelist” comes from a World Vision magazine article by Ross Langmead.

I visited El Salvador a few years ago and came across an American missionary called Jim. Jim’s mission in El Salvador was helping villagers to build self-composting mudbrick toilets. He had a sideline in terracing steep hillsides for agricultural purposes too. I immediately warmed to Jim as I watched how he operated. He lived in the village, spoke Spanish, had simple ways and was loved by the locals. His mission was holistic. He brought a message of Jesus’ love, and he lived it out by working alongside the locals for their social, economic and environmental welfare. They needed help, because lack of hygiene was causing problems, and they were using up all the firewood around their village and having to walk kilometres to get enough firewood for each evening’s meal. It’s not so long ago that in Christian mission, particularly in the evangelical wing of the church, we had to argue for holistic mission – meaning that the message we carry is not just spiritual but contains the seeds of transformation of the whole person. In other words, our mission was not only evangelism but also social action”.

Jim's story reflects a holistic approach to spirituality. People's social, economic, environmental and spiritual well-being all matter to God. Because Jim's ministry in El Salvador was holistic, God was able to use him to draw people to faith, and to improve their living circumstances in real tangible ways.

Environmental mismanagement and misuse is often caused by poverty (eg hunting the hippopotamus for its teeth. It can also directly cause poverty. Consider the impacts of increased desertification and deforestation for example.

How I live effects how others live – both now, and for future generations. It is also important to not over-spiritualize this – caring for creation simply makes sense! Why would we want our home to be ugly and poisoned? We don't have this attitude towards the homes we live in! We are always trying to beautify them. We fuss over keeping them clean. Surely it is inconsistent to not have an even greater regard for our global home. Caring for the environment, alongside seeking justice and caring for the poor, reflects God's command to love our neighbour as ourselves on a global scale. These features provide a context for our mission and evangelism.

I think that caring for God's creation should be a natural outworking of our Christianity. Loving and caring for God's creation, human and non-human, reflects God's heart, as all
of creation matters to God, and it is His desire to see all of creation as he intended it to be.

Romans 8:19-24
19For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. 21All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children.

Paul talks here talks about all of creation waiting to be restored. He is not only talking about people. He is referring to all creation – plants, animals, rocks etc. “God intends to liberate, or redeem, the created world along with his own children.”

I would like to encourage you however, that whatever you do towards caring for creation is significant. Someone once said to Mother Theresa referring to her work among the poor: “What can I do. I am but a drop in the ocean. Mother Theresa replied that the ocean is full of little drops.”