How should we live? A Christian response to environmental ethics

Introduction

Human beings have a unique power to affect the created world; we constantly modify our surroundings and develop the world, often in a way that results in eternal consequences. As Christians there are many questions to address when we consider our role of power over the creation. How should Christians respond to questions of environmental stewardship and ethics? Should a Christian, or even the church as a whole, ally itself with environmental movements to fight climate change, save endangered species and provide guidelines on where society should get its food? Furthermore, how is the Christian response to environmental issues shaped by individual eschatology? Certainly, much of the response is shaped by individual understanding of Christ’s return and what end times will look like. Although some of these questions may not appear as topics of sermons, bible stories, or theological conversations, the Christian role as stewards of the creation is clearly defined in the Genesis narrative and confirmed throughout the scriptures and as a result should therefore be taken seriously. Out of commitment to serving God, and caring for the things that He cares about Christians should foster a sense of environmental responsibility, placing creation care at the basic conviction of the four levels of ethical considerations.[1]

As an undergraduate student I studied environmental studies with a strong conviction that God has called his people to be stewards of the creation and play an active role in redeeming creation. My theology and worldview was shaped by these convictions. I was convicted that environmental stewardship was an issue of social justice and was something that I was called to participate in. I enjoyed talking theology, hermeneutics, exegesis and worldview with fellow classmates who were involved in the religion and theology department but found my greatest calling in caring for creation; studying and learning how to be a better steward as I understood my role before God. But, now I am enrolled full time in seminary and my predominant environmental convictions have been replaced with mild apathy. My meticulous composting and recycling has slid into an undiscerning toss towards the garbage can, my focus on personally reducing greenhouse gases has been surpassed by an urgency to get to where I need to go, on time, in my car. As I reflect upon this change in my own life I wonder whether there are aspects of those previous convictions that I need to incorporate back into my life.

Reflecting on this transition in my life has helped me understand that it was predominantly the communities and workplaces in which I was involved that shaped my understanding of environmental stewardship. Upon completion of a four year undergraduate degree, I accepted a position with a conservation authority in Eastern Ontario where my job was largely to write reports about current environmental conditions, making recommendations to preserve and improve conditions. My creation care ethic was sidelined by conflicting worldviews and I slowly grew more cynical about the state of the environment and the apparent lack of conviction that drove my fellow colleagues to do the work they did. After this contract expired I accepted a job to sell environmental monitoring equipment and became quickly disenfranchised by the profits involved in being a “middle man” distributor. I left the environmental sector in search of a greater purpose, seeing that ultimately investing in God and people were the only things that truly mattered. It was this conviction that brought me to seminary, and continues to lead me along my current path.

However, God loves his creation, and as a Christian, especially one in a position of leadership I have a role to play in caring for the creation and participating in God’s plan for redeeming the world. I will use this paper as an opportunity to outline the reasons that Christians should responsibly use their power over the earth to actively care for the creation and why I should continue to maintain my creation care ethic, even if it seems to have been lost for a while. I will argue for why I believe that God has given humans the biblical task of caring for His creation, and then briefly survey the historical development of the Christian response to environmental ethics. I will then touch briefly on the eschatological challenges that appear when discussing environmental issues. And then finally attempt to shape environmental ethics a basic conviction that I believe should be close to the core of every Christian’s belief.

1. Why care for the creation? Creation belongs to God.

Humans, as stewards of the creation, are given a power that is second only to that of God. Our corporate ability to change the environment in which we live is one of the greatest responsibilities we have as God’s image bearers. Psalm 24:1-2 provides an appropriate starting point for understanding the responsibility to care for creation, it reads:

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it on the seas

and established it on the waters.

This passage echoes the creation story and evidently places the earth within the Creator’s hands and lays a solid foundation for why Christians must care for the creation. As temporary stewards of the creation humans are accountable for the changes they make to it. Just as the parable of the talents (Matt 25, Luke 19) tells of a master being pleased by the servants who put their resources to good use, so too will the Creator be pleased by those who steward His creation well.

In an ever changing world, events occur that remind us that God is ultimately in control. Although we have the ability to change the creation, His acts far out measure our abilities to change the creation. Natural disasters demonstrate the Lord’s power; contrasting that what a mining company may do over the course of several decades, the Lord’s hand does in a matter of minutes (e.g. Mt. St. Hellens in 1980). Recent global disasters in Japan (March 10, 2011) remind us of God’s power in comparison to our own. While the list of natural disasters and their impacts on humanity is extensive, the point remains clear that even the world that humans create and attempt to control can be regularly thrown into chaos by events that can only be described as “acts of God.”

The New Testament, like the Old Testament, reminds readers that the creation belongs to the Lord and that he truly loves his creation. John 3:16 says that God loved the world, not just human beings regardless of their unique position of stewardship within the world.[2] Furthermore, Jesus’ interactions with the creation show his power over it by walking on water (Matt 14), or by allowing the disciples to catch an unprecedented amount of fish (Luke 5), or when he tells the Pharisees that if the people stop praising him even the rocks will cry out (Luke 19). As Jesus lives within the creation, His death and resurrection ultimately allow redemption for all of creation.

Prominent writers of the early environmental movement often reflect the marvel of creation that is revealed through scriptures. Thoreau said, “In the wilderness is the preservation of the world.”[3] These writers were aware that nature held something special, a connectedness that ultimately reveals God, as Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

The biblical case for caring for creation is strong, one does not have to search very hard through the biblical texts to find verses that show just how much God love his creation. However, space does not permit the listing of the extensive texts that support caring for creation.[4]

2. A Historical Overview

The environmental movement has historically pointed to Christianity as being the root of environmental issues, arguing that the concept of dominion and the privileged role that the scriptures gives to human beings has allowed for abuse of the earth. This mentality is characterized by the idea that “God gave us the earth to use for our own good, which justifies using the earth's resources (including fossil fuels) much as we have done in the past two centuries.”[5] This is exactly the mindset that Lynn White Jr. railed against in his essay, The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis. White’s essay draws out many of the ethical issues that Christians must navigate when dealing with environmental issues. White says that, “Quite unintentionally, changes in human ways often affect nonhuman nature.”[6] White emphasizes three indictments against religious worldviews which have been applied to Christianity. First, that they influence social practices, a religious thought if convicting will affect how people live. Secondly, that religion tends toward an anthropocentric worldview, emphasizing the dominance of humans. And thirdly, that salvation stories can threaten the world as we know it as people choose to ignore the here and now.[7]

Are White’s accusations valid? Has the colonial spread of Christianity and the ideologies that accompanied it allowed well intentioned Christians to ignore God’s first command to, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth (Gen 1:28).”? A brief diversion to word study is required to negate possible misinterpretations of the word dominion. The word dominion comes from a Hebrew word that means “higher on the root of a plant.” This meaning acknowledges that humans are dependent on everything below them, not that they have unrestricted ownership.[8] The connectedness of humans to all other life-forms should therefore lead to an ethic of stewardship rather than the subversive destruction of the earth.

White’s accusations carry a degree of degree of truth and serve as a wakeup call for those Christians who have neglected the earth and treated it as a commodity to be mined, pillaged and sold, but, White doesn’t paint the whole picture. Those who criticize Christianity as being a source of environmental destruction fail to acknowledge those from within the faith tradition who wrote on behalf of creation. Certainly the early monastics such as Anthony, whose biography Athanasius recorded (c. 350 C.E.), had a deep respect for the Lord’s creation and said that “My book is the nature of created things. In it when I choose I can read the words of God.”[9] Furthermore, monastics such as St. Francis of Assisi wrote in depth about the role of creation and the beauty of it. Francis knits together biblical passages in the Canticle of Brother Sun,[10] to produce a poem exalting the way God is revealed through creation. The list of influential Christians who cared for Creation is long and distinguished[11], reinforcing the understanding that caring for creation is not an option for tree-hugging environmentalists, nor is it a new faith; bur rather has been humanity’s vocation from the first words God spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden.

3. Eschatology

The way the church deals with eschatology goes a long way to influence the urgency with which environmental issues are addressed. Eschatology as it pertains to environmental issues can be polarized in two directions; that Christ’s return will result in an Armageddon event that will destroy the earth, rendering creation care meaningless, or secondly, that Christian’s are called to be agents of redemption who participate in restoring the creation. The eschatology of the Early Church sided with the latter position which is reflected in the Nicene Creed, stating that Christ’s kingdom shall have no end.[12] N.T. Wright suggests that instead of embracing a role of stewardship, the church, both Catholic and Protestant has “embraced the belief that the ultimate destiny of God’s people is ‘heaven,’ seen as somewhere detached from ‘earth.’ So, the aim of Christianity as a whole, and a conversion, justification, sanctification, and salvation itself, is seen in terms of leaving ‘earth’ behind and going ‘home’ to a place called ‘heaven.’”[13] Romans 8:18-27 points to humanity’s role in restoring the creation, that God’s people are not “destined merely to enjoy a relaxing endless vacation in a place called “heaven,” but that they are designed to be God’s stewards, ruling over the whole creation with healing and restorative justice and love.” [14] In fact, Verse 21 says that the creation itself will be set free from the slavery that consists in corruption.

Much of the world seems to ignore any and all eschatological dimensions, in favor of individual hedonism and rampant consumption, as the role of religious values dwindles away.[15] As individuals seek their own pleasure and power, environmental issues only grow in scale. In response the church needs to stand up, be counter-cultural and participate in environmental stewardship. N.T. Wright says, “The question of how you think about the ultimate future has an obvious and direct impact on how you think about the task of the church in the present time and how it relates to the current state of the environment.”[16] But regardless of one’s understanding of eschatology, Christians should recognize that, “we already participate in a prolep-tic way in the new creation which was initiated in and with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”[17] In light of an already initiated new creation, we must strive towards the positive improvement of the creation, not to simply exploit what is left of it.

4. Creation care as a basic conviction.

God placed Adam and Eve in a garden where they were dependent upon their environment to sustain them. This narrative establishes how humans should relate to the creation, but the narrative is not complete, it is ongoing as we work within the creation to God’s glory and honor. Our calling is to operate as priests of creation, restoring the relationship between God and all of his creatures, it is an active responsibility.[18] Christians cannot sit idly by as others take up the task of caring for the earth. Author and missionary Edward Brown acknowledges that environmental issues are moral issues that the church needs to address.[19]

4.1 Jesus was not an Ascetic.

An application of the four levels of moral ethics can help us to evaluate how where to situation environmental issues within the Christian’s ethic. At a basic conviction level we acknowledge that Jesus lived within the creation, he worked within it as a carpenter, taking wood and changing it into useful tools and homes (Mark 6:3). He was not an ascetic like John the Baptist and people criticized him for that. Jesus vocation as a carpenter shows us that it is okay to responsibly change the surroundings; cutting down trees to build houses is necessary and good. His life shows that catching fish to eat and make a living is good but he never taught his followers to exploit the creation.[20] This basic understanding of Jesus allows us to freely live within the creation, to work and change it, and to harvest the earth’s resources for food, shelter and our own enjoyment. However, this basic understanding is not an open invitation to exploit and destroy the creation, or to use all of the available resources leaving nothing to future generations. To do so would be to become anthropocentric seeking first our own desires, and interests.

4.2 Theocentric vs. Anthropocentric

God is not anthropocentric; his plan for redemption is not limited to the only human beings. In the story of Noah (Gen 6—9), God shows that he cares for all the creatures within the creation by calling Noah to gather all the creatures and preserve them as God enacts a judgmental redemption upon the world. Like Noah, Christians are called to care for all of God’s creatures. Above all though, they are called to love and serve God, to love the things that he loves, and care about the things he loves, including His creation. Our measure of success and progress should be theocentrically based; based upon knowing and serving God rather than economic growth or continual consumption.[21] When asked to summarize the extent of the law, Jesus responds, to love God and to love one’s neighbor. Since all of creation matters to God, it only seems fitting that to love God is to care for His creation.[22] As we love God and care for His creation, we have the opportunity to see that the creation reflects His handiwork. Augustine wrote:

Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead, He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?[23]

Being trustworthy stewards of creation ensures that other people will be able to experience God through creation. Therefore a Christian ethic towards the environment is necessary as we seek to glorify God with every aspect of our life.

Conclusion

As Christians who are living in an already initiated new creation our primary calling is to love and serve the Lord, and then to love our neighbors. Out of these two convictions we are called likewise to care for the planet. While I have developed a stronger basic conviction that people and God are what truly matter to eternity I also fostered a clearer understanding of the Christian's role in environmental ethics. Investing in all of these things that God loves has eternal consequences. As we accept our task to be stewards of the creation, we joyfully are able to participate in God's plan for redemption. Caring for the creation is both a moral and ethical issue. It requires a Christian response that is balanced and reflects the message of Scripture. In no way should caring for creation surpass the need to care for human live and well being, but in many cases the two will go hand in hand. The creation reveals the creator and God calls his people to be active stewards who participate in the redemption of an already renewed creation.

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[1] Stassen and Gushee, Kingdom Ethics, 100-115

[2] Peterson, Changing Human Nature, 15

[3]Jenkins, W., Ecologies of Grace, 8

[4] Harper Collins has published an NRSV version of the Bible called the Green Bible, where texts that support creation care have been written in green lettering, similar to a red letter bible. While some of these texts seem like an exegetical stretch, the Green Bible is a helpful resource for those who share the sense that God has called humans to be stewards of creation.

[5]Climenhaga, Daryl., Theology of the environment, 82

[6]White, Lynn Jr. The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis, 1203

[7]Jenkins, W., Ecologies of Grace, 11

[8]Sleeth, M., Serve God, Save the Planet, 35

[9]Sorrell, R. St. Fancis of Assisi and Nature, 16

[10]Sorrell, R. St. Fancis of Assisi and Nature, 101

[11] Sleeth, M., Teachings on creation through the ages, I-98

[12]Wright, N.T., Jesus is Coming - Plant a Tree, I-74

[13]Wright, N.T., Jesus is Coming - Plant a Tree, I-72

[14] Wright, N.T., Jesus is Coming - Plant a Tree, I-75

[15] Schwarz, The Eschatological Dimension of Ecology, 324

[16] Wright, N.T., Jesus is Coming - Plant a Tree, I-73

[17] Schwarz, The Eschatological Dimension of Ecology, 324

[18]Peterson, J. Changing Human Nature, 28

[19]Brown, E. Our Father’s World, 131

[20]Brown, E. Our Father’s World, 48

[21] Schwarz, 336

[22] Peterson, Changing Human Nature, 48

[23] Augustine in Teachings on Creation through the Ages, I-101