religiousaffections

     Why is it important for us as Christian to deal with the issue of environmental ethics?  Primarily because Christianity claims to be a comprehensive worldview, and to not have an answer for ethical questions concerning the environment is spiritually irresponsible.  Environmental ethics, global warming, and the human response is one of, if not the hottest topic up for discussion in popular culture today.  Look around the room; everything present is sustained by God’s creation - the wood cabinets, the leather chairs, the paper making up the books, and the oxygen that allows you to continue living.  Christians must provide environmental answers because humanity dwells on this earth - there is no spare planet that we can move to once we use this one up and it has wasted away.  Contrary to what most Christians think, we will spend eternity on earth, not in heaven.  Finally, God created all that we see (Gen 1:1-2) and so it must be important to him.  When he finished creating, he said that his creation was good.  Adam was placed in the Garden to work the ground and to keep/cultivate what God had given him as a gift (Gen 2:15).  The second command given to mankind was to work, keep, and cultivate God’s creation - certainly this speaks of the importance with which we should treat the topic of environmental ethics.

     The situation is improving among evangelical churches as they are becoming more aware of the importance of worshipping God in the way they interact with creation.  There are a few problems to consider.  In large part, pop-culture and the media has served to dictate to evangelicals the “What?” and the “How?” of environmental issues.  According to pop-culture and the media - the “What?” - is that humans are using up all the earth’s resources and that as a result the world is slowly melting.  They also say - the “How?” - is for everyone to start riding their bikes, stop hunting, and reduce their carbon footprints by driving hybrids and using low-flow shower heads.  The main problem is that no one is asking or answering the question “Why?”  Why environmental ethics?  Thus, without a theology, environmental ethics will be based on topical issues that will not motivate anyone to truly take action for the good of creation and certainly not for the good of their fellow man.

      In thinking about developing a theological ecology or a biblical environmental ethic, we must consider the three phases of redemptive history.  They are Creation, Distortion, and Redemption.  The creation account, recorded in Genesis 1 and 2 provides believers with the foundation necessary for developing an ethic of environmental responsibility.  In Genesis 1:26-29 we find two commands that gives Christians their start in the development of an environmental ethic.  First, God commands Adam and Eve to “fill the earth.”  This is not to be understood primarily as a command to reproduce.  It is more than just having children; it is a command to fill the earth with worshippers of God.  Secondly, God commanded that mankind “subdue” the earth or keep/cultivate it (also present in Gen 2:15).  In short, God was giving them a command to worship and obey in the way that they interacted with all that God had given them.  God gave his authority to man to oversee this creation.  What implications can we deduce from this scenario?  God created man and gave him a job - to raise worshippers and to take care of his Master’s creation.

     Distortion.  In Genesis 3, sin enters the world causing the great distortion of God’s creation.  As a result of Adam and Eve’s choice to pursue their own way, God placed a curse on creation, which would directly affect the two commands that he gave in Genesis 1 (Gen 3:16-19).  God commanded them to “fill the earth” and in his curse, God gave pain in childbirth for the woman.  Also, God commanded them to cultivate and take care of his creation, and God cursed the ground and gave Adam great toil in his pursuit to cultivate the ground.  It would literally fight back against him.

     Redemption.  From Genesis 3 on, the rest of Scripture is the record of God’s working through creation and humanity to bring about the redemption of all things both spiritual and physical.  Many people do not rightly understand what God is doing in this world.  Christians assume that eternity is spent in heaven and that this earth will burn up one day.  But this is not in keeping with Romans 8:18-25 where Paul writes about how creation is groaning for its redemption.  Revelation 21 and 22 describe a restored earth, not one that has been destroyed and recreated.  Due to the unfortunate translation of 2 Peter 3:10-13, Christians have often taken this passage to teach that God is going to burn up all that is one day.  Logically, some are driven to think along these lines, “If God is going to destroy this world one day, then why do we need to be concerned about taking care of it?”  Proper translation and interpretation of this passage will open one’s eyes to what Peter is really trying to teach here.  In context, Peter is encouraging holy living in light of Christ’s imminent return.  The Greek word translated “heavenly bodies” is used elsewhere in the NT to refer to the immature philosophies or base ideologies of culture.  A better interpretation of this text might go something like, “the heavens will be transformed, and the fundamental or base ideologies will be exposed - so live well because one day Christ is going to expose your entire life.”

     This general translation is in keeping with the theme of Christian Scripture - Creation, Distortion, and Redemption.  That is, God is on mission in this world, reclaiming all things to himself and restoring them to be as he originally intended.  Therefore, it is the Christian’s responsibility to respond to God’s mission in ways that will promote it, not hinder it.  God is reclaiming this world and all therein to himself - redeeming it for his good purposes.  As Christians we are to imitate the Father and Son’s redeeming nature in the way we deal with all things - the environment included. 

Please feel free to comment, I would love to hear thoughts, questions, or challenges!