The Bible and Ecology
The Christian understanding of ecological stewardship must first begin with God. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” Since the earth is the Lord’s, anyone who misuses or destroys God’s creation will ultimately answer to God. An example of this is found in Revelation 11:18: “The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” God is going to bring judgment on those who destroy His earth.
The stewardship of the earth is not just implied from God’s ownership of creation; it is explicitly given to mankind from God. Genesis 1:28 says, “And God blessed them [Adam and Eve]. And God said to them, “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 heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Subduing the earth meant there was work to be done. God gave mankind permission to use the earth’s natural resources, such as plowing fields and building houses. But permission to subdue is not permission to destroy. The earth’s natural resources must be managed properly. Likewise, dominion over the earth and animals was not a license to do whatever one wished; it was a charge to take care of them. This idea is also found in Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Even though mankind has since rebelled against God, the responsibility to work and keep God’s creation was never revoked; it’s still humanity’s responsibility. However, the sinful and greedy nature of mankind naturally gravitates toward exploitation and destruction, not stewardship.
In the past, exploitation of the earth may have had a local impact, but not a global one. This was due to smaller populations and limited technologies. But with the population around six billion and the technologies to do great and irrevocable ecological damage, there should be a new urgency to re-discover the biblical concept of stewardship.
In a national survey of pastors, the question was asked, “What are the most important obstacles to further development of an effective philosophy of creation that involves appropriate environmental concern and action by evangelicals?” Well over half the participants cited a “lack of teaching and preaching on the environment, particularly the failure to develop a robust theology of the creation.”
Many evangelicals have stayed away from the environmental movement because they do not want to be perceived as nature worshipers. But with the explicit theology of creation and stewardship of the earth found in the Bible, Christians have much to contribute to the broader environmental debate—and we just might find a world ready to listen.
a pdf version of this entry is available here
The stewardship of the earth is not just implied from God’s ownership of creation; it is explicitly given to mankind from God. Genesis 1:28 says, “And God blessed them [Adam and Eve]. And God said to them, “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 heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Subduing the earth meant there was work to be done. God gave mankind permission to use the earth’s natural resources, such as plowing fields and building houses. But permission to subdue is not permission to destroy. The earth’s natural resources must be managed properly. Likewise, dominion over the earth and animals was not a license to do whatever one wished; it was a charge to take care of them. This idea is also found in Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Even though mankind has since rebelled against God, the responsibility to work and keep God’s creation was never revoked; it’s still humanity’s responsibility. However, the sinful and greedy nature of mankind naturally gravitates toward exploitation and destruction, not stewardship.
In the past, exploitation of the earth may have had a local impact, but not a global one. This was due to smaller populations and limited technologies. But with the population around six billion and the technologies to do great and irrevocable ecological damage, there should be a new urgency to re-discover the biblical concept of stewardship.
In a national survey of pastors, the question was asked, “What are the most important obstacles to further development of an effective philosophy of creation that involves appropriate environmental concern and action by evangelicals?” Well over half the participants cited a “lack of teaching and preaching on the environment, particularly the failure to develop a robust theology of the creation.”
Many evangelicals have stayed away from the environmental movement because they do not want to be perceived as nature worshipers. But with the explicit theology of creation and stewardship of the earth found in the Bible, Christians have much to contribute to the broader environmental debate—and we just might find a world ready to listen.
a pdf version of this entry is available here
Labels: environmentalism, stewardship
posted on Friday, September 07, 2007 |
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