by Steve Badger
The current environmental debate has failed to galvanize evangelical Christians the way some other social and political issues have. Many Christians don’t know what to think, believe, or do when it comes to working toward solving environmental problems. Perhaps this is because God’s word does not give us simple, direct commandments like “Thou shalt not pollute the Earth,” or “Thou shalt restore land ravaged by strip mining.” Rather we have to synthesize a biblical perspective both from select passages and principles drawn from the whole scriptural witness.
Does God care about environmental issues? Many scholars believe God’s commands in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 concerning the “Sabbath rest” indicate that He created Earth’s biosphere so that it needs rest. They further suggest that if God is interested in the land’s needs, then perhaps Christians should also care about environmental problems. But even if their interpretation is not accurate, without a doubt God is concerned about everything that affects mankind—and environmental issues fit that criterion.
Not only must Christians work to produce a biblical perspective of our responsibility to the environment, we must also defend the faith against those who would hold Christianity culpable for our current environmental problems.
On what basis do some contemporary secular thinkers blame the world’s environmental problems on the Judeo-Christian ethic? In the Genesis account of creation, God gives man “dominion” or rulership over Earth and its creatures (Gen. 1:26-28). This dominion attitude, they argue, has produced a culture that views all of nature’s resources as created for man’s good pleasure. People reared in the Judeo-Christian ethic, they maintain, see themselves as Earth’s rulers, and are thus prone to exploit its natural resources.
If this charge has any truth to it, it shouldn’t. In the context of this passage, God is giving dominion to humans to be exercised under God’s sovereignty. Thus, we are not ultimate overlords but chosen stewards. (A steward is a person who has been given temporary custody of another person’s property.) So human dominion of our planet should be understood to be under the auspices of the Creator—and only temporary. The temporal nature of our dominion should also serve to remind us that, as in all things, we will one day be required to give an account of our ecological stewardship.
Other critics charge that our understanding of end-time events makes us indifferent to environmental issues. They argue that our doctrine that this world will soon be destroyed and replaced by a new Earth (Is. 51:6, Zeph. 1:18, 2 Pet. 3:10-13, and Rev. 21:1) gives us license to ignore environmental issues. If you knew that your home would burn to the ground next week, would you spend your vacation painting it this week? Probably not.
But again, our eschatology should not motivate Bible-believers to ecological apathy. Since we have no idea how long we must wait for our Lord’s return, we also have no idea how long Earth’s resources must last. Further, our conviction of the Lord’s imminent return should always remind us of that impending reckoning.
These criticisms have made some Christians reluctant to participate in the environmental movement. Other believers are wary of environmental action groups because some of these organizations share the New Age movement’s pantheistic worship of nature. The Bible clearly warns us against worshipping anything that God has made rather than worshipping Him (Deut. 6:5; Rom. 1:18-20). But can we fail to be good stewards of the Earth just because some environmentalists are idolaters? No. Instead, we must find ways to proclaim and worship the only true God while we work with others to be conscientious ecological stewards.
If Judeo-Christian ethics are not responsible for our current ecological crises, what is? Many who have thoughtfully and prayerfully studied this question have concluded that at least three characteristics of our culture have conspired to produce these problems: (1) a pervasive materialism (that determines a person’s worth by how much he or she owns), (2) an insatiable greed (that drives people to always acquire more and more—never enough), and (3) a rampant relativism (that insists there are no absolute truths). These three unscriptural characteristics, not Bible-based Judeo-Christian ethics, are largely responsible for our environmental mess.
What attitude then should a Christian have toward environmental problems? A friend recently reminded me that the biblical “litmus test” for a Christian’s participation in any social or political activity is, as always, whether or not it comes under the lordship of Jesus Christ. In whatever way anything we do fails to come under His rulership, it is wrong.
Related to the question of a Christian’s participation in the environmental movement is the local church’s involvement. Both individual Christians and the corporate Body of Christ can properly work to solve environmental issues, just as we should be involved in working to solve social injustice and to protect the rights of those who cannot defend themselves (Isa. 1:17, Jer. 5:28, Jam. 1:27). But the primary focus of the New Testament Church must never become any social or political issue—no matter how important we think it is. None of these can ever replace the mission of the Church to proclaim forgiveness of sins through Jesus and to mature Christians in their faith-walk.
The Church should lead the way in solving our environmental problems by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and then discipling believers so that they (1) live a Spirit-led, rather than a materialistic, lifestyle; (2) replace greed—and every other form of idolatry—with the true worship of God (Jn. 4:23f); and (3) reject the relativism that has dominated this century by embracing biblical absolutes. And this role of the Church in striving to solve our ecological problems cannot—must not—be replaced with any other program.
No twisting of biblical truth will ever solve any of mankind’s problems, but a re-establishment of genuine scriptural stewardship will. And we Christians will always be able to find reasons for not actively participating in environmental actions. But can we also courageously look for and perform positive actions that demonstrate to the world and the Church that we recognize this world as a trust granted us by our Creator-Redeemer? I believe we can.
Sidebar: Environmental Exhortations
 | Set an example in resource conservation for your children and neighbors. |
| Don’t be afraid to work with non-Christians to solve environmental problems, but be sure your affiliations don’t compomise your faith or your witness to the community. |
| Refuse to work with or financially support organizations that promote the worship of nature. |
| Suggest the biblical perspective (offered in the article) to those you hear blaming Christianity for our environmental problems. |
| Don’t make participation in environmental action groups your basis for relationships with other Christians. |
| Promote biblical values that counter materialsim, greed, and relativism—in your home, school, church, and community. |
| Let the Holy Spirit guide you in finding your role in the stewardship of Earth.
Relevant Bible Passages |
| Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen. 1:26-28 |
| Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deut. 6:5 |
| When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands... Ps 8:3-6 |
| They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Rom. 1:25 |
| Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 1 Cor. 4:2. |
All passages from the New International Version of the Bible
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Copyright (C) 1995 Steve Badger
Document last revised: February 7, 1997
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