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Is Eco-Christianity God's Mandate?

The Need for Change

Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the necessity for wise choices when it comes to the environment. This is a result of the detrimental changes in the environment that can be plainly seen, such as the clouds of smog and toxic waterways that commonly surround major cities. Additionally, awareness has increased as more politicians and media sources espouse the benefits of conservation and alternative fuels. In response, citizens are showing greater concern and interest in changing unnecessary habits of consumption that can be destructive.

But there is concern and then there's panic.

Doomsday scientists and global warming figureheads are persistent in their efforts to instill a sense of urgency in the American populace. This has become increasingly easier as resistance to environmentalism has diminished. This should come as no surprise, considering the global nature of our media. Images of Antarctic ice shelves falling into the sea and enormous landfills of waste go a long way in motivating people to change. After all, no one wants more hurricanes to hobble major cities or sea levels to rise 20 feet, especially if it’s our fault. And so, a significant portion of Americans has become convinced that global warming is the kind of threat that could cause catastrophic changes to the earth.

On the other hand, there are those who spurn global warming advocates, citing other scientific reports that show little or no environmental change due to human actions. These global warming naysayers want harder data and more studies before they are willing to make "unrealistic" sacrifices. After all, the solutions offered by certain environmental extremists are absurd and clearly not feasible in our modern world.

Nonetheless, the current consensus is leaning toward the conclusion that we can no longer afford to be "here and now" citizens, but must be forward thinkers. Thinking about the future now may mean that we don’t see the direct benefit of our actions, but it may help us to be fortunate enough to avoid seeing the more immediate cost of irresponsibility. That is the heart of conservation, after all.

This isn't such a bad thing — in fact, there is a degree of this newfound environmental responsibility that is biblical. Clearly, we can do something, but what?

Getting to the Root of the Issue

The concern over the human impact on the planet has even penetrated the evangelical community, as evidence by the 2006 Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI)¹, signed by a number of Christian leaders, as well as the creation of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance and the associated Cornwall Declaration.² A poll of evangelicals conducted in response to the ECI showed that 95 percent of those polled agreed with the statement that "God gave us dominion over His creation, so we have a responsibility to care for it."³ This result is a very positive one because it shows a commitment to the mandate God gave Adam and Eve in Genesis:

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.⁴

From the beginning, the concept of earthly stewardship is infused in God's command to human beings.

The poll had another interesting result: only 51 percent agreed that the U.S. should take steps to address global warming, even at high economic cost. That means that almost half of evangelicals who agreed with the first statement, and therefore want to be good earthly stewards, think that this stewardship does not need to translate into national legislation. Now, to be fair, a percentage of these Christians probably have a problem with the term "global warming" and on that basis alone reject the statement. Others may fear — and perhaps rightly so — that the government will overstep personal freedoms through unchecked policy. Additionally, this number reflects the view by some evangelicals that the hype about environmental issues detracts from other pressing social and moral issues.⁵ But there is another possibility, one that reflects the cultural climate of our day.

We embrace materialism almost as if it is a virtue.

Consider our national and personal debt and contrast it to all the stuff we are surrounded by. Most of us look at this situation without even blinking because we have been raised on debt, and the lack of it seems like a fantasy. You can also look at the exodus of manufacturing to China and other countries while U.S. service industries have multiplied. Product lines are becoming increasingly individualized, as each one of us desires things that define us and separate us from others.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to reconcile this kind of rampant materialism with biblical environmental stewardship.

Materialism inherently drives us to want more than what we have. And to get it we want to pay as little as possible. This sort of lifestyle has an enormous ripple effect. For example, to keep manufacturing costs at a minimum most factories use the least expensive materials they. If it's cheaper to use plastic, they will. If the waste they produce — which could be around for a thousand years — doesn't affect the bottom line, then it's just not their problem. It is also not their problem how much carbon dioxide and toxic fumes are released into the air from delivering those goods all over the country. Economic demand "demands" it.

The lesson here is that there is no end to the path of destruction that materialism will produce when it is fueled by greed and allowed to thrive unchecked. In the end, it is a cancer to any culture.

What Can We Possibly Do?

Regardless of one's position on global warming, it is clear that our materialistic desires have their consequences. Recent problems with toxic chemicals in Chinese imports⁶ should be a clear example of the outcomes of a "more-for-less" mindset. At the same time, we cannot convert to some sort of pagan religion where we abandon all earthly possessions and live at one with nature.

So, here are two suggestions for sobering up and becoming responsible stewards of the earth.

1. Quench materialistic desires. Our culture is increasingly obsessed with possessions that are personally empowering. As Christians, we must continually fight against this vortex. We can do that by remembering that each and every thing we obtain has a price and a cost. The price is on the label, but the cost is harder to gauge. Unchecked, materialism will corrupt our souls, our families, and even our nation.
   
   Jesus offered a way to temper materialistic tendencies in the gospel of Matthew saying,
   
   

   So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.⁷

   Though it is difficult to adopt this mindset in our current age, it is the path of freedom.
   
   
2. Actively choose stewardship. James 2:14 says "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" Can we not say the same thing about the biblical perspective about environmental stewardship? We must go beyond passive agreement that something needs to be done and actively do something.
   
   Recently, TIME magazine published a list called "51 Ways to Save the Environment."⁸ Though couched within a framework of global warming, it's a nice summary of ways that individuals — not industry, the government or the whole human race — can help to protect God's creation. In general, it is worthwhile trolling through lists like this to find those simple, yet efficacious ideas that help us to be responsible stewards.
   
   
   We are to choose the right way simply because it is the right thing to do.
   Now, recycling one aluminum can or plastic bag from the grocery store may seem trivial relative to the scale of the pollution or the threat of climate change. And it is. Truth be told, the benefits of recycling can only be realized when it's multiplied many times either by frequency or large numbers of people. But within a biblical worldview, our motivation for choosing the right thing to do cannot be rooted in the scale of the problem or impact of our actions. Instead, we are to choose the right way simply because it is the right thing to do.
   
   Furthermore, the right thing to do is not defined by the world prophesying impending doom, but it is defined by God in what He says about His creation and our relationship to it.

Setting a New Standard

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How do you fight against materialism?

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When it comes to cultural trends and movements like neo-environmentalism, Christians must continually seek a biblical perspective. We mustn't allow ourselves to be manipulated by scare tactics on one hand, and we cannot sink into indifference about our environmental impact on the other. Every Christian can do something, even if it is daily combating the materialistic idolatry that saturates our culture.