KEEPERS OF THE
GARDEN: CHRISTIANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT-
AN ADVENTIST PERSPECTIVE
A Paper Presented at
the Dialogue Meeting Between the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches and the General
Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Jongny, Switzerland
John T. Baldwin, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology
Seventh-day Theological Seminary
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, Michigan
April 2001
Copyright © 2001 John T. Baldwin
Introduction
Today, we join in dialogue to discover beneficial Christian responses to the pressing environmental crisis. (1) This piece begins with some classic, encouraging lines from the Word of God, and a statement regarding the shape of the essay.
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" (Ps 24:1).
"Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the
earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it
to be inhabited" (Isa 45:18).
The significant words "he formed it to be inhabited" reveal God's estimation of the value of our earthly environment, and thereby imply our need to be responsible earth inhabitants. In addition, this biblical language indicates that the earthly habitat is not a fortuitous accidental phenomenon of little worth. Rather, the earth's environment is a divinely designed home for responsible human stewards. In this respect God's love for us is shown by His method of creating our habitat. Calvin writes powerfully about how God establishes this point when creating-to use Calvin's famous words-"this most glorious theater" (2) :
God himself has shown by the order of Creation that he created all things for man's sake even though it would have been no more difficult for him to have completed in one moment the whole work together in all its details than to arrive at its completion gradually by a progression of this sort [six days]. But he willed to commend his providence and fatherly solicitude toward us in that, before he fashioned man, he prepared everything he foresaw would be useful and salutary for him. How great ingratitude would it be now to doubt whether this most gracious Father has us in his care, who we see was concerned for us even before we were born! (3)
Unfortunately, because of unsustainable interactions by human beings with the environment, we humans have sadly exhibited the ingratitude about which Calvin speaks. In consequence of this human exploitation, an ecological crisis is underway. Some scientists are even saying that "We are living on borrowed time, and tragically, we are borrowing the time from coming generations . . . . The longer this current generation puts off coming to terms with the carrying capacity of the biosphere-living sustainable-the harder it will be for future generations to make it." (4)
In light of this need, this article considers three issues: 1) the biblical
basis for environmental concern as present in the principles of the biblical
doctrine of creation both general and specific, 2) aspects of the current
environmental crisis, and 3) positive, practical steps which we, as Christians,
can take to address the environmental crisis.
The Biblical Doctrine of Creation as the Basis
for the Christian Ecological Response
Selected Creation Principles of a General Nature
With Calvin, Adventists concur that it is necessary to employ the Scripture (Calvin's famous "spectacles" (5)) with eyes, as he says, which are "illumined by the inner revelation of God through faith" (6) in order to understand the true significance of the world, and we would add, to appreciate fully the environmental crisis and to be faithful keepers of the garden. With this understanding we turn to important language in the Gospel of John, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God . . .without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:1-3). While current leading Christian thinkers in the discussion of science and religion may represent contrasting approaches to origins, these same theologians and scientists are deeply committed to some form of a faith vision which holds that the cosmos represents the creation of God, and of God the Logos, as outlined in John 1:1-3. (7) This means that whether by lure or persuasion of future realization, as in process theology, (8) whether by invisible "non-interventionist objective special divine action," at the quantum level, as suggested by thinkers such as Robert John Russell, (9) or whether inferred at the empirical level, as indicated by William Dembski and other individuals in the new intelligent design movement, (10) scientists and theologians who are Christians concur in the stunning truth that without Christ's input of some kind, nothing was made that was made. Indeed, Christ is the Lord of creation, rendering the environment of the earth, even in its fallen condition, very precious.
Echoing and expanding the Lordship of Christ regarding this aspect, physicist and theologian Peter Hodgson, head of the Nuclear Physics Theoretical Group and the Nuclear Physics Laboratory, University of Oxford, writes that "God is the supreme Lord of nature, who can make and unmake its laws and bring it into being, modify it, or extinguish it at will." (11)
However, the word "Logos" in John 1:1-3 carries new significant depths of meaning for today's scientists, theologians, and Christians. The Greek range of meanings of the word logos includes concepts such as, "word," "logic," "reason," and "information." Thus, for our purposes today, if we take a minimal meaning of logos as "information," the following translation of a significant portion of John 1:1-3 results: "without divine information, was not anything made that was made." This interpretation might inform our understanding of the origin, for example, of the genetic code and its language.
Moreover the creative divine input by the Logos is commonly held by Christians to be of at least two different, but vitally important, kinds of creative power briefly summarized in Colossians 1:16-17. The passage first tells us that "all things have been created by Him" (Col 1:16). This is understood as the originating creation ex nihilo as suggested by language in Hebrews 11:3 as follows: "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." This means that matter is not some reality existing eternally alongside God, but that it and we are ultimately and absolutely dependent upon God for our being.
Second, Colossians 1 indicates that Christ's creative power does not stop with creation ex nihilo. Rather, according to verse 17, we discover that "in Him all things hold together." Hebrews 1:3 conveys the same idea as follows: "He . . . upholds all things by the word of His power." These passages imply that Christ is continually sustaining the being of all reality moment by moment, representing what might be called a "gap-less economy" at the sustaining level, to use Van Till's phrase. (12) This means that every heart beat is an occasion for us to thank and glorify its author, Jesus Christ.
In broad perspective, these texts also imply that we can say in faith that
Jesus Christ upholds the electro-weak force, the strong nuclear force, and
gravity. This means, among other things, that the galactic universe does not
run on its own inherent power, but that Christ momentarily upholds each sun in
its orbit. (13) Everything, including the
subhuman world, is truly absolutely dependent upon God. This indicates the
relation between God and the world. The latter is not God. Rather, the world is
upheld by God. This renders nature an extension, as it were, of God's
providence and love, in contrast to the notion of a pantheistic presence of
deity in nature that prevails outside the three monotheistic religions and
seems to be found in New Age ideas. Thus, nature should receive the benefits of
Christian stewardship not because it is God, but because it is valued by God.
These considerations lead to a discussion of specific creation principles
applicable to our environmental crisis.
Specific Creation Principles Appropriate to Environmental Concerns
An angel's message in Revelation 14:7 carries significant environmental implications. In its apocalyptic textual setting, Seventh-day Adventists understand the angel's message in Revelation 14:7 as an end time communication calling all inhabitants of earth to "worship him who created the heaven, earth, sea, and fountains of waters." The implications of this passage provide, in part, the Adventist theological basis for concern with ecological issues as discussed below.
While being a definite allusion or verbal parallel to the language of part of the fourth commandment of Exodus 20:11, the specific created items mentioned by the angel in Revelation 14:7 refer to realities created on days two and three of creation. (14) This means that although the angel is alluding to the creation of the earth and its inhabitants by God in a general way, the angel is focusing specifically on the creation of the original environments, i.e., upon the creation of the three basic earth habitats, namely, the atmosphere (Gen 1:6-8), the sea basins, and the land forms (Gen 1:9-10).
The absence in Revelation 14:7 of an important fourth commandment phrase highlights the restricted focus of the passage. The well-known phrase in the Exodus 20:11 passage, "and all that in them is," is absent in Revelation 14:7, which uses the striking substitute phrase, "and fountains of waters." This substitute phrase restricts the Revelation 14:7 description of created entities to the habitats created on days two and three of creation week as indicated above. In its Exodus setting (Exodus 20:22), the phrase, "all that in them is," refers to the filling of the habitats subsequently in creation week. In this context, it is comforting to know that in the creation narrative, after creating the land, God calls the earth "good" (Gen 1:10). In other words, the life sustaining habitats are indeed good, and should be so considered by all Christians.
The restricting focus of Revelation 14:7 highlights the goodness and value of the environment in the sight of the Creator in the end time. Thus, the Revelation 14:7 passage suggests that in these times, human beings are being called by God to consider the divine origin and purpose of these life sustaining habitats and environments and, by implication, their extreme value, and therefore their need for human care and protection. Thus, the passage calls humans to worship the only Creator, who made all of earth's geologic habitats ready for filling.
According to the account in Genesis 1, God fills the habitats by calling into existence the great forests, plants, and fruit trees, and then calling this vegetation "good" (Gen 1:12). It is very important for us today to consider our forests still as "good" and valuable, and to care properly for them, as noted subsequently in this paper. Later the Genesis account describes God as filling the sea basin habitats with aquatic creatures of all kinds, and the atmospheric environment with birds, all pronounced "good" (Gen 1:20-23). God completes the work of filling the land environment or habitat by creating animals and by His crowning work, the creation of human beings who display His image (Gen 1:26). All of this God declares to be "very good" (Gen 1:31).
In sum, the special focus of Revelation 14:7 is very interesting, because it turns our attention in the end time to the significance of the environment which God has originally created good. Unfortunately, we humans have disturbed its goodness. The Revelation 14:7 passage implies that, of all people, Christian believers should be intensely interested in, and protective of, the environment. This conclusion underscores the appropriateness of our gathering to dialogue about this very important topic.
In light of these reflections, some remarks by theologian John Cobb Jr. regarding the status of the environment theologically are instructive. He suggests, that God sees the goodness of the subhuman world as "intrinsic. It shares with man the status of creaturehood. It participates with him in witnessing to God's greatness." (15) Environmentally, as Cobb points out, the intrinsic goodness of nature means that the "world [humans] govern is not thereby reduced to mere means to his end." (16)
The Genesis creation narrative gives an additional, environmentally significant, insight with its instructions to the first human pair: "God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and rule or have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen 1:28). Human beings were to "rule" (rada) over the subhuman world. This was the same relationship as a king to the people. The animals were the subjects of the human beings. The important environmental point is that humans were to treat the subhuman kingdom in all its various aspects in the same loving, tender, faithful way as God, the supreme king, ruled over all human beings. There was to be justice for both kinds of entities, human and nonhuman.
Moreover, God Himself planted a mature garden and gave it to Adam and Eve with the following instructive environmental guidelines. They were, in God's words, "to dress [or to maintain, cultivate] and keep it" (Gen 2:25). Here is what we might call the very first Environmental Protection Act, and one stated by God Himself for this world. (17) This kind of care was appropriate not only for the garden, but for the wider context of the world itself. Thus, the application of the same environmental care principles could find appropriate expression beyond the garden, and eventually, in the entire earth. Even in a pre-fall condition, that which was good in itself needed "dressing and keeping" by a higher created species. This suggests that the environment was never to be left exclusively to itself, but was to receive focused, responsible care and guidance by human beings.
The Hebrew term for "garden" (gan) is actually an "orchard," and carries deep significance to the Near Eastern mind. To be given a gan by the one true God was a great blessing, in contrast to the actions of the hypothesized local gods. A gan is not so much labor intensive, because it represents mature orchards where the fruit trees provide food for the owners. A Near Eastern individual would love to have received such a gift. It was fit for a king.
In contrast, the Eridu Genesis pictures the local gods as specifically forcing humans "to work like cattle." (18) By contrast, the God of the Bible never intended human beings to work by the sweat of their brow, like cattle, working to fight weeds and thorns. Rather, He appointed humans to dress and keep a "gan."
Because the first pair serves as the example in God's Word for all succeeding generations, all human beings are in some sense to be "keepers of the garden," i.e., good stewards of our planet home. Viewed in the light of this biblically endorsed responsibility, and in light of specific creation principles regarding care of the environment noted above, two Adventist authors have recently addressed the issue of stewardship of the earth and nature. Charles Bradford, former President of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists discusses the specific biblical instruction in the Old Testament establishing the practice of earth care. He notes that the Israelites were taught that the earth must be given opportunity to renew itself by having a Sabbath every seventh year (Lev 25:2-7). (19) If each Israelite were to give the land its due rest, the Lord would insure that no one lacked food. In this way, each Israelite was responsible for helping to maintain the vitality of the soil. (20) Bradford summarizes the current Christians responsibility in earth care as follows: "The stewardship of the earth, which God entrusted to Adam and Eve, still belongs to their descendants. We, who inhabit the planet, are responsible for its care. In the final judgment, the 'destroyers of the earth' are destroyed (Rev 11:18)." (21)
Miroslav Kiš, Chair of the Theology and Christian Philosophy Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, expands on Bradford's comment about the "destroyers of the earth," by calling it "the principle of protection of the earth," and observes that Christians will refrain from careless destruction of the environment. (22) In this context, an end-time command, recorded in the book of Revelation, is complementary to the principle of protection of the earth: "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees . . ." (Rev 7:3). These words indicate, minimally, that God cares about the preservation of the earth, pure water and the forests of the planet, and that destroying them is regarded as doing them harm or "hurt" in the estimation of God.
Kiš unpacks another biblical principle relevant to the stewardship of nature, which he calls the "principle of simplicity," which can contribute significantly to saving the earth's resources as follows. (23) The principle of simplicity curbs today's extravagant lifestyle, which is a main culprit for the state of and bleak future of this planet. (24) Jesus and Paul serve as two key biblical models for a simple and frugal lifestyle. While the former neither owned a home, because his life and work did not require one, nor wore extravagant or cheap clothes (Matt 8:20, John 19:23), the latter earned his livelihood, even when entitled to apostolic remuneration (Acts 18:1-3; 1 Cor 9:12-15). (25) Kiš characterizes the benefits of a simple lifestyle in these challenging lines:
Simplicity in eating, especially in the consumption of meat, would save an enormous amount of grain. It has been estimated that a 10 percent reduction in the consumption of meat in North America would save enough grain to feed 60 million people for one year. In addition, controlling food intake and simply not wasting food could save both money and resources. It would also be possible to lower energy consumption by consciously conserving gas, electricity, and water. (26)
Having considered some biblical principles of creation both general and
specific which can inform the Christians approach to proper care of the
environment, we turn to some disturbing data suggesting that we need the grace
of God to redeem lost time in this respect.
The Unfortunate Reality of the Ecological Crisis
Historical Background Issues
What might be some fundamental causes in the history of human ideas leading to or in some sense tending to foster what has now become an ecological crisis? One thinks of aspects of Greek philosophy in this regard. Have the writings of Plato, for example, influenced how Christians have understood nature? For Plato the ideal world is the realm of the ideas and forms, while earthly physical realities imperfectly participate, so far as is possible, in the forms. Has this basic orientation and negative evaluation of physical nature, along with the Platonic separation of body and soul, perhaps led to widespread disregard of the physical environment? Unfortunately, the answer may be in the affirmative, because as we have noted, according to Plato, the present world of nature is not the ultimate reality. Rather; the desired reality lies in another realm as documented in the following paragraph.
In his Timaeus, a treatise on the origin of the earth, Plato, through Timaeus, states that all earthly things of nature "should be good and nothing bad so far as this was attainable." (27) The notion "so far as this was possible," coupled with Plato's comment that humans can be like God only so far "as they could be," (28) signals something significantly negative about physical reality. The implication is pejorative regarding the essence of matter, of which the world's environment
is comprised. A dualism seems to be implied where nature/matter cannot attain to the rank of the forms. Thus, matter is bad/evil while the forms are good.
In this connection, Niels-Erik Andreasen, President of Andrews University, describes Socrates as expressing his belief that at death the soul is freed from the impure body. (29) Then Andreasen quotes from Phaedo which says that if the soul never willingly associates with the body in life, then at death, the soul has "no contamination of the body." (30) Here we find a foundation concept later expanded by Gnostic notions of matter as evil. Do such notions promote proper respect and care for the environment created by the God of Scripture?
Another historical challenge to Christian concern for ecology can be an abuse of the Christian apocalyptic/eschatological thinking. Some critics might insist that Christian apocalyptic views logically deny the value of the natural world, and eliminate concern for an environment soon to be replaced with a new earth. Sadly, such a view fails to grasp the truth that the present world still is to function as God's glorious theater of His grace and creative power. The concepts of world and nature will continue and not be eradicated, as evil will. The world will be purified and redeemed and will continue, albeit as a new creation. Thus, Christians need to be consistently committed to applying the principles of earth care at the present time in preparation for application in the future new world. For Christians to foul and selfishly waste the life-supporting environment and its resources, on the alleged grounds that such actions do not matter, given the future recreation of the planet, is blatant greed, and poor stewardship, condemned in Scripture by instructions like the following, "occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). It violates the other principles of Christian stewardship already mentioned in this essay. It lessens the glory which the world could give to God in witness to His principles of love, care, and beauty. These concepts, in addition to the "fallenness" of human nature, may have contributed to the present environmental crisis that was strikingly highlighted in the 20th century discussed below.
Although some individuals in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries raised warnings concerning misuse of the environment, recognition of an ecological crisis bourgeoned in the second half of the twentieth-century in various places-such as, in the churches, in scientific thinking and in culture at large. In his address to the New Delhi Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1961, Joseph Sittler emphasized the theological importance of "the care of the earth, the realm of nature as a theater of grace." (31) Not long afterward, the now well-known Lyn White, Jr. raised his voice in protest of Christian stewardship of the environment which he characterized as an "orthodox Christian arrogance toward nature." He then offered the bold claim that "we shall continue to have a worsening ecological crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man." (32) This article launched the contemporary environmental movement, as individuals representing various positions responded to White's perspectives.
The problems to which White points need our attention. In this respect, it
will now be helpful to review four central principles of rendering an ecosystem
sustainable and how these principles are being compromised, as an illustration
of the nature of the ecological crisis. Time constraints permit just a brief
glimpse of a vast, multifaceted problem.
The Ecological Crisis Illustrated
According to Bernard Nebel and Richard Wright in their book entitled Environmental Science, a sustainable ecosystem, which is the goal of the environmental movement, is produced by the operation of four principles : 1) Recycling elements in order to dispose of wastes and replenish nutrients, 2) using solar energy, 3) maintaining the size of consumer populations to prevent overgrazing, and 4) maintaining biodiversity. (33) The ecological crisis can be defined as the compromising of the four principles of sustainable ecosystems. We now consider the nature of the ecological crisis by illustrating some well-publicized compromises in the third and fourth principle of sustainable ecosystems.
Overgrazing Illustrated
Deforestation of Tropical Rain Forests
Consider deforestation of the Brazilian rain forest, in particular, as an illustration of over-harvesting by human beings. Space photographs have revealed light-colored horizontal stripes of clear cut areas in the Brazilian rain forests. In fact, over 40 million acres of tropical rainforests are being lost annually to deforestation. (34) This reduction of valuable biomass generates serious environmental concern, in light of the general scientific consensus that the tropical rain forest belt, on a global scale, is responsible for about 40 percent of the world's supply of oxygen. (35)
Nebel and Wright indicate that clearing a forest has at least five additional negative consequents: "First, the overall productivity of the area is reduced. Second, the standing stock of nutrients and biomass, once stored in the trees and leaf litter, is enormously reduced. Third, biodiversity is greatly diminished. Fourth, the soil is more prone to erosion and drying. Fifth, the hydrological cycle is changed as water drains off the land, instead of being released by tree transpiration or by percolating into groundwater." (36)
Overgrazing is also frequently practiced by poor people in many of the two-thirds world countries as they pick the hillsides bare in their search for firewood. The June 24, 1996, issue of a Zimbabwe newspaper called, "The Herald," carries an article called "Villagers Accused of Environmental Damage." The story says that "a lot of villagers in the area were cutting down trees randomly for burning their homemade bricks, usually near water sources like dams. We are concerned because a lot of people are now preferring to build their houses using bricks than mud
and a lot of trees have been destroyed near dams and boreholes. We hope that a better way of burning the bricks should be looked into." (37)
Titus Matemavi, the president of a local Adventist conference in Zimbabwe
writes concerning biomass overgrazing as follows: "There is a serious
abuse of nature on the African Continent. It is disheartening to note that
abuse of nature in Zimbabwe is apparent in several ways. First, there is a lot
of careless cutting down of trees and unnecessary burning of grass. Trees are
used as poles to build wooden huts and storage places, in addition to being
used as firewood. In rural areas or communal lands, firewood is the main source
of energy for cooking and warming houses during winter. It is also the source
of light during the night. As a result, many places in the rural areas which
were once thick forests (the pride of Africa) have now been reduced to
semi-desert areas." (38)
Desertification Due To Overgrazing
Along the borders of Chad and Libya, one finds not only that gases and particulate-laden winds mark the land, but also an increasing desertification due to overgrazing. According to Payson Stevens and Kevin Kelley, this condition occurs when "remaining trees and shrubs of the Sahara continue to be cleared for fuelwood and charcoal production, further leaving the soil bare and vulnerable to erosion by the desert winds." (39) .
On the one hand, the over harvesting of precious biomasses is a sad reality. On the other hand, however, the deep ecological concern registered in the aforementioned newspaper and by Matemavi's letter is heartening. This laudable environmental attitude is a basis of hope for the discovery of creative ways of addressing deforestation.
We turn now to environmental challenges relating to the fourth principle of
ecosystem sustainability: the need for eco-biodiversity balance.
Compromises in
Maintaining Eco-diversity Balance
Acid Rain and the Use of Fossil Fuel
Acid rain, an atmospheric pollutant, is one of the serious environmental impacts of burning fossil fuel such as coal. Coal-burning power plants emit sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide gases which mix with water vapor in the atmosphere, hydroxyl radicals, and sunlight, resulting in a so-called "soup" of sulfuric and nitric acid compounds. (40) These acids fall to the ground either in "dry fallout" or in rain known as "acid rain." (41)
According to Stevens and Kelley, acid rain has damaged over 600,000 acres of forests in Poland and almost 1 million acres in the countries of the former Czechoslovakia. Such damage and dieback caused by acid rain in Eastern Europe is also present in the forests in the Erzgebirge
range on the northern border between Germany and former Czechoslovakia. (42) Smoke plumes
from two of the largest coal-burning electric power plants in the latter area can be seen for many miles. (43)
In addition to damaging forests, acid rain also effects aquatic ecosystems
and human artifacts. In Norway and Sweden the fish in over 6500 lakes have
died; while approximately 1200 lakes in Ontario, Canada, alone, are dead. (44) Acid rain also deteriorates human artifacts,
like ancient monuments and buildings which, until now, have stood relatively
unscathed. (45)
Global Warming and the Use of Fossil Fuels
Burning fossil fuels contributes to another environmental problem. When ignited, these fuels release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which contributes to the condition known as global warming, due to the greenhouse effect. Joining other concerned Christians, Seventh-day Adventists have voiced concern in this regard. Recently, the Administrative Committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists voted a statement on environmental issues, a portion of which reads as follows: "Scientists warn that the gradual warming of the atmosphere as a result of human activity will have serious environmental consequences. The climate will change, resulting in more storms, more floods, and more droughts." (46)
Like the interior of a car heating up in the sun, a greenhouse heats up
because solar radiation enters the greenhouse and is converted to heat energy,
which causes objects to become hot and to give off heat energy in the form of
infrared radiation, which then attempts to escape from the greenhouse but is
blocked by the glass. Carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere acts like the glass
in a greenhouse. Some of the infrared radiation attempting to escape upward
through the atmosphere is blocked and absorbed by the fossil-fuel-caused carbon
dioxide gas (also known as one greenhouse gas) thus forming an insulating
blanket around the earth, which is slowly warming the globe. If the warming
continues, scientists fear that by 2040 drought, combined with coastal
flooding, will plague North America, due to the rise in the sea level. (47)
Ozone Depletion At the South Pole
As a final illustration of the ecological crisis, the debated ozone hole over Antarctica, while still under discussion, may present serious environmental concern. The ozone shield surrounding our earth absorbs ultraviolet radiation which, if unfiltered, could destroy most life on earth. (48) Studies show that in humans, ozone depletion can cause suppression of the immune system, skin cancer, and cataracts. (49)
Ozone molecules are destroyed by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) at the rate of 100,000 ozone molecules killed by one chlorofluorocarbon molecule. (50) According to Stevens and Kelley, "CFC chemicals used in air-conditioning, spray cans, and blown foams are the main destroyers of ozone." (51) Moreover, one CFC molecule is another greenhouse gas, and contributes a thousand times more to this effect than one carbon dioxide molecule contributes to the greenhouse effect. (52)
These few cases represent only a small percentage of the environmental
problems which we currently face, but they help to illustrate the need for
positive action.
Positive
Environmental Steps We can Take
The concerned Christian's imagination is truly the only limit in creating
positive ways of nurturing the habitat divinely entrusted to our care. Perhaps
first of all we can declare our strong personal support of earth care as a
sacred, central duty, and privilege of all Christians.
Second, denominations can make statements affirming the need for environmental sensitivity. In 1992, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, through its Annual Council, voted a document entitled, "Caring for God's Creation," which outlines a Seventh-day Adventist position on stewardship of the earth. The following quotations present a sampling of hinge concepts endorsed in the document:
The world in which we live is a gift of love from the Creator God, from 'him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water' (Rev 14:7, NIV; cf. Rev 11:17,18). Within this creation He placed humans, set intentionally in relationship with Himself, other persons, and the surrounding world. Therefore, as Seventh-day Adventists, we hold its preservation and nurture to be intimately related to our service to Him . . .
Because we recognize humans as part of God's creation, our concern for the environment extends to personal health and lifestyle. We advocate a wholesome manner of living and reject the use of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs that harm the body and consume earth's resources; and we promote a vegetarian diet. . . .
We accept the challenge to work toward restoring God's overall design. Moved by faith in God, we commit ourselves to promote the healing that rises at both personal and environmental levels from integrated lives dedicated to serve God and humanity.
In this commitment we confirm our stewardship of God's creation and believe
that total restoration will be complete only when God makes all things new. (53)
Moving beyond denominational statements, Christians can support formal documents like the one issuing from the World Council of Churches Central Committee entitled, "Document PRII 3, Central Committee, Potsdam, 29 January-6 February 2001." This document, in recognizing the 12-year history of the WCC work on climate change, offers six resolutions. Among them, Resolution II "reaffirms the WCC position that industrialized countries bear the major moral responsibility for precipitation climate change and therefore must exercise leadership that results in real action to reduce the causes." (54) Resolution VI "encourages the WCC to continue its work on climate change including monitoring of inter-governmental negotiations, support of regional activities in developing nations, linkages with other work on economic globalization, and networking with Indigenous Peoples organizations active on climate change and bio-diversity." (55)
In addition to formal statements, individual Christian actions do make a difference. The key is whether, by the grace of God, humans will reflect the true image of the Creator in dealing with this life-sustaining earth habitat. Just as we can glorify God by the care we give to our bodies, so also we can glorify God by the care we give to our environment. Like any truly successful business, management is the crucial thing-as goes the management, so goes the enterprise. The same is true in the ecology crisis. As go the human stewards, so goes our planet.
Changes in personal lifestyle practices can help. Some individuals use compost for gardens. Recycling can become a part of our conscious effort. Alternate methods of transportation can be adopted where possible. Even in cold Tokyo most people do not own a car, but ride bicycles to train stations in order to utilize efficient means of getting to work. One can join a quality environmental organization such as The Nature Conservancy, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Wildlife Fund, The Audubon Society, The John Muir Society, and many others. Authors, professors, and preachers can utilize their pens and voices with lectures, articles, and sermons on eco-justice, a biblical theme showing that God is good both to humans and nonhuman earthly realities. Therefore, humans also need to exhibit a balanced care and concern for both humans and nonhuman entities, hence the name, "eco-justice." (56)
Learning to think environmentally can lead to a love of nature and thus to its preservation. Recently, Dr. Dennis Woodland, botanist at Andrews University, asked me to meet him and another individual on the lawn at Andrews University in order to help plant "four new trees, and do environment speak." I joined the Johnny Appleseed group on the lawn to enjoy an invigorating three hours of planting two Grafted European Larch trees, and two Oriental Umbrella Pines. We had a great time wrestling with the trees, observing their beauty, adjusting their location, and even discovering pollen cones on the Oriental Umbrella Pine, which Denis had never observed before. However, what impressed me most about the experience was the way it helped to me to think environmentally. We were not only planting trees, but were contributing to Woodland's environmental vision of transforming the campus of Andrews University into official arboretum status. The purpose of this concept is to teach people to see the diversity, the uniqueness, the beauty, and thus the value of plants and trees, so that individuals will learn to think environmentally and to preserve these gifts of the Creator "off campus" in their own home environments. (57) Thinking environmentally is learning to love and care for nature.
In light of the themes presented above, we return to Dennis Woodland, of
Andrews University, to conclude this section by sharing some of his counsel to
campus students. He advises: 1. Become energy-use conscious, 2. Become an
eco-consumer when you shop, 3. Begin recycling domestic waste, 4. Encourage
your institution to make its campus an arboretum, 5. Label campus trees to
encourage care and appreciation of God's green earth, 7. Support local
conservation groups, 8. Spend more time in nature, and 9. "Think global, act
local." (58)
Conclusion
The words of Joël Delobel, Professor of New Testament Exegesis in Belgium,
remind us of the foundation stressed in this essay for deeper Christian
environmental concern and action: "To consider the cosmos as 'creation,'
and thus as . . . (continuously) created by God, is an attitude of pure belief
which exceeds the bounds of verifiable experience. Such a vision has
consequences . . . [it] gives a deeper dimension to all care for the world." (59)
As we have seen in this piece, this biblically-based faith vision means that the Christian should no longer be captive to the assumption of much of modern culture which severs God from the creation and subjects the creation to humanity's arrogant power. In this context, and as
Christians, let us not forget the last words recorded in the Book of Jonah which constitute a moving insight into God's interest in saving not only humans but the animals: "And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"
We have touched upon the Christian faith vision of embracing the cosmos as the stunning creation of the Logos, Jesus Christ. Taking this vision to heart permits us to praise God daily, as by faith we discern new instances of His superb workmanship and wonderful care in nature surrounding us. It enables us to wend our way with hope through the mixed signals we also discover in nature because all of nature itself, as Paul says "groans and suffers . . . until now" (Rom 8:21), although, it "will be set free from its slavery to corruption" (Rom 8:20). This suggests that God's redemptive work, through Christ, includes the natural world in the sense that it is honored by being recreated in the eschaton. In view of this, how important it is for Christians to honor and care for nature here and now.
As we focus on fulfilling this goal, one biblical institution appears to be extremely appropriate in this context. All Christians enjoy a weekly day of worship of God. How fitting it would be for the Christian intentionally to enjoy the Sabbath day of rest and worship as a weekly reminder of the amazing creation power of God, and as an opportunity to praise Him for the moment by moment operation of these powers in our behalf and in behalf of the environment. This could be a positive new form of Sabbath observance-celebrating the Sabbath as a memorial of God's power to renew the environment based upon His power to create and sustain the earth.
The biblical principles and vision articulated in this essay can foster deeper, wider Christian involvement in intentionally and actively caring for God's good creation in wherever place God places us on this good green earth. Thus, whatever we do on this planet called home contributes either to the detriment or the enhancement of a sustainable environment. It is literally not possible to be a spectator in this situation. Therefore, it is simply a matter of asking ourselves, "Will we be part of the problem [by being an unbridled predator] or part of the solution [by being a proper steward of our environment]?" (60) Some of the voices we have heard in this essay say we are living on borrowed time. (61) If so, is it too late to make the environment sustainable? It is a sobering reality that the answer to this question can now depend on the choices made by individuals of a species called Homo sapiens. This is called the anthropogenic problem. (62) What a responsibility this places upon us.
As Christians, the above question immediately returns us to our absolute need of the Holy Spirit. As Calvin reminds us, the unaided, sinful human mind cannot and, thus, never will see nature as a glorious theater of God's works, (63) and so will never make environmentally responsible choices. This means that it will take millions of individual miracles to save our environment. Our decisions regarding ecology need to be among the many, born-of-the-Spirit miracles, resulting in actions favoring a sustainable, healthy habitat, called our good earth. Then we will be faithful keepers of the garden.
Endnotes
1. The literature in this movement is, of course, vast and increasing. A few helpful sample sources include the following titles: I. Bradley, God Is Green (New York: Doubleday, 1990); C. De Witt, ed., The Environment and the Christian (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1991); W. Grandberg-Michaelson, Ecology and Life (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1988); W. Pratney, Healing the Land: A Supernatural View of Ecology (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books of Baker Book House, 1993); S.B. Scharper and H. Cunningham, eds, The Green Bible (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1993); T. Stafford, "God's Green Acres," Christianity Today (June 15, 1998): 32-37; and Dennis W. Woodland, "Christian Environmental Stewardship," Lake Union Herald (December 1996): 12-13.
2. John T. McNeill, ed., Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion I Bk. 1, Ch.IV, 2 (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960), p. 72. Hereafter cited as Institutes.
3. Institutes, Bk 1, Ch. XIV, 22, p. 180.
4. Bernard J. Nebel, and Richard T. Wright, Environmental Science: The Way the World Works (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993), 552.
5. Institutes, Bk 1, Ch. VI, 1, p. 70.
6. Ibid., Ch. . 14, p. 68.
7. See Joël Delobel, "Christ, the Lord of Creation," Louvain Studies 16:2 (Summer 1991): 155-169.
8. John Polkinghorn, "Chaos Theory and Divine Action," in Religion and Science: History, Method, Dialogue, eds. W. Mark Richardson and Wesley J. Wildman (New York: Routledge, 1996), 245.
9. Robert John Russell, "Does the 'God Who Acts' Really Act? New Approaches to Divine Action in the Light of Science," Theology Today (1997): 43-65. See p. 51. See Russell's, "Quantum Physics in Philosophical and Theological Perspective," in Physics, Philosophy and Theology: A Common Quest for Understanding, ed. Robert John Russell, et al. (Vatican City State: Vatican Observatory, 1988); and Russell's article, "Special Providence and Genetic Mutation: A New Defense of Theistic Evolution," in Evolutionary and Molecular Biology: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action, eds. Robert John Russell, William R. Stoeger, and Francisco J. Ayala (Vatican City State: Vatican Observatory Publications and Berkeley, CA: Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, 1998), 191-223.
10. William A. Dembski, Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science & Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999). See also his, "Reinstating Design Within Science," Rhetoric & Public Affairs 1:4 (1998): 503-518.
11. Peter E. Hodgson, "God's Action in the World: The Relevance of Quantum Mechanics," Zygon 35:3 (September 2000): 514.
12. Howard J. Van Till, "When Faith and Reason Cooperate," Christian Scholar's Review 21 (1991): 42-43.
13. On this point Ellen G. White writes that, "Not by its own inherent energy does the earth produce its bounties, and year by year continue its motion around the sun. An unseen hand guides the planets in their circuit of the heavens" (Education [Boise, ID: Pacific Press Publication Assn., 1952], 99). Compare also Whites following statement: "The God of nature is perpetually at work. His infinite power works unseen, but manifestations appear in the effects which the work produces. The same God who guides the planets works in the fruit orchard and in the vegetable garden" (Testimonies to the Church vol. 6 [Boise, ID: Pacific Press Publication Assn., 1948], 186).
14. William Shea, "The Controversy Over the Commandments," in Journal of the Adventist Theological Society vol. 11, no. 1 & 2 (Spring-Autumn 2000): 227.
15. John B. Cobb, Jr., Is It Too Late?: A Theology of Ecology (Beverly Hills, CA: Bruce, 1972), 50.
16. Ibid.
17. For more on environmental legislation see, Gregg Easterbrook, A Moment on the Earth (New York: Viking Penguin, 1995), xv.
18. See T. Jacobsen, "The Eridu Genesis," Journal of Biblical Literature 100 (1981): 513-529.
19. Charles E. Bradford, "Stewardship," in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology ed. Raoul Dederen (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), p. 662. Hereafter cited as Handbook.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Miroslav Kiš, "Christian Lifestyle and Behavior," in Handbook, p. 704.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Italics supplied. Timaeus translated. by F. M. Cornford, in The Collected Dialogues of Plato edited by Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1961), p. 1162.
28. Ibid.
29. Niels-Erik A. Andreasen, "Death: Origin, Nature, and Final Eradication," in Handbook, p. 336.
30. Ibid.
31. Quoted in Roger L. Shinn, "Eco-Justice Themes in Christian Ethics Since the 1960s," in For Creation's Sake: Preaching, Ecology, & Justice, ed. Dieter T. Hessel, (Philadelphia: Geneva Press, 1985), 101.
32. Lynn White, Jr. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis," in Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, Ecology and Life: Accepting Our Environmental Responsibility (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1988), 137.
33. Bernard J. Nebeland Richard T. Wright, Environmental Science: The Way the World Works, 4th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993), 85.
34. Ibid., 430.
35. Personal interview with Dennis Woodland, June 10, 1997.
36. Ibid., 431.
37. "Villagers Accused of Environmental Damage," The Herald (Monday June 24, 1996), 9-10.
38. Letter to the author, June 10, 1997.
39. Payson R. Stevens and Kevin W. Kelley, Embracing Earth: New Views of Our Changing Planet (San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1992), 48. Hereinafter cited as Embracing Earth.
40. Environmental Science, 361.
41. Embracing Earth, 125.
42. Ibid., 125
43. Ibid.
44. Environmental Science, 364.
45. Ibid., 365.
46. "GC Votes Statement on Dangers of Climate Change," Adventist Review (March 28, 1996), 7 [319].
47. Ibid., 368-373.
48. Ibid., 377.
49. Embracing Earth, 118.
50. Ibid., 119.
51. Ibid., 118.
52. Ibid.
53. "Caring for God's Creation," Review and Herald Vol.169, No. 52 (December 24, 1992):13 (1389).
54. "Excerpt from the Report of Policy Reference Committee II (Document PRII 3, Central Committee, Potsdam, 29 January-6 February 2001.
55. Ibid.
56. Dieter T. Hessel, For Creation's Sake: Preaching, Ecology, & Justice (Philadelphia: Geneva Press, 1985), 15.
57. Dennis W. Woodland, "Christian Environmental Stewardship," Lake Union Herald (December 1996), 12-13.
58. Ibid.
59. Joël Delobel, "Christ, the Lord of Creation," Louvain Studies 16:2 (Summer 1991): 168.
60. Bernard J. Nebel and Richard T. Wright, Environmental Science: The Way the World Works 4th Edition (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993), 554.
61. Environmental Science, 552.
62. Ibid., 359.
63. Institutes Bk I, Ch. V, 14, p. 68.