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Seasoned with Salt
Thinking about Life and Death Issues
Environmentalism: A Christian Issue
A woman climbs a tree
and lives in it for months. People chain themselves to trees. An
international treaty punishes the nation
that is doing more for the environment than anyone else. A farmer is
arrested and prosecuted for accidentally running over an
"endangered" rat. Members of the Earth Liberation Front torch a
corporate headquarters, plus ski facilities and a
restaurant.1
In 1999, The Oregonian, Oregon's largest newspaper, reported,
"At least 100 major acts of such destruction have occurred since
1980, causing $42.8 million in damages."2
That today's environmental movement is characterized by radicalism,
violence, strange ideas, and general silliness should come as no surprise
to the Christian. The Bible teaches of those who reject God, "Professing
to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22). "The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). Those
who do not know and fear God are prone to live foolishly.
But that is not the end of the story. The environmentalists are, in fact,
barking up the right tree. God gave the earth to people, not to destroy it
but to care for it. When God created Adam and Eve, He "put [them]
in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it" [Genesis 2:15].
Tending and keeping the earth, and having "dominion over... every
living thing" [Genesis 1:28] is God's command to us.
The consequence of Christians' ignoring God's "dominion mandate"
is that the environmental movement has been hijacked by wackos who don't
even recognize God, let alone His commands. As a result, discussion of
environmental issues has degenerated to an Ichabodian flailing. Indeed,
when the world's leaders meet to discuss serious issues, they demonstrate
their personal disdain for responsible stewardship over creation,
satiating every gluttonous urge and riding roughshod over natural
resources.
Christians need to assume a leadership role in caring for the environment.
Unfortunately, we have been AWOL in this important endeavor for so long
that our credibility is non-existent. What was abandoned decades ago will
not be reclaimed in a month. A partial list of environmental concerns that
merit our attention include:
- The overuse of single-occupant automobiles, versus walking, bicycling, public transportation, and carpooling: By "public transportation" I am not referring to the knee-jerk allocation of more billions to existing failed systems of mass transportation, but to the development of realistic means of conveyance that the public will consider advantageous and desirable.
- Waste: Environmentalists have made a great start in this area, summarized in the catchy 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. As George Washington Carver applied intelligence and biblical principals to help beleaguered farmers in the South during the 19th Century, Christians today need to apply creative energy to expand and improve the alternatives for recycling, as well as resisting our materialistic instincts.
- Air pollution: The major source of air pollution, failure to implement available technology in Third-World countries, has scarcely even been discussed. The question is not whether air pollution reduces the ozone layer or changes the global climate, but rather whether people in developing nations have access to breathable air. A friend of mine recently returned from Berkina Faso to report that the major cities are always choked in smoke.
- Genetic engineering: Yes, this is ultimately an environmental issue. In the beginning, God declared His creation "very good." That means no sickness, no disease, no death. Yet in the fallen world, these scourges are emblematic of the human condition. Recent research suggests that disease-causing organisms developed as a result of the loss of genetic information from previously beneficial microbes. Genetic manipulation of any creature, including man, needs to be approached with great caution.
As I said, this is only a partial list, a few examples of how we must
begin to be the stewards of God's creation that He meant us to be. When
we begin to lead, others will follow.
Meanwhile, what do we do about the Sierra Club, People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA), and Greenpeace? I believe one biblical answer is
to join hands with these people, perhaps join their organizations, or at
least start up our own organizations that will work alongside theirs.
Who can argue against the need for clean air and water, or treating
animals, God's creatures, decently? The problem most people have with
the radical elements of the environmental movement is not the ends but
the means. Let's show how to apply God's word to address today's
problems. At the same time, let's not forget that the "wackos"
need Jesus. They need to see His love and care
in us. For "what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but
lose his own soul?"
1http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/protest990120.html
2http://www.landrights.org/ALRA.oregonian.eco-terrorism.htm#9/26/99
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