Bible Doctrines that Support Christian Environmentalism
In the previous ten blog articles, we examined three things relevant to Christian environmentalism. First, the Christian world and life view is not the alleged “root” cause of the Earth’s environmental problems. The entire human race, including all cultures, religious beliefs, and periods of history, have harmfully exploited their natural environments will little regard for the land and its wild inhabitants. Second, we saw that neither tribal religions, Eastern religions, nor nature religions have the theological infrastructure needed to establish viable environmental ethics or guidelines for environmental stewardship. Any apparent ecological sensitivity found in non-Christian religions is a by-product—incidental to the religion itself—and always human centered. Third, only Christianity possesses the theological and moral framework for implementing environmental ethics and guidelines for environmental stewardship. Demonstrating this last point will be the focus of the next dozen or so blog articles.
There are four biblical doctrines that together lay out a Bible-based theology of nature: creation, the Fall, redemption, and stewardship. Together, they will answer the question, “What did God have in mind when He gave the human race authority to “subdue” the Earth and to have “dominion” over other life forms (Gen. 1:28, KJV)? We will begin by examining the doctrine of creation.
God’s Love for, Providence over, and Provision for Nature
Besides the fact of creation, five interrelated sub-doctrines of creation plainly express God’s feelings and concerns toward the natural world He created. We will examine the first two in this article.
God Transcends Creation
The Bible teaches that God is the creator of all that exists—both animate and inanimate—here on earth as well as throughout the entire cosmos (the “heavens”). In order to be such a Creator, God must transcend nature; that is, He is distinct and apart from creation by virtue of being its Creator. A transcendent God would also exist prior to what He created. Both these characteristics rule out pantheism because creation (and thus nature) cannot be a manifestation of God’s “essence.” Moreover, if God transcends creation and exists apart from it, nature cannot be divine. God’s transcendence precludes and forbids pagan nature religions that worship creation rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:21–25).
God Is Immanent Throughout His Creation
God not only transcends nature, He is also immanent throughout it. The Spirit of God is omnipresent throughout the entire created cosmos, and nature is full of manifestations that express His presence. The psalmist enthusiastically declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Ps. 19:1). The Apostle Paul reminds us that God’s “eternal power and divine nature” is clearly seen through creation (Rom. 1:20).
Now, Christians must be careful here. There is a fundamental difference between the biblical doctrine of God’s immanence to nature and pantheism’s philosophy that God’s all-encompassing essence includes nature. Pantheists look at a tree or mountain and believe that they are part of God’s substance. Christians, on the other hand, acknowledge that God is totally aware of every particle and process inclusive of the tree or mountain, but the tree or mountain is not part of God. Jesus said that not one sparrow falls to the ground but that the Father knows it. God even numbers the very hairs on our head (Matt. 10:29–30). But nowhere in Scripture is nature identified as God in substance or essence. God’s transcendence apart from creation makes His immanence vastly different from pantheism. We can observe God’s splendor and power in nature because He created it, but we cannot see God Himself. Nature is not God and God is not nature.
Similarly, Christians must not confuse God’s immanence (presence) throughout nature with the animist’s belief that spirits indwell objects in nature, such as animals, rivers, or sacred mountains. The Bible teaches that nature reveals God’s presence, but He does not lurk about or dwell within the objects He created. Again, nature is not divine. God’s immanence allows people to experience His presence and grandeur in nature without fear of evil spirits or engaging in idolatry.
Next week we’ll look at two other sub-doctrines, which are embraced by the doctrine of creation and support Christian environmentalism. ©
* The blog articles in this series are adapted from my book Should Christians Be Environmentalists? published by Kregel Publications in 2012. The blog articles do not contain all the chapters, data, quotes, references, or my personal experiences, which the book includes. So, for “the rest of the story” you will need to purchase the book, which is available in both paperback and Kindle. This and the following articles are copyrighted material and may not be reproduced in book or article form. But feel free to send links to these articles to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, Twitter followers, or other people who may enjoy them.