Should Christians Be Environmentalists? Part Twelve *

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More Biblical Evidence that supports Christian Environmentalism

In my previous blog article, we saw that a biblical theology of nature embraces four major doctrines: creation, the Fall, redemption, and stewardship. The doctrine of creation, as support for Christian environmentalism, is comprised of five sub-doctrines. We looked at the first two in the previous blog; we’ll examine two more in this article.

God Maintains Nature

The third significant sub-doctrine of creation is that God actively maintains (upholds and sustains) nature. Colossians 1:17 states that God, through Jesus Christ, “is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The author of Hebrews wrote, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (1:3). Psalm 104 further reveals God’s active involvement throughout nature: God “makes springs pour water into the ravines” (v. 10), and “waters the mountains” (v. 13), and all animals look to God “to give them their food at the proper time” (v. 27).

In short, every detail of creation, including what we refer to as “natural laws,” reflects God’s continuous activity in nature. The Book of Job recounts that God “cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm” (38:25). It is God “who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar” (Jer. 31:35). God set up the seasons of the year (Gen. 8:22) and appointed the time for harvest (Jer. 5:24). Lightning, hail, snow, clouds, and stormy winds all operate at God’s bidding (Ps. 148:8). God sends the rain and makes grass grow on the mountains (Ps. 147:8), causes the snow to melt in spring (Ps. 147:18), and gives flowers their beauty (Matt. 6:29–30). God gives life to animals, establishes their territories, and provides their daily food (Job 38:41; Ps. 104:14–30; Joel 2:22).

Nature, then, is not a self-contained, self-organized system of randomly evolving natural laws. Rather, just like our existence, nature depends moment to moment on the attention and vigilance of God’s continuous care and sustaining power and love. God is not only the Creator, He also maintains all natural processes (also see Job 37:6, 10–13; Ps. 147:8, 16–18; Jer. 10:13). This vividly illustrates God’s concern for nature’s well-being and the survival of its inhabitants. This in turn sets the stage for mankind’s commission to be His caretakers in nature (a topic we’ll investigate thoroughly in upcoming articles).

God Made Man in His Own Image

The fourth sub-doctrine of Creation, supporting Christian environmentalism, is that although God had the human race in mind when He created the Earth (Ps. 115:16), He did not intend for people to despoil the land or mistreat the other creatures with which we share the planet. In terms of purely physical creation, human beings are no different than animals. God said to Job, “Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you” (Job 40:15). Likewise, speaking of the physical body, Solomon wrote, “Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. . . . All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return” (Eccl. 3:19–20). Likewise, God provides for our physical needs no differently than He provides for the needs of other life forms—through our natural environment. Thus, we depend on God, through nature, to provide our food and shelter the same as He does for wild animals (Job 12:10).

This is only half the biblical story. The Bible also reveals that people have an exalted position in creation (Matt. 6:26, 10:31, 12:11–12). We are the “crown” of God’s creation, the culmination of the creation week (Ps. 8:4–6). In order to understand the relationship that exists between people and the rest of creation, it must be understood that the human race has a dual position in creation. Although Homo sapiens are one of countless millions of created life forms, we are unique and special to God (Ps. 139:13–16). Only people were created in His image (Gen. 1:26–27).

Why is this important in terms of developing an environmental theology (doctrine) of nature? To be created in God’s image is to be endowed with responsibilities. This, in turn, sheds additional light on why God commissioned the human race to be His caretakers over creation (as I said, we’ll explore this later). As His ordained stewards over the environment and nonhuman life, we are to have the same loving concern for nature that God has: care for it, protect it, maintain it, nurture it, even in a sense “save” it (e.g., from harmful exploitation and abuse). Only people possess the God-like attributes necessary to fulfill this moral responsibility.

Next week we’ll examine the fifth and last sub-doctrine of creation. More than the previous four, it will demonstrate that God owns, loves, provides for, and enjoys the animals with which we share the earth. This is crucial for developing a theology of nature and identifying our stewardship responsibilities. ©

* The blog articles in this series are adapted from my book Should Christians Be Environmentalists? (See photo above.) 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.

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