PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING:

Our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers

Our nation, military and leaders The spread of the good news

On September 7^th, we will have a bring a friend, family,

co-worker day along with a dinner. Plans are being

made on what to bring and you can call Shalania or

Yevette for details. Please plan to come and enjoy

our fellowship!

CARING FOR THE PLANET

“God blessed them and said to them. ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).

With the rise in gasoline prices and the constant harping on global warming, people are thinking about what to do about this and other environmental issues. On one side there is the desire to have more government involvement to the point of micro-managing even thermostats in homes. On the other side are those who want all regulation removed. Some have complained that conservative Bible believing Christians have ignored environmental issues, and there is some truth in that. There are those who reject any appeal to scripture and others who limit their study or take texts out of context. How should we view the environment?

First, we need to go back to the creation story. After God created humans, He stated the above text. Their responsibility would be to tend the Garden. At this moment, the Garden was pristine. Now I think that the Garden was limited to a small area and that it would expand as humanity increased. It appears that at this time, Adam and Eve would be vegetarians though that was not stated in scripture. Everything that God had made was good.

Then Adam and Eve sinned and were cast from the Garden. Several things happened. Some animal died to provide clothes for them. The earth, or creation, came under a curse because of human sin. Actions have consequences. They were cast out and the Garden was closed to all. The fellowship that God had intended with His creatures had been broken because of sin. This began a long journey to redemption, and keep in mind, while human redemption would be the priority, the redemption of creation was also in view, something we will look at shortly.

As history progressed, we find that creation becomes harsher. We will read of floods, storms, earthquakes, disease, and other events, all affecting humanity. Animals become wild. Food is harder to grow and animals become a source of food. Eventually, God would make a distinction between clean and unclean animals, that is, animals that could be safely eaten and those that could not. Keep in mind that in the Law of Moses, this becomes part of the community legal, ritual, and theological commands, each of which can be explored.

The Law of Moses speaks to creation or the environment in some ways. For instance, one could eat the egg of a bird but not the mother who produced it. One could eat a boiled kid but not in the milk of its mother. Food was not to be wasted. Harvesters were to go through the field once and what was left was for the poor and the traveler, Jew or Gentile. When the army laid siege to a walled city, they were told not to use fruit trees; other trees were allowed to be chopped down and used.

When one reads through the Hebrew Scriptures, one sees contrasts in living in the land. Deserts are turned to productive land and productive land to desert. The wilderness is often seen as a very harsh place, yet we find God there. Just consider the Exodus and the forty years in the desert. Fruitfulness such as well watered land is seen as a blessing, yet an unproductive land can be a curse, often because of sin.

In Isaiah 43:16-21, he used creation as an explanation for the return of Israel to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity (1). Interestingly the prophet begins with God as Israel’s Creator (vs. 15). Then he appeals to the parting of the Red Sea, followed by the statement, “See, I am doing a new thing!” Then he used creation as a comparison of Israel’s return.

“I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls,

because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself

that they may proclaim my praise.”

The former things like the Exodus were great but now something new was going to happen. Israel will return from Babylonian captivity. But there is more because of the Servant texts. In the context of these texts, looking forward to the coming Messiah, the Suffering Servant, are a part of what Isaiah is getting to and what Paul will use as a backdrop to important texts on the redemption of creation. Isaiah also mentions other new things like the new heavens and a new earth (65:17-25; 66:22-24), ideas found in Revelation (2).

Paul writes about our redemption, especially in Romans and in particular chapter eight. In addition to our waiting for our own redemption at the return of the Lord, creation has been “in eager expectation” because “the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:18-25). Both we and creation are waiting for our redemption.

This brings to mind the new heavens and the new earth, mentioned in particular in Revelation 21. God will restore or rebuild creation, returning us to the Garden of Eden, but now all of creation will be redeem. It is then that the curse will be reversed or eliminated, where we will walk with the animals as Adam and Eve did, in redemptive fellowship with God. Many appeal to 2 Peter 3:10-12 where we are told that the creation will be burned up. Considering the language used, this could be figuratively applied. Fire is a means not only of destruction but of cleansing. Rather than seeing the elimination of earth, it might be better to see it as a cleansing.

Part of the purpose of the cross was to reconcile us to God. But there is more. Jesus also reconciles “to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20). Going back to Genesis three, the curse on creation is dealt with at the cross, as well as our sins.

This is a brief overview of how God view the environment. There is much more to look at, especially in the Law of Moses. Since the environment is being discussed much today, how should we as Christians approach it?

First, humankind has a responsibility to carefully manage the earth. Industry hasn’t always been careful in environmental use. I remember a river in Ohio that was literally on fire but a great effort was made to clean it up, and successfully, that now it has fish in it and people actually boating. The dust bowl of the 1930s was caused in part by poor farming methods but because of studies, farmers now are able to work the land to prevent such occurrences.

But we also need to be realistic. God has blessed us with wisdom to develop products from the earth such as oil and coal. These industries do need to be encouraged to be environmentally responsible but we can never be pollution free. There are also going to be by-products of industry that can be dangerous. We can reduce the dangers but we will never eliminate them, in part because of sin. We also must keep in mind that the earth itself can produce a massive amount of pollution from such things as a volcano eruption. There needs to be a balanced perspective in this.

Two, we do not have nor can we create a pristine planet. The environmental movement that works toward this ignores any number of issues. It sees humankind as an evil to be reduced or eliminated. This movement has chosen to ignore or reject God and therefore does not see humankind as created in God’s image. If this was recognize, then other things would also have to be accepted that run contrary to the environmental movements positions.

For instance, God created the earth to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). The complain is that there is not enough resources for the people we have. When we look at the famines and poverty in third world countries, we can find that much of it comes from dictators who care more for themselves than their people. They have destroyed the economic means to provide for their people through farming or have intentionally caused hunger so as to destroy enemies. People who live under the rule of God recognize someone greater than themselves.

The extremes of the environmental movement have caused the deaths of millions. John Stossel, an ABC reporter, showed DDT being spread in parks where people were eating, with no harmful effects. DDT can reduce the mosquito that causes malaria yet environmentalists oppose this because it might harm some animal. Again responsible use can reduce this problem. The same can be said for drilling for oil and for the lumber industry. What some seem not to realize is that trees are renewable resources. There are those who have had abortions and intentional sterilizations to prevent more humans being born to cause environmental harm. These extremes run contrary to scripture.

Three, there is a religious aspect to the environmental movement. We see some who believe the earth is something to be worshipped, and hence, one cannot abuse the earth with out retaliation. They see earthquakes and tsunamis as such events. Some see animals like deer hitting cars as revenge, not thinking that because of bans on hunting there are too many deer, and that there is not enough food for them. Humankind has often worshipped the earth and stars and God has labeled this idolatry and sinful.

Four, there are the unintended consequences that people have not thought through. In order to reduce dependence on oil, advocates have suggested using corn for fuel. While that sounds good, we are now seeing food shortages in some areas of the world and rising food costs here. This policy is now being looked at again. There are many more.

God has given us the responsibility to wisely use the earth’s resources to benefit humankind. There is nothing sinful in this. Accidents in drilling for oil or in shipping it will happen. Global warming is a debated issue though some want us to believe that all has been settled but 31,000 scientists have sign a letter disagreeing with it. While man can pollute, I just do not believe that we can destroy this planet, something that God created and wants to redeemed. Humankind wanting to be gods can be a very dangerous position. We should reject such views.

As Christians, we can call for responsible behavior. We have been blessed in this nation by God. Are we perfect? No. But we have been able to develop many things that can bless others as well. I think that there needs to be brought into the debate some common sense, as well as some serious Biblical perspectives. We would be foolish to ignore what God has provided, causing the rise in hardships on people that are not necessary. Then again, maybe this is God’s way to draw us back to Him.

George B. Mearns

(1) This is a prophecy of return announced 150 years before it happened. It is also found in the Servant texts of Isaiah 40-55. Isaiah wrote c. 700 B.C.

(2) Some thoughts on this comes from Douglas Moo, Nature in the New Creation: New Testament Eschatology and the Environment, published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 49 (2006) 449-88. This was distributed by the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Il., February 2007.