• BC Christian News • JULY ISSUE 1999 • VOL. 19 #7 • Formerly "Christian Info News" •

The environment -- why should Christians care?
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By Kathryn Wellington

OFTEN PEOPLE say, "The environment just isn't my thing!" But perhaps we need to think again. Which part of the environment isn't your thing? Is it the eating part? The drinking part? Perhaps it's the breathing part!

Environmental issues are all around us: loss of the salmon fishery; logging in the Vancouver watershed, affecting drinking water quality; the car-generated haze that hangs over Vancouver and all down the valley, affecting crops through acid rain.

The earth is our only home, and it is becoming evident that we are fouling our own nest. This puts other species at risk -- 1,000 species per year are going extinct due to human activity -- and this makes us vulnerable as well!

But as members of a faith community, we have even more reason to be concerned than just self preservation, or the preservation of other species. Our scriptures teach us to live in harmony with all living creatures, and to nurture and care for all of creation. We speak of 'creation,' rather than 'nature' or the 'environment,' since we want to affirm that humans are not separate from the rest of the earth but, rather, are all a part of God's creation.

Genesis 2:15 tells us that we should tend and keep the garden; this does not mean we should dominate the earth, but rather serve and care for the creation, as stewards. After the flood, God made a covenant with every living creature (Genesis 9:9-17). Jesus' gospel is peace and reconciliation for all living creatures (Colossians 1:21-23).

Visions for the Earth -- a multifaith, multicultural, environmental coalition -- is exploring this link between faith and environment. How do our beliefs and values affect the way we treat the earth and each other? Religious teachings from many faiths affirm the role of humans in caring for creation, which includes caring for each other and the earth. Failure to read these teachings carefully has too often led to human domination and environmental degradation.

David Suzuki said recently that if everyone in the world lived like the average Canadian, we would need five planet earths! Our consumerism is depleting the planet and our relationships, as we work more to buy more! So the environmental crisis is, at its roots, a spiritual crisis. What is enough? What is it that gives meaning and value to our lives?

Here is the common ground between faith and environmental groups. The earth and the people on it are God's creation. We are called to care for both the human and nonhuman parts of creation.

Calvin DeWitt, Executive Director of the Au Sable Institute in Mancelona, Michigan has summarized this calling:

"In Romans 8, it says that the whole creation is waiting in eager expectation, looking for the children of God who have the whole picture together. They know the creation, mainly by knowing the Creator, but also by being part of the creation and learning from it. They steep themselves in the scriptures and hear the call to be keepers of the earth and the household. They put their beliefs into practice, and this changes life from business as usual into stewardship of the Lord's creation. We 'publish' this knowledge in our articles, our workshops, our landscapes, our lifestyles.

"We do not want the creation to cringe when we come, but rather say 'Aha, they come! Let heaven and nature sing!'"

If you are interested in beginning this dialogue between faith and environment in your congregation, please contact me at (604) 731-4648 or kathrynw@paralynx.com

Kathryn Wellington, PhD, is project coordinator for Visions for the Earth, a multifaith, multicultural, environmental initiative. She attends Redeemer Lutheran Church in Vancouver.