The Environment

Key Idea: The world was created by God and we have been given a duty of stewardship to care for and look after the world.

Why bother?

The planet on which we are born, live and die is only one of billions of others in our galaxy, and our galaxy is only one of millions of galaxies in our universe. However we only have the one world, and we have to live in that world so we need to take care of it. Modern science talks about the "bio-organism" or the idea that the world, as a whole, is a living thing. Like any living thing if you poison, kill, or damage it enough then it will die.

"The dignity of nature as creation needs to be bound up with our responsibility for the preservation of life" [World Council of churches]

The world in which we live today has many problems that make it "less than perfect". These include:

Pollution - The waste from our cars, our factories and our homes are causing problems like acid rain, poisoned rivers and oceans, and an increase of disease due to poor air, water and soil.

Overpopulation - The number of people in the world will soon break the 6 billion barrier. How many more people can our world hold ?

Energy wastage - The USA uses over 100 times the energy per person than the developing world; most energy is made from oil, gas, coal and nuclear all of which cause more pollution problems.

Chemicals & pesticides - These are killing off certain parts of the insect chain, causing the emergence of "superbugs" immune to all pesticides, and also running off into the rivers and water table causing pollution.

Deforestation - There are less that 20% of the world's forests left. The world's forests are the lungs of the planet, without them the world would be unable to breathe.

Desertification - In Roman times much of North Africa was used for the growing of grain. Now it is the Sahara desert. Over farming and poor land husbandry have turned a considerable proportion of the world into useless desert. The ozone layer - Now at its thinnest ever, the ozone layer protects us from harmful Ultra-Violet rays (UV-A )of the sun.

The food chains - Killing off part of the food chain, by the over use of chemicals and pesticides, means the death of the rest of that chain and eventually, as the top of many chains, of humanity.

Species extinction - Over fishing, over farming, deforestation and desertification are killing off species that may hold the key to some of our incurable diseases and upset the delicate natural balance.

Global Warming - The pumping of methance and carbon di-oxide (esp. from burning of fossile fuels) is causing a change in the very climate of the planet with potential catastrophic effects

A Christian view

Christians would argue that they need to consider the problems of the world not only because they are inhabitants of the world and so live in it, but also because they have a duty to the planet. The first book of the Bible is the book of Genesis. Genesis means beginning and the book of Genesis describes both the creation of the world and the relationship between it, God, and humanity.

"Then the Lord God placed the man in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it" [Gen 2:15]

Christians believe that he Earth and all of nature belong to God who created it. Humanity is only part of that creation but it has been given the role of stewardship.

"God said, 'and now will will make human beings; they will be like us and will resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds and the animals domestic & wild large and small"
[Genesis 1:26-27]

So for a Christian there are many reasons to feel responsible for the world;

• The world was created by God, as recorded in the book of Genesis. (Genesis 1:1 - 2:4);
• Humans were given stewardship of the world. (Genesis 1:26 - 27);
• The world was perfect when it was created;
• It is human greed, selfishness and envy that have destroyed the world;
• We have no right to exploit nature for our own gain;
• We have a duty to help solve these problems. Jesus taught us, by his example to care for the world.

  "You made him ruler of everything you made; you appointed him over all creation" [Psalm 8:6]

  "I believe in one God the maker of Heaven and Earth"
  [The Apostles Creed said every Sunday by all Christians]

  "How clearly the sky reveals God's glory! How plainly it shows what he has done, Each day announces it to the following day, Each night repeats it to the next. No speech is heard ,no noise is made yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth."
  [Psalm 19:1-5]

Christian Responses

Christians see the environment as evidence that God's hand is at work in the continuous cycle and patterns of the seasons. They remind themselves of this in their weekly worship and at certain times of the year. They do this through supplication (asking for help through prayer); in the creed (see above); at the communion service, "all things come from God, and of our own do we give Him"; and at a special service each year called Harvest Festival. At Harvest Festival Christians remember the special relationship between the church and the planet.

Some Christians have made protecting the environment their whole life, and for one Christian it became more than that. Chico Mendez was the founder of the Alliance of the people of the forest. He was a Brazilian rubber tapper who taught that it is possible to generate income from the forest without killing or destroying it. He won fame and admiration for around the world as the leader of non-violent protest against deforestation by the cattle barons and plantation owners. He was murdered in 1988 at home in front of his wife and family as a deterrent.

Many organisations have been set up to try to solve some of the problems. Some of the most well known are: Friends of the Earth, Save the Children, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam and Traidcraft. All of these organisations are based on the Christian principles that are noted above.

"... protecting the Environment is not an option - it is an essential that must be placed at the centre of economic and political decision making"

David Gee - Director Friends of the Earth 1991

Animal Welfare

We are stewards of all creation, which means that we are responsible for all living things. This raises the moral question, do we have the right to experiment on animals, or indeed to eat them. This depends on your definition of stewardship. It could mean "power over" or it could mean "to take care of". If our planet is to have a future we must treat animals as partners not competitors for the planet.

See also: Rich and Poor and Overpopulation