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Throughout the Creation story in Genesis, God looks over each thing and declares it “Good.” Humans, created last, were given stewardship over this good world and the generations to come. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it” [Genesis 2:15]. Humanity is responsible to “keep” or care or the Earth and maintain the health and integrity of our planet. Climate science offers the kind of Christian “dominion” the Bible teaches and Jesus sought.
Climate change threatens our very existence and asks us to change our ways. It’s something so dire and frightening, it’s easier to not think about it. Or deny it exists. But those choices don’t make it go away.
Christianity is clear on our responsibility to the Earth, and fortunately diverse Christian organizations and leaders agree. There’s the National Association of Evangelicals’ biblical call to address climate change, the National Council of Churches doctrine of stewardship for the earth, and the Vatican’s care for creation, among many others.
Jesus tied himself to the sacredness of the earth. “Consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air…[Luke 12:22-32] His many agrarian parables about how we treat farming and food and vines and birds and more, tell us we can look at how God cares for nature for guidance on how we ought to live our lives. [Matthew 6:25-34]
In Matthew 25, Jesus identifies providing basic needs to the vulnerable as an act of faith when he says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…” With climate change, those most basic needs—food and safe water—are threatened and as is so often the case, the vulnerable are disproportionately impacted. Today family farmers can’t withstand the increased flooding and drought; homes and lives are destroyed by worsening weather disasters; people flee regions that have become unlivable and become refugees in search of place they can survive.
When it comes to those industries that cut down the rainforests and spew greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere; Jesus couldn’t be more clear, as Mathew 25 reminds us: “‘whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”
Because God granted humans dominion over the earth [Genesis 1:26-28], we can do with it what we want. In fact, by destroying the earth, destructive dominionists believe the sooner Jesus will return [Revelations 6:12-17]. The End Times makes it pointless to worry about the climate crisis. It’s all part of God’s plan.
Biblically, we are called to delight in Wisdom [Proverbs 1:20-22] and science is one of the leading forms of wisdom in our modern world. We humans have the capacity to be scientists and inventors and responsible consumers. We can replace old and destructive technologies with new technologies that also build economies and create new jobs, as they help address climate change.
But as old technologies lose favor to solar, wind, electric vehicles, and more, that’s a massive threat to the giant greenhouse gas generators like coal, oil, and factory farmed animals, especially cattle. Citing biblical dominion as license for exploitation, to support certain industries in decline, doesn’t fly.
We’re all seeing the reality of record-breaking heat, drought, floods, wildfires, and hurricanes; polar ice caps and glaciers are melting at record speed; ocean levels are rising and lakes drying up. These crises caused by climate change in no way meet the call to “care for creation.” Instead they lead to more environmental threats that will speed up climate change even faster, like deforestation and more deserts. When food, water, and energy become scarce, consumer prices spike. And that’s just the start. People are driven from their homes and global immigration increases. Military experts warn that instability, terrorism, and war become more likely, especially in the Middle East where climate change is increasing fast. Yes, it’s all very real and very scary. We have choices, but time is ticking.
In the U.S. we’ve made some really great stewardship decisions, like establishing National Parks. But we’ve also done a lot of harm and now we face the biggest harm of all. Christianity calls us to care for creation, not dominate it into extinction. “Care for creation” isn’t a slogan, it’s a call of faith and an act of discipleship.
Institutional and individual Christian consumers have power of the purse and power over our plates. We can be instrumental in influencing Americans, and the world community, to push for smart policies, purchases, and healthy behavior changes that reduce the harmful gasses that cause climate change. That’s an example of us making a good difference in God’s good creation.
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