Jul
13
Christians and the Environment
ByThree men weighed in for Christianity Today on how concerned Christians should be for the environment. Their answers aren’t comprehensive, but they are a great start.
Here’s Al Mohler.
And Jonathan Merritt.
Also worth mentioning is that Jonathan Merritt’s book, Green Like God, looks like a good one to check out.
4 Comments
July 14th, 2010 at 7:04 am
Jonathan Merritt’s article brought up some very good points. I would like to read his book.
I thought Cal Beisner’s article was very wise in showing how it can look different in people’s lives though. Mohler’s last sentence was spot on as well.
I liked the way they had three different men weigh in on the subject. I felt like it helped to give a bigger picture of the whole issue.
July 14th, 2010 at 7:50 am
There is a website that I enjoy and you might too– Evangelical Environmental Network. http://prayerforcreationcare.creationcare.org/ . They often spotlight or have blog posts by Christians stewarding the environment, and I find some unique non-profits that way. The blog post on the Myths of Environmentalism was a recent one that I found helpful when sharing with others.
A lot of people shy away from any look at Celtic spirituality, and the history of that is long (Listening to the Heartbeat of God by J. Phillip Newell provides a good book looking at this history as it relates to Augustine and Pelagian and the history of the Church), but seeing God in all of creation is much different than seeing creation as God.
Ironically, I am reading Finding Darwin’s God right now, and in the first few chapters, while explaining Darwin’s theory in detail, Miller has spent a decent amount of effort explaining how because of evolution and the intricate details of historic evolution and the mechanism of evolution, he continues to believe in God. His detail strengthens my belief.
Anyway…back on topic…
It was interesting to have three different viewpoints, though they were in part similar. I thought Merritt’s article was by far the best of the three, but I think I am tainted by seeing so many Christians in the Bible Belt have absolutely no respect for God’s creation.
July 15th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Not sure if you saw this article (http://www.christianitytoday.com/globalconversation/july2010/index.html) also in Christianity Today by Scott Sabin. He is the director of Plant With Purpose (http://www.plantwithpurpose.org/page/3/Home-Page.html). I found his article to be quite interesting in describing reaching the unreachable through planting trees, and how we are relatively insulated from environmental degradation in America compared to those who need the environment for their livelihood. (i.e. if we suffer a drought, we don’t starve).
July 17th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Hey Maria,
Thanks for both links. I am going to check them out.
You probably are a bit tainted by the lack of sound thought and investment into the topic from Bible-believing Christians. Sadly, few Christians think through the topic theologically, even though a basic understanding of the storyline of Scripture makes the issue pretty plain. Of course, as one of the writers said, there aren’t easy answers as to what to invest into and how much, but the basics are there in the first chapters of the Bible.
Maybe more later. Thanks again,
Joe