Earth Matters – Part 1: Why Bother?

When the subjects of environmental concern, ecology or creation care come up in conversation in the context of Christian faith, there is often a mixed response. While some people are enthusiastic about a faith-fuelled care of the earth, others are suspicious, cynical or cautious and there is a good reason for both responses.

Those who object to Christians being involved in environmentalism usually offer one of four protests:

It’s Depressing

I mean who wants to spend time thinking and worrying about pollution, global warming, food shortage, water scarcity and desertification. Right? It’s all just so ‘doom and gloom’. This sentiment is sometimes compounded by the angry rhetoric and judgmental outrage that often accompanies environmental protest. Unfortunately, many environmental activists haven’t yet realised that we are never persuasive when we are abrasive, and they have left those they are trying to convince feeling less than impressed.

It’s Demeaning

Are we reducing humanity to the same level as other living creatures by affording them rights reserved for human beings? Are we robbing vulnerable human beings of vital aid and assistance when we spend money on habitats and animals? If we spend ten million dollars saving rain forests in Borneo for Orangutans, that is ten million dollars we aren’t spending on starving children in Africa or Asia. It’s an apparent ethical conflict. If we give our energy and resources to non-human lifeforms, are we diminishing humanity’s value, priority and purpose on earth?

It’s Dangerous

Many Christians associate ‘environmentalism’ with radical left-wing politics, paganism and elements of New Age philosophy that are thought to be a threat to the faith. Say the word “environmentalist’ or “greenie” and most people conjure up images of hippies dancing naked in the forest around a fire or people eating tree bark and drinking spring water. The concern here is that we are going to open ourselves up to some kind of ungodly or unholy influence if we engage with environmental issues or take up ecological concerns. Worse still, we might end up worshipping the creation rather than the Creator or the eath-mother goddess Gaia.

It’s Distracting

Some argue that by allocating time and energy to caring for the earth we are diverting much-needed resource away from our primary task as the church which is the “proclamation of the gospel” and “saving souls for eternity”. This argument, of course, assumes a very narrow definition of the gospel and what exactly the mission of the church really is. It is fuelled by the belief that God’s only concern is to secure the eternal destinies of as many people as possible, before they die, to spare them from eternal damnation and prepare them for a disembodied spiritual existence in the sweet by-and-by (heaven). It assumes that God has no regard for, or concern over, the earth or its non-human lifeforms.

If you have felt any or all of the above concerns when contemplating Christians and their involvement in the environmental issues of our day, take a deep breath and relax. You’re in good company. Many feel the same way.

My hope is that through this series of posts I will be able to dispel the myths that give rise to these objections and show you, from the scriptures, that there is nothing to fear. Care for the earth and all its creatures is motivated by nothing less than love for God and love for others and therefore lies firmly at the heart of what it means to be both human and Christian.

To continue the journey head to Earth Matters – Part 2

Tim Healy is an Associate Lecturer in Theology and Ministry based in Perth Western Australia. He has a Masters Degree in Theology from the University of Wales with a focus on Christian Environmental Ethics and Eco-theology. 

This blog was originally posted on 6 May 2020 on www.timhealy.net.