c. 2004 Religion News Service

(David P. Gushee is the Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.)

(UNDATED) It is becoming increasingly clear that human beings are doing significant damage to God’s good creation and to the creatures who inhabit it, including ourselves. We know what to do about the problems if we can only find the will. Christians must join the fight to steward God’s world, in obedience to Scripture.

That was my take-away from a recent major conference of evangelical leaders in Sandy Cove, Md., during which we prayed, talked and listened to some of the world’s leading Christian naturalists and scientists.

No one sets out with a plan to pollute the land, water and air, poison and kill various species of plants and animals, make human beings gradually sicker, and even change the overall climate around the world. These problems have emerged over time, primarily as the unintended consequence of the modern industrialized Western lifestyle. Now it is increasingly clear that the damage we are doing is real, and that it is affecting us and will affect our children and grandchildren and the world they will inhabit.

While there are a number of problems affecting God’s creation, the heart of the problem is two-fold. First, some of the industrial chemicals and other substances we have developed are damaging to our own health, to the health of many species of animals as well as plant life, and to the natural environment. We thought that the world was infinitely resilient, and that it could absorb or break down anything we might throw at it. But it is more fragile than we knew. So when we release certain kinds of chemicals into the creation they hang around and make all forms of life _ including ourselves _ susceptible to increased sickness and even death. This is not just save the whales stuff; it’s save ourselves stuff.

Second, our marvelous discovery and use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) has begun to result in an effect on the very atmosphere that envelops us, keeping us both warm and safe from the sun’s rays. The great majority of the world’s most respected scientists (not alarmists or quacks) are now confirming what many people who live close to the land have been saying for awhile _ the climate is slowly changing. Essentially, heat that fossil fuels produce is getting trapped in our atmosphere rather than being released out of it, and this is the main reason why the surface of our planet is slowly heating up.

There is debate among serious scientists about the severity and pace of the problem, but with few exceptions little debate about the existence of the problem itself.

For those of us who get cold in the winter, a little more heat may not seem like such a bad idea. But the consequences are not to be scoffed at. Even a couple of degrees’ increase in global temperature is likely to do such things as heat (and thus expand) ocean water, flooding islands and coastal areas in which tens of millions of people live. At least 150 million people will likely become “environmental refugees” within 50 years because of this problem. Also, the warming that is already happening seems to be the reason for an increase in extreme weather events, such as intense rainstorms and droughts, which bring immense suffering to so many.

So here’s the deal: human beings are a powerful enough species now to affect the very planet on which we all live. We didn’t know that we had this kind of power. But we are at risk of poisoning ourselves and overheating our world. More study of the issues is needed, but that seems to be where things are.

This growing threat has caused some Christians to find their way back to the Bible with fresh eyes to see what is actually there. Genesis 2:15 says, “the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 1:28 says, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves along the ground.”

Today, we see what these mandates have always really meant: We are a unique species and play a unique role on the planet. Because of our intelligence and power we are responsible for what happens here in a way that no other creature could ever be. We are in charge of this planetary Garden, with an authority delegated to us from God, and like everyone who has such delegated authority we are responsible to God for exercising it wisely.

The good news is that we know what the problems are and most of what to do to adapt to them and fix them. Some of the damage is irreversible, but concerted action by individuals, businesses and governments can slow down this runaway train, and at a reasonable cost that guards both liberty and the free market. This we must do while there is still time.

DEA/MO/JL END GUSHEE