A little over a year ago I was listening to NPR as NASA administrator Michael Griffin said some things about climate change. As he spoke, I thought to myself, "Oh, there's going to be heat about this!" Read the interview and listen to it here.
Mr. Griffin's basic argument was that the earth has had many different climates over millions of years. So far, so good. Then he proceeded to question the right of any human beings to decide what climate the earth should have. We don't know, according to him, that the one we have is the best possible climate for all life and for other human beings.
However scientifically well-founded Mr. Griffin thought his statements were, they didn't give sufficient consideration to the moral and ethical issues involved, and much less any sort of theological implications.
"So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth'" (Genesis 1:27-28 NRSV).
Whatever view a Christian takes of the creation stories in the Book of Genesis, the passage above is part of the canon received and recognized as authoritative by the church and tells us a great deal about God's intent for the human species.
First, notice that "humankind" (or, more literally, "man") was made "male and female" in the image of the creator. As a trinitarian Christian I can't help but see an element of the divine community there. Just as God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit existing co-eternally in infinite love, so humankind was made to exist in a community of love composed of distinct persons. We were not made to be alone.
Second, to this humankind of male and female, God gave a commission, with authority. Looking out on the world of flora and fauna, they were told to fill and subdue this good earth. Notice, though, it doesn't say overpopulate in certain areas (an error God is depicted as having corrected at Babel, later in the narrative) and to exploit the earth until entire ecosystems collapse.
The fact is that the reckless and largely uninformed behaviour of humanity over the past two centuries in particular are having a catastrophic impact on the environment. This doesn't mean simply that a few thousand species of mosquitoes are being wiped out (I won't miss them) in the Amazon, but that living and breathing human beings are beginning to suffer the consequences of a failure on the part of the whole of humanity to fulfill our sacred duty of being stewards of the earth's resources.
I am no "tree-hugger" or vegetarian. I eat meat and wear shoes made from leather. My father was a farmer and I know full-well that a lot of what is put out by the Sierra Club and Green Peace is deeply flawed and inaccurate. I know from experience that farmers can be far better stewards of the land than government bureaucrats. What I am listening to are the voices of thousands of non-political scientists (yes, some may have been influenced) who are advising us that there is actual evidence that damage has been done and is being done by the human species to this planet.
God called us - all of humanity - to share the task of filling and subduing this world. This is a duty we must assume collectively, but also individually. There is no way I can force a nation or the world to behave in certain ways that will be better on the world we share, but I can take steps in my own life to inform others and live more responsibly. In fact, as a believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the crucified and risen Lord of the Nations, it is particularly important for me to do so. As a part of fulfilling our "Great Commission," received from Jesus, to make disciples of all nations, the church of Christ throughout the earth must be at the forefront of calling all humanity back to rediscover its primal commission, received from the Creator.
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This post is a part of the June Synchroblog on "Green Living and Spirituality." Below you can see links to the all the bloggers talking about this topic.
Is it All About the Green? by Phil Wyman
Rediscovering Humanity’s Primal Commission by Adam Gonnerman
Turn or Burn? A New Liberal Hell? by Cobus van Wyngaard
Little Green Men by Sonja Andrews
Bashing SUV’s for Jesus by David Fisher
Saints and Animals by Steve Hayes
When Christians Weasel Out of Their Environmental Responsibilities by K.W. Leslie
Green Christian Manifesto by Matt Stone
God So Loved, by Sally Coleman
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