Mere Environmentalism: A Biblical Perspective on Humans and the Natural World

By Steven F. Hayward

As debates over climate change rage in Washington and American consumers become ever more conscientious about 'going green,' evangelical Christians are increasingly concerned about the proper relationship between faith and environmentalism. The notion of human 'stewardship' over God's creation could be a groundbreaking opportunity for cooperation between evangelicals, the scientific community, and environmental activists. However, a deep understanding of environmental issues from a distinctively Christian perspective will inevitably complicate partnerships with those who approach the subject from conventional secular viewpoints. Although there is some common ground, there remain important differences between Christian and secular perspectives on the environment. Are human beings merely one 'part' of the undifferentiated whole of nature? Or, worse, are humans a blight and a drain on God's perfect creation? Do we really 'own' the land we live on and the plants and animals that provide our sustenance? The answers to these questions begin to form a Christian approach to solving ecological problems. In Mere Environmentalism: A Biblical Perspective on Humans and the Natural World, Steven F. Hayward provides a thorough examination of the philosophical presuppositions underlying today's environmentalist movement and the history of policies intended to alleviate environmental challenges such as overpopulation and global warming. Relying on Scripture to understand God's created order, Hayward offers an insightful reflection on the relationship between humans and the natural world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AEI Press
• Release date: Nov 16, 2010
• ISBN: 9780844743752

Steven F. Hayward

Steven F. Hayward is the F. K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He coauthors the Pacific Research Institute's annual Index of Leading Environmental Indicators and is the producer and host of An Inconvenient Truth_Or Convenient Fiction?, a rebuttal to Al Gore's documentary.

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LCCN: 2010028984

ISBN-13: 978-0-8447-4374-5

eISBN-13: 978-0-8447-4375-2

FOREWORD

by Jay W. Richards

As a child, I spent many summers at a Christian camp in the mountains of New Mexico. The dense forests of pine and spruce trees, cold mountain streams, verdant meadows festooned with wildflowers, and towering Rocky Mountains helped instill in me a love and awe for God’s creation. It was there, in the thin air seven thousand feet above sea level, that I first saw a hazy white band of light across the night sky. Only later did I learn that I was peering into the star-dense center of our Milky Way galaxy, thousands of light years away. Perhaps as a result of these formative experiences, I have always seen the creation as one of the ways that God reveals himself to us.

The Bible itself says as much. From the creation of the world, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen from the things that have been made (Romans 1:20). And Psalm 19 says that the heavens declare the glory of God. Theologians have described the creation as general revelation, whereas Scripture is special revelation. Now Jews and Christians obviously hold that special revelation in high regard. But if the creation is God’s general revelation of himself, how could they not treat it, too, with respect?

For those who revere Scripture, then, environmental stewardship should be a no-brainer. Or so it has always seemed to me. So it came as a surprise when I learned in college that some academics, such as Lynn White, have claimed just the opposite. White famously blamed biblical teaching about God and man as the source of environmental degradation; and his argument has been repeated ad nauseam in environmental ethics courses ever since.

Other critics have suggested, similarly, that because Christians believe Christ will return and consummate his kingdom at some point, Christians will tend to disregard the environment. For years, the media spread a story about James Watt, Secretary of the Interior from 1981–83, which seemed to illustrate this problem. Watt, an evangelical Christian, was once asked by a congressional committee whether his views on the end times led him to give the environment short shrift. His real but rarely reported answer was unobjectionable, even commonsensical from a Christian point of view: I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns; whatever it is we have to manage with a skill to leave the resources needed for future generations. This answer did not fit the stereotype, however, so for years, the media often claimed that Watt had said: After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back. This is now widely known to be apocryphal, but the fact that the slander against Watt persisted for so long suggests that many people think Christian theology is antagonistic to environmental concerns.

As Steven F. Hayward admirably demonstrates in the following pages, this stereotype is baseless. While those who look to the Bible for guidance do not always fully understand or live up to the standards they profess, the Bible is a rich source for environmental ethics. It also provides a stable foundation for assessing environmental concerns with an open mind while avoiding the extremes so characteristic of public debates over the environment.

The relationship between man and nature is hardly a secondary theme in Scripture. On the very first page, in the book of Genesis, the Bible teaches our responsibility over our natural environment. In the great creation epic of Genesis 1, God creates everything over the course of one divine workweek. On the sixth day, God creates human beings, after he has created the other land animals. But human beings, unlike everything else in creation, are created in God’s image. And the image-bearers of God are immediately commanded: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish