A Green Christian?

"Is that even possible?” I thought, as I considered the possibility of being environmentally conscious while being a conservative Christian. For my entire life, being a Christian seem irreconcilable with caring a smidge about the earth; granted I hadn't tried very hard and generally scoffed at anyone who used the now trendy “green” tag about anything

Had anyone challenged my beliefs I would have opened up the Bible to the first page and said that God has clearly given us dominion over the earth and given us every plant and tree. I would have said that after the fall we were told to subdue the earth. This might have shut them up but, again, this never happened and I continued to persist in my former thinking, but things began to change during a drive through Scotland.

Having never been to Scotland before I was unprepared for the gorgeous, sweeping countryside. It was breathtaking and almost caused me to drive off the road as I craned my neck to see the high mountains or green rolling hills or majestic vistas. Every few miles there was a parking area and I used quite a few to pull over and just take in the scenery. Then a thought struck me; what would this look like leveled with several high rises on it?

I have a yearly tradition to visit New York City around Christmas and we inevitably end up in Times Square. Times Square is a place to see if you have never been. There are towering electronic screens on almost every building, not to mention people from many nations and states all enamored by the spectacle. A few years ago my visit to Times Square left a peculiar taste in my mouth. None of the tiny colored lights advertising Broadway shows, cars or beer had as much beauty as a single sunset. On a related note, none of Times Squares directed the viewers towards God. It is a testament to man, mostly to our pleasures and vices. I'm sure some people can look at something like Times Square or a city skyline and see the beauty and praise God for giving us our gifts of invention and the ability to create but there is something about enjoying nature that can never compare with man's creation.

God's creation will always trump anything our human minds can think of and create and nature testifies to so many of God's character traits. For starters, creation testifies to the existence of a Creator. The book of Romans states that the knowledge of God is in all men because of the creation around them. The complexities and beauties one finds in nature cannot help but lead one to believe in a loving Creator; the next of God's traits expressed in nature. We have been given an entire planet to enjoy and use for our good and survival. Only a loving Creator would supply our needs so fully.

Why then has the church and environmental movements traditionally clashed in ideals and beliefs? Because environmental movements with God become idolatry. If “saving the earth” is your ultimate goal, then it is your God. However, one can seek to glorify God above all and still be concerned about environmental pursuits. Man has been given so great a gift in our earth, however we have not been given it for us to wantonly waste it. We are still required to be good stewards of the gifts given us, and this includes our natural world.

There are many environmental movements that elevate the rights of animals above that of humans. This is a perversion of God's created order. Man is the pinnacle of God's creation, created in his very image, and given dominion over all the animals. However we must remember as Psalm 50 teaches, “All animals belong to God.” Jesus taught that God cares for every animal even the smallest sparrows. The biodiversity present in the vast spectrum of created life points to God's creativity and glory. Dominion does not mean wasteful destruction. Clearly we are not to abuse or destroy animals as Christians, however this prohibition does extend to hunting or using animals for food.

I have every faith in the sovereignty of God and believe that man cannot “break” the earth unless it is part of the Lord's plan, but that he will work even our wasteful sins for our good. I read somewhere that a portion of the vivid sunsets we enjoy is actually due in part to pollution in the atmosphere refracting the light to make brilliant colors. God will redeem our mistakes but maybe we should think before making more.