RECENTLY I WAS CHALLENGED BY an SBS Cutting Edge documentary, “The end of the world as we know
it,” in which Marcel Theroux explored how the problems being created by climate change and global warming
should be a wake-up call for us to change our priorities, attitudes and behaviours in regard to the environment. Polar icecaps are thinning, forests are being destroyed at a rapid rate either through logging or
human-caused environmental factors, sea levels are rising, the Gulf Stream is slowing and species of plants and animals are being pushed into extinction.
In the documentary, scientists estimated we need to slash our carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60 per cent to ensure that we avoid an environmental apocalypse, but it seems like even these dire warnings
aren’t being taken too seriously by many individuals, companies and governments.
Many people actually deny that there are problems, which equates to sticking one’s head in the sand (taking care to avoid any hypodermic needles, chip packets and other rubbish that may be lurking there).
However, Sir David King, chief scientific adviser to the British Government says, “Global warming is the biggest problem facing us this century . . . bigger even than the problems of global terrorism.”
At the rate we’re currently destroying, we really won’t have that much to give to our children, let alone our grandchildren.
So is this what God had in mind when He said that we were to have dominion over the earth? Or has our sinful nature had more of an influence on how we’re treating the world, rather than our relationship with God who created us and everything else? And what part does sin play in all of this?
Sin is often just seen as something that’s human-to-human, rather than being something that has a broader spectrum that does include the environment. The systematic exploitation and senseless destruction of the natural world is a sin.
Overconsumption, wastage and a general disregard for the welfare of our planet and its inhabitants has a lot to do with greed, pride and selfishness.
Sin is something God is ultimately going to destroy, and it’s important to note that in Revelation 11:18, John says, “The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead . . . and for destroying those who destroy the earth” (NIV). As with all of our other sins, we’re answerable to God for the things we do to the earth that damage it.
Therefore, as Christians, we shouldn’t be hanging back or making excuses when it comes to looking after the earth, and not just because it means we sin less.
Unfortunately, an interest in environmental care isn’t always popular. Instead of working together on preservation and improvement, Christians have typically been at loggerheads with environmentalists. Environmentalists say Christian beliefs have encouraged the exploitation of the earth and its resources because we’ve taken God’s gift of “dominion” to a destructive extreme. On the other side, environmentalists are too often perceived as being “hippies,” “neo-pagans” or “tree-huggers” and their calls for action dismissed as being extreme or even foolish.
This ignores the fact that many Christian denominations have statements about care for the environment included in their beliefs. As Seventh-day Adventists, we are charged with a responsibility to care for creation in our sixth Fundamental Beliefs statement. Our faith should influence our attitudes and actions toward the
environment.
If we are approaching it with the belief that “dominion” over it means that we can do whatever we want with it, degrading and destroying things, using up resources without considering how we can replace them or find alternatives, we’ve missed the point. Christians should view Genesis 1:28 as a call to be representatives of God in caring for the earth He made.
We should be carrying on what Adam was told to do in Genesis 2:15 in caring for the earth as stewards of it. This might mean we have to make radical changes in our attitudes or behaviours, but they are necessary—and it won’t kill us to do so.
In fact, it might do the opposite and help bring us closer to God as we see Him in action through the truly wonderful world He has made.