Earthkeeping: The Path Ahead

For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision of Creation Care, by Steven Bouma-Prediger

progress: 164/187

With the help of Bouma-Prediger and his insightful book, we have hopefully established the following truths:

1. We are called to be good keepers of the whole of creation.
2. Creation groans, because of us.
3. Jesus is the ultimate reconciler of creation.
4. We have a role to play in the redemption of creation.

So...what is our role?

Bouma-Prediger offers his answer in terms of the larger question of "What Kind of People Ought We to Be?" Values and virtues point the way to what sort of actions we should take (or not take). His discussion was so thorough that I found it difficult to process without putting it into my own little outline (yes, I'm that sort of person :-). The words in parentheses are the unhealthy extremes of the aforementioned virtues.

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Integrity: Creation is diverse, good, and harmonious.

Value: Creation has intrinsic value because God made it, not just because of its usefulness.

Goal 1: Act so as to preserve diverse kinds of life.

• Respect all creatures (conceit – reverence)
• Recognize our interdependence with other creatures (self-sufficiency – addiction)

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Finitude: Creation is finite.

Sufficiency: We have access to everything we need (as opposed to want).

Goal 2: Act so as to live within your means.

• Practice self-restraint in order to reserve and conserve (profligacy – austerity)
• Practice frugality so that others may live and flourish (greed – stinginess)

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Finitude: Humans are finite, limited in power and knowledge, space and time

Fallenness: Humans are fallen, alienated from God, humans, ourselves and the earth

Goal 3: Act cautiously. - Survey as many consequences as possible

• Be humble – recognize that we can’t know everything, because we are finite and fallen (pride – false modesty)
•  Be honest – (deception – false honesty)

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Fruitfulness: Creatures provide sustenance for themselves and others, and reproduce themselves

Sustainability: Creation, if cared for properly, can sustain itself

Goal 4: Act in such a way that the ability of living creatures to maintain themselves and to reproduce is preserved. - plants, animals, and humans

• Be wise in the fear of God – make sound judgments on behalf of creation (foolishness)
• Live in the hope of God’s good future for all of creation (despair – presumption)

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Sabbath: God works and rests, and so should we and the creatures under our care

Rejuvination: Allow ourselves and our world to rejuvenate by resisting the world’s drive for constant production

Goal 5: Act in such a way that the creatures under your care are given their needful rest.

• Patiently commit ourselves of God’s way of doing things and his timing (impetuousness – timidity)
• Find peace amidst the chaos in the knowledge that God is at work, reconciling our world (restlessness – passivity)

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Earthkeeping: God owns the earth, and we are called to be its keepers

Benevolence: God does good for the sake of others, and this is how we are called to be earthkeepers

Goal 6: Act so as to care for the earth’s creatures, especially those creatures in need.

• Commit yourself to do good on behalf of others, whether humans, animals, or ecosystems (malice)
• Learn to love the earth and its creatures, of whom we are keepers (apathy)

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Righteousness: God is righteous and just, and calls us to be righteous and just, with special attention given to those most likely to be treated unjustly, whether humans or other creatures, trees or ecosystems

Equity: God exercises fairness in according to need (different from equality)

Goal 7: Act so as to treat others, human and nonhuman, fairly.

• Exercise justice in acting impartially and fairly (injustice)
• Be courageous in the face of difficulty (cowardice – rashness) 

While I affirm the importance of each goal, numbers 2, 3 and 7 are the most convicting to me at this point in my life, perhaps because they feel like the ones which are more immediately applicable in my daily life. Living within our means (goal 2) does not mean that as long as we can afford it (which I usually can't anyway), it's okay to consume to our heart's content (which it never is anyway). It is hemmed in by the virtues of self-restraint and frugality - what is wanted must be challenged by what is needed, for ourselves and for others. How does my consumption affect others' abilities to have their needs met? (And I'm not just talking about people here; animals, bugs and trees have needs too.)

This decision-making process regarding needs and wants is closely related to the goal of justice (goal 7), as it necessarily involves an impartial and fair assessment of the needs and wants of others. If that Thing I Want is produced by child labour, or contributes to unjust social structures, if it pollutes rivers with byproducts or involves animals living or dying in non-humane ways, or if it generally keeps me blinded to the needs of others, and feeling like an entitled individual instead of a compassionate member of God's whole creation-community, is it really worth having?

Of course we can't always know these things, and that's where goal 3 comes in: Act Cautiously. This is a tricky one, because we can choose to avoid knowing certain details, which in turn allows us to consume with a clear(ish) conscience. For example, I have avoided watching the food industry exposé Food, Inc. because I'm not sure I can commit to the conviction just yet - but it's on my to-do list! (Just trying to keep it real here, folks.) Nonetheless, as a Christian I believe it is my responsibility to pursue truth, wherever it takes me. Acknowledging that we can't know everything about the world and the consequences of our actions, we must act humbly, cautiously, gently, aware that our actions have consequences beyond our awareness. Insofar as we are able, we must ask ourselves, "What are the potential consequences of this choice?" and endeavour to make wise judgments.

The scary part for me is that it often takes me to a place of conviction that requires me to change: perhaps to spend more money buying the organic or fair trade option, or simply to go without. I'm confronted with my own greed, my tendency to place convenience above conscience, and my general sense of apathy toward many aspects of God's world.  

Well, those are a few of my raw thoughts on my own role in being a good steward of this good creation which God has entrusted to me and you. What about you? How do you live out your care and concern for God's creation in your attempt to be a faithful earthkeeper? Of if you're like me so much of the time, how do you fail? What is the path ahead?

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The Ultimate Earthkeeper

For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care, by Steven Bouma-Prediger
progress: 160/187


In my series of lectures on Earthkeeping, I covered many of the same texts that Bouma-Prediger discussed in detail in the fourth chapter of his book, entitled, "Is there a connection between scripture and ecology?" as well as a few extras. In Genesis, we looked at several themes, some of which I had previously overlooked, or which I hadn't thought through fully enough to discover all of the implications for creation care.


1. Relationality. In the creation story, we read that God created the heavens and the earth. Throughout the creation, God declares his creation to be "good." Only once, however, does he consider his creation to be "very good." Which part of creation was blessed with this superlative? In my ignorance, I would have assumed it was the creation of humans - we are pretty special, after all, being singled out in all of creation to be the bearers of God's own image. And so it was with surprise that I discovered that it wasn't any one part of creation, but in fact the whole of creation: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (1:31) As glorious the celestial array, as majestic the oceans and mountains, as diverse the multitudes of plants and creatures, God wasn't fully pleased with these things until they were all created, together. Just as God himself is a community of three Persons, just as he declared it "not good" for Adam to be alone (2:18), God is not ultimately satisfied until his creation reflects the community of his own nature. We were made to live in relationship with the sun, which grows our crops; with the plants, which feed us and provide shade for us; and with the animals and other humans, who provide companionship and friendship. The harmony of God's creation (BP refers to it as "shalom") was characterised by an interconnectedness with God, and through him, with everything else he created.


2. Theocentrism. On a similar theme to the first point, I was intrigued to find that, although God blessed many of his individual creations, there was only one day that he blessed in its entirety. "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." (2:3) Again, it was not the sixth day, in which he created humans in his image, but the seventh day, in which he rested from his work. As BP points out, the climax of creation is the Sabbath. I've still got a lot of thinking to do to discover all of the implications of that fact. The point I want to draw out at this moment is that God is at the centre of creation, not humans. It's ultimately about him. Many mistakes have been made, I believe, because we view ourselves as the end of creation, rather than him and his glory. 


3. Responsibility. In the fall story, we see the splintering of that harmony in which God created the world. 

Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. (3:17b-19)

As soon as Eve and Adam chose their own way over God's way, they discovered the awful consequences of that choice. Not only was their relationship with God broken, but their relationship with each other. And beyond that, the shalom of all of creation was broken: harmony and cooperation would be replaced by toil and adversity. And why? "Because of you."

4. Covenant. In the flood story, we see the further consequences of that disharmony. Humans are evil, and so God uses his own creation (ie, rain) to destroy all but a few representatives of the rest of creation. Mountains, trees, and creatures of every kind are washed away by his grief. When Noah and Company finally set foot on solid ground again, God makes a promise: 

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

Again, humans are not at the centre of this story, God is. Creation is saved because of his mercy, goodness and faithfulness. He declares this faithfulness by way of a covenant. Never again will he destroy creation in this way. And with whom does he make this covenant? Just to be clear, he says it six times: "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth." God's dealings with our world encompass the whole of creation. To be sure, his dealings with humans are unique and most amazing, but the reach of his care and concern are cosmic.


These four points raise the following questions to consider with regard to the topic of earthkeeping:

1. Given the interrelatedness of humans with the rest of creation (as well as God and other humans), how should this inform our role as God's appointed keepers of creation?
2. How does our tendency to put ourselves at the middle of the story muddle our thinking about the point and priorities of creation?
3. If humans are responsible for bringing disharmony into creation, what then is our role for righting that wrong?
4. If God deals with all of creation, what is his plan for the cosmos in its entirety?

The answers are not quick or easy, but a good starting place can be found in Romans 8:18-22:

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 

Verse 18 tells us that, although we suffer, there is a future glorification which will render our current sufferings puny in comparison. Verse 19 tells us that creation plays a role in our glorification: it waits, eagerly. Verses 20-22 give us the reason for this anxious expectation: it is currently oppressed, frustrated, decaying. It groans. But these three verses also speak of something beyond the present reality: there is hope, liberation, and a promise of a new birth. This raises the question of the means of this liberation - how does it come about? Colossians 1:15-20 reveals that the better question is, by Whom?

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

By Whom does the liberation of creation come about? By Jesus! He is the firstborn over all creation. All things were made by him, for him, through him. He is the centre of the cosmos, and by him all things hold together. He is before all things, after all things, above all things, and by him all things will be reconciled. Jesus is the Ultimate Earthkeeper. As Randy Alcorn points out in his book entitled Heaven, whenever Jesus speaks of his work, he uses words like "reconcile, redeem, restore, recover, return, renew, regenerate, resurrect" (88) - all of which suggest a return to what was before, a return to that perfect shalom in which the world was created (if you are of the persuasion that the world will be destroyed by fire according to 2 Peter 3:10 see BP explanation of why this is most likely a misinterpretation of the Greek text, pages 77-78). 


The creation in its entirety anxiously awaits redemption. This redemption is a reversal of the curse, put into effect by Jesus' death on the cross. If you previously thought Jesus only died on the cross to save souls, you need to enlarge your imagination and expand your understanding to see just how HUGE, how utterly complete God's salvation is. I especially like the way Steven Lawson puts it, 

Whatever sin has touched and polluted, God will redeem and cleanse. If redemption does not go as far as the curse of sin, then God has failed. Whatever the extent of the consequences of sin, so must the extent of redemption be.” (quoted in Heaven, by Randy Alcorn, page 91) 

Revelation 21-22 as well as Isaiah 60 help us to see the extent of what God had planned from the beginning to redeem, restore and reconcile. Jesus died to repair all that is wrong with the world, souls, bodies, lands, creatures, ecosystems, cultures, and nations. 


And the clincher is this: as God's appointed keepers of the earth who are called to be imitators of God (Eph 5:1), we have a role to play in that redeeming.

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Earthkeeping: Why Christians Don't Care

For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care, by Steven Bouma-Prediger
progress: 160/187

Back again - can I blame pregnancy on my long absence? Or perhaps my three kids? Certainly not laziness, I assure you! Whatever the cause(s), it's good to be back to the structure of autumn again. I have three hours to myself every playschool day, so I'm hoping to dedicate at least some of that time to blogging.


This summer, a friend who is a teacher at the local Christian school asked me if I would be interested in teaching a few Bible classes to the 9-12th graders. The current book is Genesis and she gave me free reign to pick my topic, so I suggested the topic of stewardship: What does/should the keeping of God's creation look like? Being the good sport that she is, she agreed. I was quite pleased that my passionate teaching on Revelation last year hadn't turned her off. 


I taught three classes on the subject and I think they went well. After the first class, I left wondering if the kids thought I was a little bit out there (I liked the challenge that presented). I wondered if they expected me to be a radical recycling Nazi, or a doomsday environmentalist blaming humans for all the world's problems. Of course, these fears were most likely borne of my own paranoia of being misunderstood and therefore ignored. 


But it's true that many Christians - or strains of Christians - have seemed to view the entire topic of the environment with suspicion, as if that is the domain of "liberals" and extremists. I did have a sense that before I could jump into how to care about creation I had to make a case for why we as Christians should care about creation. At the end of the first class, my friend the teacher asked me outright, why is this the case? 


That got me thinking. Where is the disconnect between God's command to rule, reign, work and take care of creation in Genesis 1-2 and the adversarial relationship with creation in which many Christians now find themselves? I wrote down a few ideas.


Why do Christians often neglect or ignore the topic of earthkeeping? 

1. It is a reactionary response: nonChristians’ views are sometimes so extreme, we can make the mistake of responding with an equally extreme view in the opposite direction. 


Case in point: many of the folks who support saving animals are the same folks who support abortion. Therefore, if you're opposed to abortion, you must obviously stand against saving the whales, right? (I hope this thought doesn't need further development.)

2. We tend to focus more on spiritual matters than material matters – souls before bodies, humans before animals, etc. 


Here is just one more way that we allow dualistic beliefs to infiltrate our actions (or inactions): spiritual = good, material = evil. This has been a recurring problem over the centuries with missionary efforts, as the salvation of souls is emphasized to the neglect of the immediate, physical needs of the bodies in which those souls are clothed. Just because an item is a higher priority than another, we are not given permission to neglect or ignore the lesser priority matters. We are called to be multitaskers, addressing many issues at once, from the Great Commission to feeding the orphans and the widows to rooting out "all bitterness, rage and anger" in our hearts. Humans are made in the image of God, but we are called to be keepers of all creatures great and small (not to mention the rivers, mountains and trees!).

3. We misrepresent what it means to “subdue” the earth – we turn dominion into domination. 


Christians are not immune from the human tendency to define authority in terms of power and domination. It completely distracts us from the real issue, the question of "What does God's authority look like?" Of course God is powerful and every knee will eventually bow in submission to Him, but our most powerful experience of His rule is in the "glorious, incomparable, unsearchable riches" of His grace, His lovingkindness, His loving care for our every need (both spiritual and physical). All these things are "lavished" on us through Jesus' death on a cross, the ultimate expression of power expressed in self-sacrificial service. Wow. 

In his book on creation care (my primary resource for these talks and Bookmeal Book #5), Steve Bouma-Prediger writes,

The proper exercise of dominion yields shalom - the flourishing of all creation. This is a far cry from dominion as domination. And Jesus, in the Gospel accounts, defines domination in terms clearly contrary to the way it is usually understood. For Jesus, to rule is to serve. To exercise dominion is to suffer, if necessary, for the good of the other. there is no question of domination, exploitation, misuse. Humans, therefore, are called to rule, but only if ruling is understood rightly. (74)

4. We’ve never been introduced to the topic from a Christian perspective 


I, for one, was not introduced to the theme of "earthkeeping" until I began my Master's Degree at Regent College (and moved to Canada from the US, I might add). Up until that point, it hadn't entered my Christian consciousness. Other themes related to creation took precedence (see #7 below).

5. Worrying about the environment (or nuclear destruction, etc) suggests a lack of faith that God will take care of us. 


Holders of this view tend to forget that God uses people to accomplish His will. If we are called as God's-image-bearers to be good keepers of the earth, what happens if we fail in our calling? 

I'll spare you the details of why this is most likely a poor translation of the Greek word for "to find," but the main point is, even if it's going to be eventually destroyed, what right does that give us to neglect and abuse it now? I like Bouma-Prediger's analogy, "Is it permissible for me to plunder your house just because some time in the future it will be torn down?" (78) We all know we will die someday, yet we eat, sleep, exercise, love, and enjoy life. 

7. We get caught up defending God as the Creator and forget to live that truth out in our daily lives – as godly caretakers of the earth.


This is a personal pet peeve of mine, and so I write with fear and trembling of offending some who might read this. Christians jump right into the fray of the creation/evolution debate, even dividing amongst themselves as to the specifics of that creation - literal days? gap theory? intelligent design? The passion with which they lobby governments, picket schools, and turn this topic into a political hot button, is admirable, but incomplete (some might say misplaced). The main point is that God made the world, right? He is the Creator, therefore creation is good and valuable. Passion for this truth should work itself out in a deepened worship of the Creator and a more reverent approach to creation as God's masterpiece and to our role as earthkeepers of that creation. Steve Bouma-Prediger asks, “How can we honour the Master without caring for his masterpieces?” (135) Passion for creationism that does not result in care and love for creation (as an extension of our love for our Creator) is a stillborn one, not having achieved it's proper end of life and joy and worship - of shalom.

Those are a few of the potential reasons that came to my mind. Bouma-Prediger offers a few additional ones for the Western church (pp. 80-83), including the Western church in particular's addiction to consumption and wealth, tendency toward anthropocentrism rather than theocentrism, and deification of technology as the saviour of our problems. Do you agree? Disagree? Did I miss anything?


I'd better stop there. I want to write a bit more about the Redeemer and redemption of creation, but I'll have to save it for another post.


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