Eco-Evangelism

Most people wouldn't confuse evangelical Christians with environmentalists. However, Joel Makower suggests that a new ethic toward environmental stewardship among evangelicals may be developing.

Historically, evangelicals have been opposed to ecology issues in part because of opposition to government regulation, suspicion that the eco movement is too leftist for their tastes, and their interpretation of Scripture that the world is humanity's to control unconditionally, and that Christ's imminent coming makes concern over conservation unnecessary. But now, prominent evangelicals are embracing environmentalist positions that, in may cases, put them at odds with the Bush administration.

The National Association of Evangelicals adopted an Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility that states, in part: "We affirm that God-given dominion [over the earth] is a sacred responsibility to steward the earth and not a license to exploit or abuse the creation of which we are a part. We are not the owners of creation, but its stewards, summoned by God to 'watch over and care for it." And in October 2004, the well-known and influential evangelical magazine Christianity Today published an article voicing concern over global warming, urging more proactive measures to curb greenhouse gases, and even criticizing President Bush for ignoring the issue.

If these trends continue, they will go a long way toward de-politicizing environmental issues and getting everyone, regardless of political or religious persuasion, involved in protecting natural resources. Hopefully, someone in the White House will be listening...

UPDATE: WorldChanging has a followup post on the topic listing a number of faith-based environmental organizations, both Christian and non-Christian.

Source: WorldChanging
environment environmentalism ecology global warming evangelism evangelicals Christianity