I can’t get on board with environmentalism that becomes religious or dogmatic

A year ago I was on a bus in my hometown and passed by a church that had a ‘Act Now On Climate’ poster on its noticeboard outside. When I visited this summer, I passed by again and saw that the poster was still there. 

I was quite disturbed that this prime opportunity to share a Bible verse or say something about Jesus was being missed in favour of a climate message that had been there for so long. 

It got me thinking: “Should Christians focus on ‘saving the planet?’ or is there a time when we need to bring the message back to the basics of the gospel?”

A biblical mandate

God gave Adam and Eve instructions to be good stewards of the earth. In Genesis 1:28 he said: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (NKJV). 

The word ‘dominion’ sounds a lot like ‘dominate’, but the Hebrew ‘radah’ has a more complex meaning. According to Hebrew scholar Jeff A Benner, it actually means to “to rule by going down and walking among the subjects as an equal”. How beautiful, that in a simple word, we see Jesus there in the beginning of scripture. 

It’s clear that humanity’s mandate is to take care of the natural world, to “work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). It would be unbiblical to just consume and use up resources, thinking that’s OK because one day Jesus will create a new heaven and a new earth. As Christians we should focus on looking after the planet, and actively get involved with our environmental causes if we feel called to. 

But there is a danger of ‘yoking’ too closely with worldly ideas about how we can solve the world’s problems. 

Being wise in our approach

Humans are built for worship, and are burdened with sin, so when we don’t have God in our lives we tend to worship anything and everything to try to lessen the burden of sin. Environmentalism can take the place of religion, a works-based one, where we get brownie points for recycling, not flying and eschewing meat. 

I’m all for taking care of the earth, but when it becomes religious, or dogmatic, saying things like: “you must become vegan’,’ then I can’t get on board. As someone who was vegetarian from the age of 13 to 33, and who started eating meat again for health reasons, I think we need to take a more nuanced and pragmatic approach. 

Some aspects of environmentalism actually contradict what the Bible says too. For example, there is the concept that our world is overpopulated and that having children is the worst thing we can do for the planet. Yet God gave humanity the mandate to “be fruitful and multiply”.

Satan is the god of this world, and the father of lies, and we need to be as “wise as serpents” (Matthew 10:16, ESV) when presented with ideas about how to make the world a better place. I don’t think God would have left us short on resources. It’s our own inability as sinful humans to use these resources wisely that is the problem. 

People come up with amazing ideas to live better, more sustainable lives, but as imperfect sinners we will get things wrong. There are also those who are motivated by profit – climate change is big business – or other forms of personal gain. 

It’s only when we have God in our lives that we can begin to acknowledge our sin and try to live in accordance with his ways of taking care of the earth. Yet often Christians do not get the balance right, either ignoring the state of the planet, or making it the primary message. 

The banner I pass by on the bus is in a prime position to reach the lost. I think of a person caught up in drug addiction, or struggling day to day to feed their family. Is a message about how they need to take on the burden of the climate and ‘act now’ going to get through to them? I seriously doubt it. But a Bible verse that speaks to them about Jesus’ ability to lift their personal burdens could. 

I’m woefully aware that my own attempts to take care of my little corner of the world fall short every day. Thankfully Jesus doesn’t ask us to ‘save the planet’, but listen to his voice as he guides us. Perhaps what we need to do more than anything is to learn to listen more deeply to him.