Lausanne World Pulse – The Green Gospel: Seven Reasons Why We Should Care about Creation

March 2007

By Mark Russell

Global warming has thrust environmental concerns onto the center stage of world affairs.

Times are changing and many say the weather is too. The dramatic rise of the Internet, global communications and satellite networks means that we are more in touch with what is going on around the world than ever before. Natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes appear to be increasing. Glaciers are shrinking, ice caps are melting, oceans are rising, summers are longer and winters are shorter. We are told the earth is heating up and it is because of us. Global warming has thrust environmental concerns onto the center stage of world affairs.

But this has not been without controversy. Evangelicals have responded in a variety of ways. Many have contended that God would never allow this to happen. Others say we are too small and the earth too big for our impact to make a difference. Some, however, have posited that many of these calamities could be God’s judgment. This complicated topic deserves some exploration.

Increasing awareness on environmental issues is a strategic opportunity for Christians to look at scripture with new eyes and see what it might say on this important matter. It is not my intent to discuss the political ramifications; rather, I will focus on the spiritual implications of what the Bible says. Hopefully, the following seven points will bring some clarity to earnest Christians.

1. Creation is a gift from God. The Bible starts with the account of the creator breathing creation into existence. He took six days. Following each day, he pronounced it good, with the exception of the final day, which he called “very good.” Creation, all of it, was very good. In his benevolence, the Almighty presented a portion of his creation to humans as a gift saying, “Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1:26).

Mark Russell is a doctoral student at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, USA. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife and their two children.