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God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came, and then morning: the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31

One of the weaknesses of American fundamentalist Christianity has been a very weak eco-theology, making room for their being characterized as ecological rapists – right-wing, capitalistic materialists.

This is primarily because some of these professed Christians have mistakenly taken God’s commandment to “be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it; rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth[1]” as permission for reckless procreation and the abuse of nature at our discretion.

But the very idea that Christianity would support ecological pillage is repugnant. God has never supported “lording over” His creation or abusing one’s charges[2]. After all, our first home was a natural paradise[3] and our first mandate was to tend creation and care for it[4]. The Lord commanded Adam to tend this paradise and keep it. In other words, the direction was for good stewardship, rather than the misuse of resources.

When Job called into question God’s loving care, Elohay Mishpat (God Of Justice[5]) launched into a long recitation of all the things He does for creation[6]. In these marvelous chapters, God describes His vast ranging interests which include everything from the mutual gravitational attraction of a cluster of stars[7] to the timing of the birth of goats and deer[8].

Jesus dedicated two parables to teaching the necessity of not only using God’s resources but actually improving or increasing them[9]! The orthodox interpretation of these parables is that the resources referred to include everything God gives us, not merely money. We are not allowed to simply use up the soil He has given us. We are to seek ways to achieve as high sustainability for the soil as the Law of Entropy will allow.

God views the provision of natural resources as “tsedekah”, or help to the oppressed. He wants a sustainable source of food to be made available to all living creatures and those who work toward that end are considered to have d’vekut with God and to possess integrity[10].

Jesus further taught that the Father is concerned about the life of a single sparrow and the quality of life of lilies in the field[11]. In fact, this ecological principle is so important that the Master used it to illustrate His Father’s amazing love for humanity.

The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord[12]When evidence of God's handiwork that took Him thousands of years to develop is erased through the destruction of the miraculous beauty such as was once displayed in the majestic natural cathedrals of our old growth forests, can we expect anything to follow except despair? .

Ever since we fell from Eden, God has relentlessly tried to restore us to that original paradise. We need to be Eden seekers - good stewards who look after the Master's business as we should.

[1] Genesis 1:28

[2] Mark 10:42-45; 1 Peter 5:1-5

[3] Genesis 1:31

[4] Genesis 2:15

[5] Isaiah 30:18

[6] Job 38-39

[7] Job 38:31ff

[8] Job 39:1

[9] Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:13-27

[10] Psalm 145:14-18

[11] Matthew 6:25-34

[12] Psalm 24:1

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Inerrancy in History