Caring for creation

Let's see, all we have to do is get people to stop using gasoline and oil, stop buying packaged crap in stores, and stop using toilets. Nobody was doing any of that stuff here until the manifest destiny crowd showed up.

I've located hundreds of organic gardens in our county with no connection to GMO products. Most gardeners hold to saving seed generation to generation. There are four local canneries around here where veges and meats are preserved in Mason jars priced at 50 cents a quart, 35 cents if you contribute the jars and lids.

I turned in a south-of-the-border group offering "organic" foods that were found to be anything but organic. They have a very different standard down there. Beware. Much of that is grown using poorly treated sewage waste as fertilizer.

For your last paragraph, when I hear about it

This world only needs to be rid of everything anti-Christ. Regarding total acreage of earth, that's not a major challenge. This present world will not be totally destroyed. It will be dramatically modified. Think of it this way. The old way before Noah was flooded to kill off all air breathers not in the Ark, but was restored to the previous species of life, and the marine life was not affected.

Revision by God is not limited to a total re-creation. God called all He made "Good". So what is bad about it?

So why pray about how God manages His creation?

Question providers offering their beautiful produce,

Local organic offerings are usually terribly small and not nearly as attractive as inorganic products from south of the border. I prefer vegetables grown with local chicken and rabbit poop fertilizer grown organically, with minimal pesticides. I pay about twice as much per pound for truly organic in general, three times as much for meat, and twice as much for free range egg products. Hey, I'm talking a pound of red meat a week, a pound of chicken a week, a pound of Alaskan wild caught sockeye salmon, and up to a pound of eggs a week.

This is not too difficult! The cost to me is $150 a month per person, except eating out per desires of grand children who will gladly triple that budget and leave most to take-outs tthat clog our fridge. So, we work on that glitch....

Paid by The blood of Christ

I wrote a position paper for Biblical Ethics on this topic. I will quote a few things that are most important. If you want to see the whole paper, pm me your email address, and I will send it to you. I will add my undergrad degree was in environmental studies, I live near the wilderness (a block away) and I have been an organic gardener for 45 years. So, here are some excerpts.

"The question of whether a Christian should care about the environment must be answered by a study of God’s Word, not just personal experience. Is there support for the viewpoint that God intends us to pursue good stewardship, eco-justice or even creation spirituality?[1]This paper will address the Biblical admonitions to care for the earth, including the consequences if we do not. (Lev. 25:2 and Lev. 26:14-17, 32-35 – compare with Ezek. 34:18, and Isa. 24:4-6, Hosea 4:3, and Jer. 12:4[2])

R.J. Berry who notes in his book “Religion (particularly Judaism and Christianity), is commonly blamed from encouraging environmental misuse: many Christians regard environmental care as less important than evangelism or poverty relief. We are mere transients and it does not matter how we treat this world.”[3] Preston Bristow, also says, “that the bestselling Christian fiction series of all time is theLeft Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which is about the last days. … If this world and everything in it is headed for destruction, then why should we worry about some ecological degradation along the way?”[4]

Since Lynn White Jr. first published his ground-breaking essay, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis” in 1967, Christianity has been a scapegoat because “anthropocentric [Christian] religion established the dualism of man and nature, and insisted that it is God’s will that man exploit nature for its proper ends.”[5]Because public awareness of the degradation of the environment seems to be reaching an all-time high and we need to respond as Christians. We must address personal salvation, but not ignore the greater issues of poverty in light of environmental decay. If we do not take responsibility for the land, then we will reap what we sow.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,
16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.
17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.
18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son
20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Col. 1:15-20 NET

The amazing Christological hymn, which Paul cites in Colossians 1:15:20, leads to a theology that is beyond individual salvation. Redemption is more expansive, in fact, cosmic in purpose and scope. In North America, the heart of salvation is a personal relationship with Jesus, who came to save us from our sins. But passages like Colossians 1 point the way to a much broader concept of cosmic salvation.[6]

Richard Young notes in Healing the Earth, that in the Old Testament, salvation basically meant deliverance from bondage, disease, trouble or enemies. In the New Testament, the idea of deliverance carries over the spiritual and moral connotations.

A cosmic understanding views both humanity and nature as being overpowered by the forces or decay and death, and in need of divine healing. This does not remove the idea of human sin from soteriological discussion: instead it moves it into the forefront, for it is sin that fractures relations and leads to the dying planet. Salvation can no longer be limited to humanity. Because humans are bound together with the rest of creation, what happens to one happens to the other. Nature was implicated in the Fall, so it will be included in the restoration.[7]

Glen Stassen and David Gushee, in Kingdom Ethics, outline the three approaches to the Biblical theology of creation care. The “anthropocentric” approach places humans at the centre of concern. God did create the universe, but he did so for humans to have dominion over it for our benefit.[8]Because we are intrinsically connected with the rest of the natural order, even this approach can be concerned about the environment, because of the negative impact on humanity, and the duties we owe to future generations.[9] In practice, though, reliance upon the market place to regulate human society, in light of the sins of consumption and greed, leads to idolatry because of the right of humans to exploit the earth and the resources God created. This approach rarely considers Jesus’ teachings on the treasures of the heart and putting God first, and relies rather on the wicked human heart to regulate business, ethics and our concern for the environment.

The “bio-centric” approach gives no special status to human beings and invests equal intrinsic worth or value in all living creatures. Many world religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and native North American spiritualties, espouse this viewpoint.[10] Movies such as Avatar, the popular 3-D movie that was shown in theatres all over the world, motivate people to be “connected” with the spirituality of the earth, in a frightening New Age or pantheistic holistic reverence, which sees nature itself as holy and worthy of worship. This worldview perverts the message of Scripture, and instead of emphasizing the need for redemption of humanity and nature, it downplays humanity’s special place in the plan of creation as divine image bearers. The bio-centric approach emphasizes the original blessing of creation, human goodness, divine immanence and the exclusion of sin and forgetting the essential transcendent and sovereign nature of God.[11]



[1]Willis J. Jenkins, Ecologies of Grace:Environmental Ethics and Christian Theology, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 18.
[2]Granberg-Michaelson Wesley, Ecology and Life: accepting our environmental responsibility, (Waco, Texas: Word Publishers, 1988), 57-59.
[3]R. J. Berry, When Enough is Enough: A Christian Framework for Environmental Sustainability, (Hampshire, Great Britain: Apollos- Intervarsity Press, 2007), 27.
[4]Preston Bristow, “The root of our ecological crisis,” first published in the Journal of Creation, April 2007, 15(1): 76-79, http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v15/i1/ecology.asp(accessed 2010-10-28)
[5Jr. Lynn White, The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis, Vol. 155 #3767 (Washington , DC: Science Magazine, Mar 10, 1967), 1207.
[6]Richard A. Young, Healing the Earth: a theocentric perspective on environmental problems and their solutions, (Nashville, Tenn: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1994), 147.
[7]Ibid.
[8]Glen. H. Stassen and David P. Gushee, Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, (Downer's Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2003) 435.
[9]Ibid.
[10]Ibid., 437
[11]Ibid., 438.

Thanks for sharing Angela. My first book addresses these issues from a Christian perspective also. I address the New Age aspects somewhat too. That book is now free and can be downloaded from my website HERE.

Re-do!


The “theocentric” approach to environmental concerns places God at the centre of value. All God’s creatures, including humans, have value only within God’s created community. God is Creator and is continuously, dynamically involved in caring for all creation, as Jesus teaches concerning God’s care for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. An important subset of theocentric ecological ethics emphasizes a covenantal perspective.[12]The first covenant was the charge of tending creation or “covenant stewardship” which implies both responsibility and accountability. The instructions in Gen. 2:15 to “till” and “keep” creation imply sustainability.[13]God made a covenant with all creation after the flood. Since Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden, the command to have dominion over the earth was superseded in Gen. 9:9-17. This significant covenant finishes with the words of God, “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 and again, in the Old and New Testaments, this “full gospel” is emphasized. Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” KJV

So, is this a radical theology, isolated in context, or has the modern church missed some essentials of the magnitude of creation care? The Apostle Peter in Acts 3:19-21, says that God sent Christ into the world on a two-phase mission, to redeem the world, and to usher in the times of refreshing.[14]

When Christ returns, he will “restore everything.” God’s objective for the incarnation was to restore all relationships in creation, not simply to save humanity from damnation. When relationships are restored, and new creation will emerge, one that reflects the wholeness, balance and harmony it once enjoyed. Just as Christ was the active agent in the original creations John 1:1-3, so is He the active agent in the new creation.[15]

Paul, in one of the most interesting New Testament scriptures, Romans 8:18-23, notes that it is not only we who groan, awaiting the final resurrection and redemption, but the “whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Vs. 22) We are waiting for the new creation, but also the entire world awaits the future restoration of the earth in which Eden like conditions of the earth once again flourish. (See Rev. 22:1-5, re: Gen. 2:9-10)[16]

However, this again brings up the eschatological error in which sees the earth as just a temporary home, with us simply passing through, which will be replaced when Jesus returns. Restoration implies that the world, like us, will be transformed rather than completely annihilated and remade.

Righteousness and resurrection, the central themes of the cross, go together. All things have been made right by the atonement. Calvin DeWitt continues on Paul’s theme in Romans 8, that the good creation has been vindicated by God’s righteousness.[17] Both Isa. 65:17 and 2 Cor. 5:15, remind us that God is creating a new creation, or thing, in which the desert and the rivers will spring forth to water the desert.

Many pre-millennialists will argue that 2 Peter 3:10 points to the eschatology that the earth is going to be burned up, so why care for something that God has no use for, and is planning on re-creating? Bouma–Prediger, among others, points out that:

'This is perhaps the most egregious mistranslation in the entire New Testament. In fact, the Greek word heureskin εὑρεθήσεται* states that after a refiner’s fire of purification in verse 7, the earth will be discovered, not destroyed! Creation is not ephemeral and unimportant – some second-rate way station until the eschaton – but rather it is our proper home, and 2 Peter 3 speaks of a basic continuity, rather than a discontinuity of this world rather than the next.[18]'

God created the world, God loves the world, and God will never leave the world behind.[19]

A theocentric approach to creation care is that Christ is in the process of transforming the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit expects righteousness of Christians who walk in this present age. This righteousness is summarized as love of one’s neighbour. But one cannot love one’s neighbour without taking care of creation. Pollution can injure and literally kill one’s neighbour. People destroy the earth and do “wrong to a neighbour” because they covet more than the Creator has allotted to them. This greed, says Paul in Col. 3:5, is idolatry. Greed is an attitude of worship that dethrones the creator, and elevates the creature to the Creator’s place. The ironical point is that when people reject God and the Biblical norms for living, they end up worshiping AND defiling the world they idolize.[20]


___________________________________
[12]Ibid., 440
[13]White, 63.
[14]Richard A. Young, Healing the Earth: a theocentric perspective on environmental problems and their solutions, (Nashville, Tenn: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1994), 148.
[15]Ibid.
[16]Ibid., 151.
[17]Calvin B. DeWitt, The Environment and the Christian: What does the New Testament say about the Environment, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House Company, 1991), 63.
[18]Bouma-Prediger, 68-69.
[19]Ibid. 70.
[20]DeWitt, 1991, 69-70.

But even if the earth is going to be totally destroyed, as some theologians would claim, we are still under obligation as Christians to care for the earth, as God has given us the job of stewardship, and laid out the need for a Sabbath rest not just for people, but for the earth. Lev. 25:8-10, “God rails against those who violate this legislation by buying up all the land and creating homelessness. The result of such injustice will be a radical loss of the land’s fertile productivity.” (Isa. 5:8-10)[21]Hosea 4:1-3 shows that disobedience to the laws of God results in the land being made unproductive. The consequences of breaking God’s laws are not just spiritual, but the land and the seas are made impossible to live on. Deut. 11:11-17 documents God’s promises to his people when they cross the Jordan. Again, the consequences of worshiping false gods are that “the heavens will be shut up so that it will not rain, and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.” (v. 17) God also promises his people if they keep his commands, there will be redemption and restoration, in passages such as Ezek. 47:9-12 and Jer. 33:11.[22] Isa. 24:4-6 is profound in its condemnation of the result of sin on the earth.

'The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers;
The heavens languish together with the earth
The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws,
Violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt.' Isa. 24:4-6

Caring for the earth remains interlocked with our basic theology, and our lifestyle is a reflection of that. We all need to develop an appropriate environmental ethic for living in today’s world. By maintaining a global perspective of creation as we live locally, we can fulfil Micah 6:8, “The Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”


[21]Gushee and Stassen, 442.
[22]Ibid., 443



*εὑρεθήσεται-Future Indicative Passive - to find, will be found.

I'm praying for an early rapture for all dispensationalists

Yea they can leave and the ones that actually care remain. Because Jesus is coming back to earth to heal His land. Am looking forward to when He makes everything new.

Did you know that biochar locks up carbon from the atmosphere and makes soils fertile thst they can keep going for 1000s of years without loss of nutrients, and removes all toxins.

Definitely things will go through the refiners fire. JEsus loves this planet. He came because God so loved the world...this includes not just us humans but all. GOds creation. We just the special ones mandates to 'dress and keep it' for His glory.

Not bullodze it and till it to death. That was punishment! It will become like the garden of Eden again. JEsus removes the curse.

Nothing is wasted in Gods kingdom thats why we have a redeemer.

We don't know the hour of the rapture and we don't want the Earth to die before the rapture

Yes, if only people would believe and be washed in the Blood.

Perhaps it may help understanding my view knowing much of my childhood and adolecsence was an experience of hunger and malnutrition. It seems, as politicians may say, I fell through the cracks. Even so, before I knew Jesus, I had a sincere sorrow for my wealthy friends in school. It seemed to me they were given too much of a burden of responsibility for their age. Once I saw the toddler, Prince Charles, in the garden of Buckingham in a newsreel, and I pitiied him for the same reason….that was at about seven or eight years for myself, so I always had this perception of the young and wealthy or privileged. Maybe this is why I was plced in a different position of honor by the Father, not that He hoors any flesh other than Jesus,but He has certainly always smiled on me when things seemed darkest.

Well whether the rapture happens before or after the Tribulation, this earth will witness widespread destruction, and it won't be caused by man but rather by God and the angels according to Revelation..
I don't have time to list them all, but for starters read from Rev 8:5 and on.

let's see, -
God sends numerous plagues upon the earth, 'in Revelation and pre-Revelation' -
also many 'land-laws' stated of which can be summed-up in one word, (STEWARDSHIP) -

personally, we both believe in being 'good-stewards' of our Garden, because this is our Saviour's Gift' to us all...
it's a 'witness' of our RESPECT and LOVE to what our Father has given to us - and when people step upon
hub's and my own personal land, they so readily feel the Love and Peace that abides here, and then they
become more open to Spiritual ministering - for God's creation, and God's Spiritual Gifts hold-hands...

Name one ecological mandate Jesus gave to His Church.

Have Dominion on this Earth from Genesis

Does that count?