Deep and Wide

The depth and scope of Creation Care is extensive and surprising, even just within Christianity. The breadth of issues are also perplexing because they call us to consider the fuller meanings of Scripture, their historical context, verbiage, scientific research, ecology, social justice, the economy, theology, and holistic concepts of Grace, Love, Reconciliation and Justice.

“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet .” Although “Creation Care” is the tag used to focus these articles, it is not solely a Lutheran term. In fact, there are many more tags from religious traditions, environmental science, community action, politics, and others. The multiplicity of tags reflects the depth and scope of the issues and sometimes convey the source traditions and theologies of religious groups, specific human/ecological issues in/around a community, different scientific disciplines, cultural and political climates, and more. Here are some of the tags used within Christianity.

  • Restoring Creation
  • Caring for Creation
  • Environmental Stewardship
  • Stewardship of the Earth
  • Unity with Nature
  • Environmental Discipleship
  • Christology of Nature
  • Earth Community
  • Earth Ethics
  • Call to Ecology and Justice

Non-Humans are indeed Our Neighbors

An article in the Journal of Lutheran Ethics1 emphatically and clearly states that Christ is for ALL Creation, not just humans.

“Christ is central not only to God's redemption of a fallen humanity, but also central to God's creation of everything. The same theme comes to us powerfully in the soaring poetry of Paul's letter to the Colossians. The key words in Col. 1:15-20 are ‘all things…’

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church: he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. These are profound words, mind-stretching words. They do two things for us. They proclaim our Lord's central role in both creation and redemption. Equally important, they move us beyond our prejudice that humankind is all God cares about. To say Christ is cosmic means this: that Christ shows us God's mighty deeds in creating everything and God's mighty deeds in redeeming everything, which means ALL things will be reconciled back to God and ALL creatures will be reconciled to one another.”

It is clear that God’s intent is that reconciliation and redemption are for humans and nature alike. As such, all things made are neighbors.

Environmental Stewardship

“Some environmentalists … divinize the earth and insist on ‘biological egalitarianism,’ the equal value and rights of all life forms…. This philosophy negates the biblical affirmation of the human person’s unique role as steward and eliminates the very rationale for human care for creation. The quest for the humane treatment of beasts by lowering people to the level of animals leads only to the beastly treatment of humans.”2 This writer precisely clarifies the role of Chistians: we are not of the world, but for it.

“The doctrine of creation also emphasizes the special vocation of humanity to assist God in the task of sustainability. In Genesis the first creation account describes the responsibility of stewardship in terms of ‘dominion’ (Gen. 1:28), and the second creation account refers to this task as ‘to till and keep it’ (Gen. 2:15). In both cases the stress is on humanity’s stewardship of God’s creation.”3

Eco Justice & The Economy

Environmental justice is about fairness and healing for/of the whole of the Earth… humans, flora, fauna, seas, fresh water and the ground on which we walk, drive, farm, and build. The intersections of all “earthly elements” are numerous and complex. Environmental justice and social justice are alike - this author contends environmental justice is far more inclusive.

For example, recent research has found that the poor and people of color have been significantly more adversely affected by air and water contamination from fracking, lack of pollution controls and disregard for human rights. Psychologists and sociologists have long noted that those who have access to parks and the outdoors typically are happier and healthier.

There are those who shortsightedly insist that economic gain takes precedence over environmental justice. Biblically speaking, it is not a matter of one over the other, but of sustainability, sufficiency, sharing and mutuality.

Environmental Deterioration

The interlocking problems of environmental deterioration - and projected failure - include:

  • Global Warming
  • Sea Level Rise
  • Energy Consumption
  • Water Usage
  • Power Generation
  • Clean Air & Water
  • Species Loss
  • Recycling
  • Sustainability
  • Food Production
  • Pesticides & Herbicides
  • Wind & Solar Power
  • Politics
  • Personal/Corporate Privilege
  • Human Impact

“...Lutherans can stress four vital Christian insights. First, our theocentric worldview combats the rampant and destructive anthropocentrism among the privileged and powerful who assume that all of creation is for their benefit and exploitation. Second, our incarnational theology repudiates destructive dualisms that skew a holistic understanding of life and are often conjoined with a logic of domination to justify men in charge of women, one race in charge of another, owners in charge of workers, and humans as masters over nature. Third, our belief that Christ exists in community counters the excessive individualism of modern industrial culture and points to the fundamental reality that we are utterly interdependent upon the health and well-being of all below us on the food chain.... Fourth, our accountability to God leads us to care about the welfare not only of present generations but also of future generations even though our economic and political systems are happy to dump current social and ecological costs on future generations.”3

What Can I / We Do?: Participation & Action

Do you remember (or heard about) the era when the popular eco actions were to place a brick in your toilet tank (conserve water) and to only buy milk in glass bottles (fewer petrochemicals)? Now-a-days we individually and collectively have many more options to make a difference… and they all revolve around participation and action.

Individual and corporate efforts will be discussed in the future. For now, though, draw your attention to two different organizations that can be of aid, Lutherans Restoring Creation and GreenFaith, both noted below. They offer opportunities for faith communities to publicly and functionally become a “green church” to one degree or another. Our congregation may wish to explore becoming a “green church” in the future.

Additional Resources

Here are some options where you can learn more about Creation Care issues. You can also search the internet for far more options.

1 Charles Lutz, “Loving my Neighbor in the Whole of God's Creation,” Journal of Lutheran Ethics, Volume 3, Issue 3 (March 2003). 2 “A Biblical Perspective on Environmental Stewardship,” Action Institute. 3 Jim Martin-Schramm, “A Lutheran Ethic of Environmental Stewardship,” Augustana Digital Commons Citation, Intersections: Vol. 2012: No. 36, Article 7 (2012).