Creation Care andChristian CharacterBeyond fear of consequencesto responsibility, moral virtues

by John Silvius

The hurricanes of 2005 and notable weather eventsacross the globe in 2006 have bolstered theattempts of climate scientists to keep global warm-

ing in the headlines. In January, out of increasing concernabout global warming, the Bulletin of the AtomicScientists advanced the hands of the “Doomsday Clock”two minutes closer to midnight, bringing the time to fiveminutes before the “figurative end of civilization.”

Then, in early February, Dr. Ken Denman, one of thelead authors of a new report from the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC) summarized the panel’sconclusions: "Warming of the climate system is unequivo-cal.” He added, “Most of the observed increase in global-ly averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century isvery likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenicgreenhouse gas concentrations." Global consequences ofthis warming trend, which the IPCC report attributes inpart to human activities, include altered precipitation pat-terns, a global rise in sea levels, altered agricultural produc-tion, and increased episodes of violent weather.

The climate change debate calls each of us as Christiansmake an informed judgment and then act accordingly.Some who believe that human practices are contributing toglobal warming are adopting a lifestyle that promotes ener-gy conservation, reduces greenhouse gas production, andencourages elected officials to enact policies that favorthese strategies. One motivation for such actions is fear ofthe consequences of global warming.

Fear is a legitimate basis for concern for all who lovefamily, church, and country. Christians who fear Godacquire a sense of reverence that motivates obedience andexemplary living. However, the “more abundant life (John10:10)” that “abides in the vine” and bears fruit (John 15;Galatians 5:22-23) is nurtured more by God’s grace thanby our fear. For example, we may avoid financial or moralfailure out of fear of legal or physical consequences but

miss out on the joy and fulfillment of a Spirit-filled lifeaimed at pleasing God. Likewise, if it is our moral respon-sibility to care for God’s creation, then our fear of environ-mental consequences is also an inadequate motivation.

Thankfully, there is a clear Scriptural basis for environ-mental stewardship, or creation care, which has deeperroots than fear of consequences. In Genesis 1, after Godpronounces the creation as good and He blesses it, He cre-ates humankind and grants them dominion over the Earthas image-bearers of His righteous rule (v.26-28). This

See Virtues, page 8

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©iStockphoto.com/Donald Johansson

www.fermiproject.com/rwanda

Clean water creates sustainablecommunities. We are all aware of thegenocide that resulted in millions ofdeaths in Rwanda. Thirteen yearslater, they are restoring friendships,through conversations and grace.Steven Garber in his book Fabric ofFaithfulness says, “Community is thecontext for the growth of convictionsand character.” If this is true, then weneed to help create simple, communi-ty-driven environments, where convic-tions and character can be reclaimed.When I visited one of the new wells inRwanda, I noticed hundreds of peoplewalking for up to 3 miles with theseunforgettable yellow jugs. Every day, aperson from every family will walk orride a bike to the well to get water forthe day. Through clean water loca-tions, healing to individuals is happen-ing daily. Conviction and character isbeing restored. Bill McKibben, in hisbrilliant book Deep Economy, thinksgrowth in developing countries,“should concentrate on creating andsustaining strong communities, not

creating a culture of economic indi-vidualism.” Clean water not only ben-efits individual Rwandans but alsooffers a deep place for developing theRwandan community.

Influence is gained by doingsomething. The most difficult ele-ment of moving an idea into motionis starting. Yet, when a great idea islaunched, influence quickly follows.The dream that woke me up thatnight was about one little boy, yetthousands of people have joined in theinitiative and thousands of Rwandanshave benefited from one boy. RwandaClean Water has gained attentionfrom media, churches, and culturalleaders because we did something.Everyone has an idea, but few peoplemove that idea into reality. When cre-ators move from idea to action, peo-ple will follow. Don’t search for influ-ence. Don’t care who gets the credit.Search yourself. Find what moves you.Discover a place of need. Authenticallypursue a vision that helps humanity.Use the gifts you have been given.Influence will follow at the momentyou can handle it.

Join Rwanda Clean WaterProject. As encouraging as this proj-ect has been to me, most people in

rural Rwanda still do not have accessto clean water. Women and youngchildren walk for miles to fetch waterfrom swamps and dirty rivers withbuckets and canisters. It is amazingthat with a simple gift of money we canliterally save lives, decrease illnesses,and create sustainable communities.

We are looking for 300 churchesto join a growing community in rais-ing funds to bring clean water toRwanda. Give $3,000 to RwandaClean Water and 750 people willreceive the simple gift of drinkingclean water for the rest of their life.Your community, your family, yourneighborhood, and your friends canwork together to raise the funds thatwill forever change lives. Please join usin providing clean water to Rwanda.

Jeff Shinabarger, co-founder of theFermi Project and Rwanda CleanWater, is the creative director & experi-ence designer for all Fermi Project ini-tiatives, the editor of Fermi Words, adigital media magazine educatingleaders on shaping culture, and the cre-ative mind behind the CatalystConference. Jeff lives in Decatur,Georgia with his wife, Andre, and dogMax. (contact: jeffs@fermiproject.com)

Rwanda: Doing theRight ThingContinued from page 5

Out of an estimated 800 million Africans, 300 millionlack safe drinking water and 313 million lack basic sanita-tion.

But there’s a tension that suffuses all relief and develop-ment work to provide water to very needy people. On theone hand, the task is straightforward. Drilling wells, pro-tecting springheads, conserving watershed and catchmentareas, and treating sewage do not involve rocket science.For trivial proportion of Western government budgets,clean water could be provided to every person on the plan-et who lacks it today.

Yet if we allow climate change to occur unabated—if weproceed with business as usual and continue emitting car-bon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as we do today—some of the worst impacts will be to water systems.Paradoxically, the area of the earth’s surface afflicted withdrought at any given time will increase while at the sametime flood risk will increase in other areas. Water supplyfrom snowpack and mountain glaciers, which supports one

out of six people on the planet, will decline over the courseof the 21st century. Coastal areas will find aquifers contam-inated with salt water as sea levels encroach on low-lyingareas.

In Africa, by 2020, between 75 and 200 million addi-tional people are projected to be subjected to high waterstress due to climate change. In countries which aredependent on rain-fed agriculture, yields could be reducedby up to 50%. Successful agriculture depends on carefullymatching the timing of planting and the onset of the rainyseason, and climate change threatens to alter the seasons. Astudy in Science found that climate change is expected toshrink water supply across a quarter of Africa.

A generous world can find the resources to stave offfuture dangerous climate change and help provide cleanwater in the short run.

Sources: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, WorkingGroup 2 Summary for Policymakers; M. de Wit and J.Stankiewicz, 2006, Science 311: 1917-1921.

Clean water also depends upon climate protection

dominion is further prescribed inGenesis 2:15 as “keeping” or “serv-ing” the creation. In return, God hasequipped His creation to “serve”humankind with the fruits of theirlabor. Here, the Scripture supports anethic based upon duty or moralresponsibility as the proper motivationfor serving God and caring for cre-ation.

This duty ethic is evident in thechallenge of Joel Hunter, pastor ofNorthland Church in Orlando,Florida, who, when asked for his posi-tion on global warming, is quoted assaying, “...we need to do this regard-less of what the science of it is. Weneed to take care of the earth and dowhat we can to stop the pollution andaccumulation of gasses, because it’sjust the right thing to do.”

The biblical environmental stew-ardship ethic recognizes the impor-tance of scientific data in making per-sonal lifestyle and institutional deci-sions. But, it also calls Christians todo more than simply fashion lifestyleaccording to the current estimates ofplanetary “health.” Instead, asEdward Brown writes in Our FatherÕsWorld: Mobilizing the Church to Carefor Creation (Doorlight, 2006),“Creation must be cared for becauseGod made it, because he made it as asacred worship space in which wecould meet him, and because he him-self walked along its paths, sat underits trees and used it for worship him-self.”

Environmental stewardship restsheavily upon duty ethics, but arguablyit can be supported more strongly

from the perspectiveof virtue ethics.Virtue ethics focus-es upon how wedevelop virtues–

those habits that produce godly char-acter and moral excellence. It is con-cerned not only with what we do, butthe kind of person we are becomingby our doing. Thus, a virtuous per-son who understands biblical domin-ion and stewardship will perform actsof creation care (e.g. bicycling toreduce carbon emissions; leading aBible study on stewardship; aiding anurban gardening project) not onlyfrom a sense of duty, but also as anoutward expression of moral virtuessuch as love, discretion, moderation,and justice. Result: Both God’s cre-ation and His kingdom benefit whileobedient Christians experience joy andfulfillment as these virtues areexpressed and nurtured.

If obedience to the biblical com-mand to care for creation brings

growth in Christian character andgodliness, how are these virtues nur-tured? Development of Christianvirtues requires both the physical dis-ciplines of proper diet, exercise, andrest; and, the spiritual disciplines ofmeditation upon God Word, prayer,worship, and obedient service. A bal-anced attention to both the physicaland spiritual disciplines is important toavoid the extremes of asceticism andmaterialism. It is here that manyhumans fail, being distracted to viewthe natural world as either an inappro-priate object of our enjoyment andcare; or, something to be grasped outof pride and a desire for power andpleasure (Romans 1).

Immaturity in the development ofthe virtues of love, discretion, andmoderation may lead Christians to

make poor decisions in stewardship ofmaterial wealth, time, and relation-ships. Over-commitment and anxietycompete for the time necessary topractice the spiritual disciplines need-ed to develop Christian character.The resultant impoverishment of soulleads to further material and socialexcesses that destroy relationships,families, and even local churches.Instead of being free to worship Godand to find joy in His power and inthe material bounty of His creation,their actions further degrade the cre-ation as they attempt to meet spiritualand emotional needs in wrong ways.

Now, consider three cases in whichChristian character is enrichedthrough proper stewardship of cre-ation motivated by the Christianvirtues. When a person pursues thespiritual disciplines noted above, she isnourished by the Word of God whilethe Spirit nurtures the virtues of love,joy, kindness, and self control(Galatians 5: 22-23). Her dispositionthat finds fulfillment in her Creatorand His creation enables her to avoidmaterial excesses that result in discon-

Virtues: Stewardship requiresgodly character, moral excellence

tentment and broken relationships.Instead of degrading the creation, sheutilizes God’s provision of the materi-al world with moderation. Her deci-sion to conserve energy and reducecarbon emissions by car pooling orpublic transportation is neither a joy-less duty nor a distraction from “spiri-tual priorities.” Instead, she is able toconserve God’s creation while, at thesame time, building human relation-ships in which she practices the virtuesof faith, love, and kindness.

A second example emphasizes the

spiritual discipline of regular worshipwithin the body of Christ. It is God’sdesign that the local church be a placeof worship, mutual encouragement,and accountability to nurture the con-victions and virtues that grow out ofour personal walk with Him. Here,we worship corporately, encourageone another in Christ, and becomeequipped as a winsome counterculturein a society overcome by materialism,discontent, and broken relationships.Both Ed Brown’s book cited earlierand Matthew Sleeth’s Serve God, Savethe Planet (Chelsea Green, 2006) con-tain many ideas and examples of howchurches and individuals can imple-ment creation care as an integral part

of their mission.Finally, when a person practices the

spiritual disciplines and regularly wor-ships and fellowships in a local church,he can be spiritually prepared for thevocation to which God has called himas an “ambassador for Christ (II Cor.5:20).” He gains a small glimpse ofGod’s great desire to see wholeness,relationship, and beauty restored bothin lost sinners and within God’s cre-ation. He willingly considers positivechanges in his lifestyle and in supportof world missions because he beginsto see God’s vision of justice andmercy for the poor and disenfran-

chised of Earth who cannot competeeconomically for the energy andresources we consume. He also devel-ops a willingness to learn about cli-mate change and other environmentalissues from the scientific experts andto respect differences of opinionamong those dedicated to understand-ing how the creation works.

When an environmental ethicbased upon fear of consequences isenhanced by one based upon duty andmoral virtue, both the people of Godand the creation can flourish.Obedience to Scripture sets us free toadopt a lifestyle based upon love anddevotion to our Creator, and free tomanage material resources, time, and

spiritual gifts for the benefit of ourneighbor and his neighborhood. Theresult can be a spiritual “climatechange” that motivates others to makea gentler impact on the creation whiletaking time to enjoy what God hasmade and be thankful.

John Silvius isSenior Professor ofBiology and theCenter forBioethics Associatefor EnvironmentalEthics atCedarville University, Cedarville, OH.

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©iStockphoto.com/Chad Purser

Virtue ethics focuses upon how we develop virtues – thosehabits that produce godly character and moral excellence.

If obedience to the biblical command to care for creationbrings growth in Christian character and godliness, how arethese virtues nurtured?

Steven Bouma-Prediger, 2001. For the Beauty of theEarth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care. Grand Rapids,MI: Baker Academic.

This accessible, informative, and wide-ranging introduc-tion to creation care includes a discussion of the impor-tance of stewardship as part of the Christian character.Highly recommended.

Kyle S. Van Houtan, 2006. “Conservation as a Virtue.”Conservation Biology, vol. 20, issue 5, pp. 1367-1372.

Other resources:Michael S. Northcott, 1996. The Environment and

Christian Ethics. Cambridge U. Press. Cambridge, UK.

Fred Van Dyke, 2006. “Cultural transformation andConservation.” Perspectives on Science and ChristianFaith vol. 58, iss. 1, pp. 48-63.

Christopher J.H Wright, 2004. Old Testament Ethics forthe People of God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

- John Silvius

Further Reading