Does it matter if you "have faith" when you're trying to "save the world"? An odyssey through four different contexts of ecological action, each with its own implicit claims about value, nature & God.
Wow, this entire essay has blessed me tremendously. Thank you for writing it from your perspective of faith.
A couple years ago I preached a sermon at my evangelical church on the ecological responsibility of Christians as stewards of God’s creation. Unsurprisingly this was the first sermon ever preached on ecology there. 😅 But, surprisingly, it was well received… Although, not sure about how well reception translated to action.
I tried to make a similar point you make here. Lots of evangelicals point to 2 Peter 3:10 to prove that we shouldn’t care for creation. The verse is sometimes translated, “the earth and the works that are in it will be burnt up.” But most other translations get to the root of our responsibility of stewardship by saying, “the earth and the works will be exposed… discovered… laid bare… found.” Discovered and laid bare by whom? God, God’s Self.
For me, creation care is a way of loving our neighbor AND worshipping God who gave humanity the original assignment to “tend and til” the earth. Like the faithful and wise manager in Luke 12, God expects us to “fulfill our respinsibilities” of keeping his house (home/eco) til the day of His return—the day of Eternity’s full consummation with earth. All interpretations of the 2 Peter 3:10 shed different shades of light on the full meaning. Yes, the earth will one day burn, but our works within it will be “discovered.” The tension of hopelessness and Hope meet here. As you put it so poignantly, “When it comes to Kingdom Come it's not a matter of if you build it He will come, but rather because it will come in the form of being spiritually already here, you are enabled to help build it materially while you’re here, even when it seems it’s falling apart in your hands.”
Oof. So good. Thank you for this soulful reminder. 🙏🏽
Thank you my friend! I was struck -- not to say surprised -- at the piece that you had posted just the day before; that was part of what moved me to finish getting this one out! Even though I'm well aware of it by now, I'm still amazed by the overlap of our ideas. So excited to collaborate further!
Wow, this entire essay has blessed me tremendously. Thank you for writing it from your perspective of faith.
A couple years ago I preached a sermon at my evangelical church on the ecological responsibility of Christians as stewards of God’s creation. Unsurprisingly this was the first sermon ever preached on ecology there. 😅 But, surprisingly, it was well received… Although, not sure about how well reception translated to action.
I tried to make a similar point you make here. Lots of evangelicals point to 2 Peter 3:10 to prove that we shouldn’t care for creation. The verse is sometimes translated, “the earth and the works that are in it will be burnt up.” But most other translations get to the root of our responsibility of stewardship by saying, “the earth and the works will be exposed… discovered… laid bare… found.” Discovered and laid bare by whom? God, God’s Self.
For me, creation care is a way of loving our neighbor AND worshipping God who gave humanity the original assignment to “tend and til” the earth. Like the faithful and wise manager in Luke 12, God expects us to “fulfill our respinsibilities” of keeping his house (home/eco) til the day of His return—the day of Eternity’s full consummation with earth. All interpretations of the 2 Peter 3:10 shed different shades of light on the full meaning. Yes, the earth will one day burn, but our works within it will be “discovered.” The tension of hopelessness and Hope meet here. As you put it so poignantly, “When it comes to Kingdom Come it's not a matter of if you build it He will come, but rather because it will come in the form of being spiritually already here, you are enabled to help build it materially while you’re here, even when it seems it’s falling apart in your hands.”
Oof. So good. Thank you for this soulful reminder. 🙏🏽
I love this reflection 💚 - especially the simplicity of the four quadrant model. It feels like my whole PhD is basically just this model 🙂.
Thank you my friend! I was struck -- not to say surprised -- at the piece that you had posted just the day before; that was part of what moved me to finish getting this one out! Even though I'm well aware of it by now, I'm still amazed by the overlap of our ideas. So excited to collaborate further!