God and Nature Spring 2024
Our Geological and Biological Environments and our Sense of Place
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By Keith B. Miller
The geology, topography, and biology of any given area are a consequence of an incomprehensibly long and dynamic history. This vast history is the record of God’s creative activity in bringing forth and sustaining the very good creation of which we are a part. The molding of our own human histories and cultures has been intimately tied to the geological and biological environment. Yet most people in our industrialized, technological society have little knowledge of the natural environment or history of the place that they call home.
Knowing creation begins with observing what is around us. In addition, it requires an awareness of the complex interrelationships and interdependencies in creation. The physical environment is itself extremely dynamic, and thus knowing creation involves being sensitive to change. In a culture that has gone to great lengths to insulate us from our natural environment, attention to its diversity, dynamics, and history does not come easily.
Where do we fit in this place—this particular place—where God has set us? Answering that question begins with observing our environment. We cannot act as stewards for what we do not know or understand. It is significant, I believe, that the first task given to humanity was to name animals. Naming involves observation and study in order that the unique character of each of God’s creatures can be recognized. We all need to recover a child-like curiosity about our world. “What is that?” is a vital question for us to ask.
Knowing creation, however, is more than just completing species lists. What does a species eat? Where does it live? How and when does it reproduce? What dangers does it face? Such questions as these get at critical aspects of what makes a species unique. Furthermore, all species are also a part of a complex ecosystem. They are adapted to each other as well as to the physical environment in which they live. They engage in a wide range of interactions, to which their biology and behavior are adapted. Species are dependent on other species for their very existence.
The geology, topography, and biology of any given area are a consequence of an incomprehensibly long and dynamic history. This vast history is the record of God’s creative activity in bringing forth and sustaining the very good creation of which we are a part. The molding of our own human histories and cultures has been intimately tied to the geological and biological environment. Yet most people in our industrialized, technological society have little knowledge of the natural environment or history of the place that they call home.
Knowing creation begins with observing what is around us. In addition, it requires an awareness of the complex interrelationships and interdependencies in creation. The physical environment is itself extremely dynamic, and thus knowing creation involves being sensitive to change. In a culture that has gone to great lengths to insulate us from our natural environment, attention to its diversity, dynamics, and history does not come easily.
Where do we fit in this place—this particular place—where God has set us? Answering that question begins with observing our environment. We cannot act as stewards for what we do not know or understand. It is significant, I believe, that the first task given to humanity was to name animals. Naming involves observation and study in order that the unique character of each of God’s creatures can be recognized. We all need to recover a child-like curiosity about our world. “What is that?” is a vital question for us to ask.
Knowing creation, however, is more than just completing species lists. What does a species eat? Where does it live? How and when does it reproduce? What dangers does it face? Such questions as these get at critical aspects of what makes a species unique. Furthermore, all species are also a part of a complex ecosystem. They are adapted to each other as well as to the physical environment in which they live. They engage in a wide range of interactions, to which their biology and behavior are adapted. Species are dependent on other species for their very existence.
Our seemingly stable landscape is actually in a constant state of flux. |
Just as our personal history is responsible for shaping who we are, geological and biological history has shaped the natural environment. In fact, the environments in which we live cannot really be known and understood in isolation from their histories. Understanding the role of geological and evolutionary processes in shaping our world needs to be seen as a vital component of our stewardship mandate. Knowing natural history is part of experientially knowing our place in God’s creation. Place is defined not just in space, but also in creative history.
Photo Caption: This is my place in God’s creation. It is underlain by conglomerates and red sandstones deposited within a Triassic rift basin and intruded by diabase about 200 million years ago. These erosion-resistant rocks now form the tops of ridges. The thin rocky soils developed on the conglomerates and diabase support forests of oak, maple, walnut, hickory and tulip trees. Those tulip trees are host to tiger swallowtail caterpillars, and the walnut trees host the caterpillars of royal walnut moths and luna moths. The swallowtail butterflies sip nectar from wild bergamot, penstemon, and cardinal flowers.
Change makes history meaningful. A non-historical view of nature is essentially a static view. Such a view is profoundly false. The physical and biological environment changes over a vast range of time scales—from processes that can be easily observed during a person’s lifetime to those that span tens and hundreds of millions of years.
Our seemingly stable landscape is actually in a constant state of flux. Weathering and erosion incessantly denude the landscape and transport sediment to the oceans and subsiding basins. At the same time, other areas are rising as rocks are faulted and folded by great compressive forces within the Earth’s crust. Over the course of Earth history, entire mountain belts have been uplifted and subsequently eroded. Seas have risen and fallen multiple times, sometimes flooding large areas of continental interiors. On an even grander scale, the crust of the Earth is itself in motion as new crust is formed along the globe-encircling system of mid-ocean ridges, and old ocean crust is consumed at the deep ocean trenches and recycled into the earth’s interior. Continents have drifted apart and been carried conveyor belt-style to collide with other continental blocks. Ocean basins have opened up, expanded, and then vanished again.
Throughout this long geological history, biological species and communities have evolved, constantly adapting to changing environments and climates. Species and entire ecosystems have also gone extinct, sometimes catastrophically, as with the Cretaceous extinction that brought an end to the non-avian dinosaurs. All these living things in God’s good creation existed in the absence of any human presence.
On a human timescale, major events such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions can have significant impacts on local landscapes. These events of physical disturbance are also important factors in maintaining many biological communities. Certain species are specifically adapted to colonize disturbed areas and require such disturbance for their survival. Fire has an important role in maintaining forest and grassland ecosystems. The species composition of many biological communities, both terrestrial and marine, is controlled by the type and frequency of disturbance.
The local topography of an area has been sculpted over thousands to millions of years by the balance of erosion and deposition, and the rates of weathering dictated by climate, vegetation, and underlying geology. Both landscapes and the native ecosystems that inhabit them are a product of this physical history.
How does this historical perspective affect us as stewards of God’s creation? Some questions raised by an awareness of this history include: How does a natural system respond to our attempts to manipulate or modify it? What responsibility do we have to preserve the integrity of natural systems and the species they support? How are introduced invasive species impacting native species? Do our efforts to reduce the impact of disturbance events adversely impact biological communities? Is our extraction of natural resources being done at the expense of irreplaceable species and ecosystems? Such questions can only be answered by a concerted and detailed look at the dynamic history and complex interactions of these natural systems.
We are very much latecomers to this great creation story and have inherited a world in which God has been creatively active for incomprehensible ages. Clearly this is God’s creation not ours, and we are only God’s representatives acting at God’s good pleasure. Any pretense of our personal ownership or lordship over creation should be put aside. Another response to creation’s history is that God must truly value the creation for what it is. It is very good for its own sake and its own history. All the vast array of living things that have passed into extinction existed for God’s pleasure. Finally, the stewardship mandate that God has given us can only be exercised in humility, and with a commitment to know the creation so loved by God.
Keith Miller retired from the Geology Department of Kansas State University after 27 years, and recently retired as an adjunct faculty at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. His teaching and research interests are in Earth and life history, climate science, public science literacy, and in exploring the interface of science and Christian faith. Creation care and stewardship are important principles guiding Keith and his wife Ruth as they seek to manage the property entrusted to them by God.
Photo Caption: This is my place in God’s creation. It is underlain by conglomerates and red sandstones deposited within a Triassic rift basin and intruded by diabase about 200 million years ago. These erosion-resistant rocks now form the tops of ridges. The thin rocky soils developed on the conglomerates and diabase support forests of oak, maple, walnut, hickory and tulip trees. Those tulip trees are host to tiger swallowtail caterpillars, and the walnut trees host the caterpillars of royal walnut moths and luna moths. The swallowtail butterflies sip nectar from wild bergamot, penstemon, and cardinal flowers.
Change makes history meaningful. A non-historical view of nature is essentially a static view. Such a view is profoundly false. The physical and biological environment changes over a vast range of time scales—from processes that can be easily observed during a person’s lifetime to those that span tens and hundreds of millions of years.
Our seemingly stable landscape is actually in a constant state of flux. Weathering and erosion incessantly denude the landscape and transport sediment to the oceans and subsiding basins. At the same time, other areas are rising as rocks are faulted and folded by great compressive forces within the Earth’s crust. Over the course of Earth history, entire mountain belts have been uplifted and subsequently eroded. Seas have risen and fallen multiple times, sometimes flooding large areas of continental interiors. On an even grander scale, the crust of the Earth is itself in motion as new crust is formed along the globe-encircling system of mid-ocean ridges, and old ocean crust is consumed at the deep ocean trenches and recycled into the earth’s interior. Continents have drifted apart and been carried conveyor belt-style to collide with other continental blocks. Ocean basins have opened up, expanded, and then vanished again.
Throughout this long geological history, biological species and communities have evolved, constantly adapting to changing environments and climates. Species and entire ecosystems have also gone extinct, sometimes catastrophically, as with the Cretaceous extinction that brought an end to the non-avian dinosaurs. All these living things in God’s good creation existed in the absence of any human presence.
On a human timescale, major events such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions can have significant impacts on local landscapes. These events of physical disturbance are also important factors in maintaining many biological communities. Certain species are specifically adapted to colonize disturbed areas and require such disturbance for their survival. Fire has an important role in maintaining forest and grassland ecosystems. The species composition of many biological communities, both terrestrial and marine, is controlled by the type and frequency of disturbance.
The local topography of an area has been sculpted over thousands to millions of years by the balance of erosion and deposition, and the rates of weathering dictated by climate, vegetation, and underlying geology. Both landscapes and the native ecosystems that inhabit them are a product of this physical history.
How does this historical perspective affect us as stewards of God’s creation? Some questions raised by an awareness of this history include: How does a natural system respond to our attempts to manipulate or modify it? What responsibility do we have to preserve the integrity of natural systems and the species they support? How are introduced invasive species impacting native species? Do our efforts to reduce the impact of disturbance events adversely impact biological communities? Is our extraction of natural resources being done at the expense of irreplaceable species and ecosystems? Such questions can only be answered by a concerted and detailed look at the dynamic history and complex interactions of these natural systems.
We are very much latecomers to this great creation story and have inherited a world in which God has been creatively active for incomprehensible ages. Clearly this is God’s creation not ours, and we are only God’s representatives acting at God’s good pleasure. Any pretense of our personal ownership or lordship over creation should be put aside. Another response to creation’s history is that God must truly value the creation for what it is. It is very good for its own sake and its own history. All the vast array of living things that have passed into extinction existed for God’s pleasure. Finally, the stewardship mandate that God has given us can only be exercised in humility, and with a commitment to know the creation so loved by God.
Keith Miller retired from the Geology Department of Kansas State University after 27 years, and recently retired as an adjunct faculty at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. His teaching and research interests are in Earth and life history, climate science, public science literacy, and in exploring the interface of science and Christian faith. Creation care and stewardship are important principles guiding Keith and his wife Ruth as they seek to manage the property entrusted to them by God.