God and Nature Summer 2019
Sanctity of Creation
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By Larry Wilder
Human activities are damaging the health of our planet now more than at any other time in history. And these threats, such as water pollution, oil spills, and illegal fishing, are becoming more alarming.
The theology for protecting nature and all its various creatures is unambiguous: animals, insects, and plants have the God-given right to be fruitful and thrive as God commanded them (Genesis 1:22). In Romans 1:9-20, Paul tells us that creation is in fact a self-revelation of God. That is, God is known by what He has made, so that we have no excuse. God created the earth and all of its creatures and pronounced all of His work to be "good." That includes sea turtles, dolphins, whales, and manatees. God assigned Man to have dominion (stewardship) over the earth/creation, but that dominion does not mean that we have the right to use His creation and its majestic creatures any way we want.
Human activities are damaging the health of our planet now more than at any other time in history. And these threats, such as water pollution, oil spills, and illegal fishing, are becoming more alarming.
The theology for protecting nature and all its various creatures is unambiguous: animals, insects, and plants have the God-given right to be fruitful and thrive as God commanded them (Genesis 1:22). In Romans 1:9-20, Paul tells us that creation is in fact a self-revelation of God. That is, God is known by what He has made, so that we have no excuse. God created the earth and all of its creatures and pronounced all of His work to be "good." That includes sea turtles, dolphins, whales, and manatees. God assigned Man to have dominion (stewardship) over the earth/creation, but that dominion does not mean that we have the right to use His creation and its majestic creatures any way we want.
"...the degradation of oceanic habitats and the collapse of fish stocks threatens the health and lives of people across the world..." |
God’s good oceans cover three quarters of the earth's surface, supply 50% of atmospheric oxygen, and are responsible for much of the stability and diversity of life on the planet. In terms of ecosystem service—those functions that sustain human life—oceans are tremendously important. Over a billion people rely on fish as their primary or only source of animal protein, so the degradation of oceanic habitats and the collapse of fish stocks threatens the health and lives of people across the world, especially in developing countries. When our actions threaten others, those actions become ethically questionable and require swift change.
Ships dump millions of tons of plastics into the world's oceans every year. The United Nations estimates that 600,000 tons of fishing gear are abandoned annually, and that the abandoned fishing gear kills over 360,000 sea turtles every year. It has also been estimated that over 300,000 cetaceans die each year worldwide as a result of fishing gear entanglement; that is, due to abandoned legal and illegal fishing gear (1).
"Oh Lord, what a variety of things you have made. In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures” (Psalm 104:24).
“And so God spoke ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures...’ So God created the great creatures of the sea, and every living and moving thing with which the waters teem... And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:20-21). God discerns the truth of things, so when Genesis says that God looks at what He has made and finds it to be "good," we are being told unequivocally that what he has created is of value. And if it has value in God's eyes and heart, should it not have value in our eyes and hearts?
One species of dolphin has already become extinct at the hands of man. As a result of non-selective and illegal fishing practices (dolphins getting caught in fishing nets as bycatch), along with habitant degradation, the baiji river dolphins of China’s Yangtze River have been declared functionally extinct in 2006. The vaquita porpoises of Mexico are facing a similar fate. These smaller porpoises (about 4.5 feet long) are getting killed as bycatch in fishing nets, and now their population is down to less than 50 animals in the wild. If something is not done very soon, this majestic creature will also become extinct at the hands of man. T.S. Eliot wrote, "A wrong attitude toward nature… implies a wrong attitude toward God.”
So, what can you do to help the little vaquita porpoise? 1. Tell your friends and family about our responsibility to be good stewards of God's good creation; 2. tell everyone you can about the plight of the vaquita; 3. Send letters to Mexico's Ministry of Environment. For more information on this porpoise, you can go to www.vivavaquita.org.
As David Gushee, Professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University, wrote: Remember the bumper sticker “Save the babies, not the whales”? What a nice “pro-life” slam against those lefty environmentalists. But what if it turns out that you can’t save the babies unless you are also saving the whales? What if it turns out that we must save the health of the planetary ecosystems that sustain life for all creatures if we want to save our own lives? This means more than the obvious but important reminder that caring for God’s creation is an aspect of a consistent pro-life ethic. (2)
There is a Christian view that creation is God’s “other book,” given to humankind to study in addition to Scripture. This view is supported by classical theology, which sees creation as the major component of what is called General Revelation—revelation that has been given to all people, in all times, and in all places. It includes the natural world, with all of its creatures and all of its processes (see Romans 1 & 2:15).
Caring for creation isn’t just good theology. It’s good living and good neighboring. As followers of Christ, we have a special responsibility to God and to the creatures He made to be good. The world is watching to see how we will respond: will we be neglectful and ill-informed, or will we take up our cross and care for creation and one another with love and wisdom?
References
1. AJ Read, P Drinker, S Northridge. "Bycatch of marine mammals in US and global fisheries". Conservation Biology, 20:163-169, 2006.
2. David Gushee “A Theology of Ecology,” Associated Baptist Press, April 2008
Larry Wilder is an Army veteran, diving instructor, and a correspondence graduate student in oceanography. He is currently serving a life sentence in Florida. For more information, please contact Prof. Jeffrey Greenberg at Wheaton College.
Ships dump millions of tons of plastics into the world's oceans every year. The United Nations estimates that 600,000 tons of fishing gear are abandoned annually, and that the abandoned fishing gear kills over 360,000 sea turtles every year. It has also been estimated that over 300,000 cetaceans die each year worldwide as a result of fishing gear entanglement; that is, due to abandoned legal and illegal fishing gear (1).
"Oh Lord, what a variety of things you have made. In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures” (Psalm 104:24).
“And so God spoke ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures...’ So God created the great creatures of the sea, and every living and moving thing with which the waters teem... And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:20-21). God discerns the truth of things, so when Genesis says that God looks at what He has made and finds it to be "good," we are being told unequivocally that what he has created is of value. And if it has value in God's eyes and heart, should it not have value in our eyes and hearts?
One species of dolphin has already become extinct at the hands of man. As a result of non-selective and illegal fishing practices (dolphins getting caught in fishing nets as bycatch), along with habitant degradation, the baiji river dolphins of China’s Yangtze River have been declared functionally extinct in 2006. The vaquita porpoises of Mexico are facing a similar fate. These smaller porpoises (about 4.5 feet long) are getting killed as bycatch in fishing nets, and now their population is down to less than 50 animals in the wild. If something is not done very soon, this majestic creature will also become extinct at the hands of man. T.S. Eliot wrote, "A wrong attitude toward nature… implies a wrong attitude toward God.”
So, what can you do to help the little vaquita porpoise? 1. Tell your friends and family about our responsibility to be good stewards of God's good creation; 2. tell everyone you can about the plight of the vaquita; 3. Send letters to Mexico's Ministry of Environment. For more information on this porpoise, you can go to www.vivavaquita.org.
As David Gushee, Professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University, wrote: Remember the bumper sticker “Save the babies, not the whales”? What a nice “pro-life” slam against those lefty environmentalists. But what if it turns out that you can’t save the babies unless you are also saving the whales? What if it turns out that we must save the health of the planetary ecosystems that sustain life for all creatures if we want to save our own lives? This means more than the obvious but important reminder that caring for God’s creation is an aspect of a consistent pro-life ethic. (2)
There is a Christian view that creation is God’s “other book,” given to humankind to study in addition to Scripture. This view is supported by classical theology, which sees creation as the major component of what is called General Revelation—revelation that has been given to all people, in all times, and in all places. It includes the natural world, with all of its creatures and all of its processes (see Romans 1 & 2:15).
Caring for creation isn’t just good theology. It’s good living and good neighboring. As followers of Christ, we have a special responsibility to God and to the creatures He made to be good. The world is watching to see how we will respond: will we be neglectful and ill-informed, or will we take up our cross and care for creation and one another with love and wisdom?
References
1. AJ Read, P Drinker, S Northridge. "Bycatch of marine mammals in US and global fisheries". Conservation Biology, 20:163-169, 2006.
2. David Gushee “A Theology of Ecology,” Associated Baptist Press, April 2008
Larry Wilder is an Army veteran, diving instructor, and a correspondence graduate student in oceanography. He is currently serving a life sentence in Florida. For more information, please contact Prof. Jeffrey Greenberg at Wheaton College.