SEBTS Lecturer: If You Don’t Care For the Environment, You Don’t Have the Gospel
During a “climate criss” lecture at SEBTS last year, Jonathan Moo, an Associate Professor of New Testament and Environmental Studies at Whitworth University, shared his extreme understandaing of “creaton care” for the Christian, telling students they ought to buy carbon credits if they take any flights.
He recommended giving money to Climate Stewards USA, a project run by “A Rocha,” a nonprofit where he’s on the board, and then tells them “in order to be faithful to the gospel, we must care well for God’s creation. It’s not an option.”
“I have an argument this evening, which is pretty obvious I guess from my somewhat perhaps controversial title. That is, that in order to be faithful to the gospel, we must care well for God’s creation. It’s not an option. It’s not just something we might add on to lots of other programs we might do. It’s not even just a clever strategy for evangelism, although I do consider it one of the ways in which faithful Christian witness might must be lived out in our time, and one that many people around us, many of my students are longing to see the church do more fully.
And the reasons why this is absolutely vital and to be woven into all that we do and proclaim, is first and foremost, because it is part of the Gospel. It is part of what it is to love God and neighbor. If we love God we will care for the world that God created and declared good. If we love our neighbor, we cannot help but care for the world of which they are part. So, to love God and neighbor is to care well for the creation.”
He continues:
I think most of us don’t need simply another list of things that that might look like, or a new set of programs to add to all the other things we already do. We need to have our eyes lifted again to the mountains. Our eyes focused again on the gospel to see again the world afresh that we might do that.
h/t @wokepreachertv
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Why are so many Christians opposed to caring responsibly for the world God made?
I don’t buy the climate change panic, but I’m perplexed that so many Christians recoil in terror at the thought that, perhaps, we should be caring and responsible for nature. “Subdue” doesn’t mean spray Round Up on everything, torture animals for efficient food production, let crony capitalism run amok, or destroy every possible green space.
Conversely, “care” doesn’t mean get rid of gas vehicles, buy carbon credits, or flog yourself and others.
Why is it that when someone brings this up they go as extreme as possible to make their point. Christians aren’t “opposed” to caring for the environment. They’re opposed to making it something to obsess about above sharing the Gospel, educating their kids and raising their families.
I drive an electric car because I want to, its fast, handles great and I don’t buy expensive gas. I also travel whenever I want without guilt using whatever mode necessary.
I know I am saved because of what Christ did on the cross, not if I’m sensitive to the cause of the day and if I live out my life in someone else’s opinion.
This website is dedicated to hating gay people. This argument doesn’t belong here.
Your comment gave me AIDS. Thanks.