JUST TWO WEEKS AGO, DUTCH NEWSPAPERS REPORTED ABOUT BIODIVERSITY IN THE PROVINCE OF FRIESLAND. IN THE LAST 25 YEARS, POPULATIONS OF THREATENED SPECIES WENT DOWN BY 50 PERCENT – MORE THAN IN ANY OTHER PLACE IN THE NETHERLANDS. THE AREA OF FRIESLAND IS MAINLY FARMLAND, MEADOWS. THESE USED TO BE HALF-NATURAL FIELDS WITH NUMEROUS INSECTS AND BIRDS. BUT NOWADAYS THEY ARE TRANSFORMED IN INDUSTRIAL, VERY PRODUCTIVE, BUT VERY SILENT FIELDS.

1. The urgency of the topic.

The worldwide conservation movement was once started with a woman called Rachel Carson, who wrote her book ‘Silent Spring’ about the fields around her American village where the poison DDT was used abundantly. We have our Silent Spring today, here in Friesland, not in a poisonous way per se, but by the highest productive agriculture in the world.

The situation in Friesland may be worse than elsewhere in The Netherlands, but the development is the same. Biodiversity is under pressure, in cities, on farmland and in open nature reserves as well. What I see is a sharpened separation of nature and the rest of the land. They were once mingled, but nowadays nature is reduced more and more behind the fences of the reserves.

This development takes place not only in Friesland or in The Netherlands: biodiversity is worldwide on its return. There is a growing tension between the people who have to live and eat, who are longing for a kind of welfare and the rest of creation.

I have to mention climate change as well. There is a direct connection between the way we live and a quick and enhanced effect on climate change. This affects millions of people, as well as wildlife around the world. The effects are not always clear yet, but there are many reports about changed weather conditions with droughts and heavy rains, failed harvests and changed conditions for all kind of wildlife. In more and more armed conflicts, climate and water supply have contributed to the war.

These topics are in the news every week. They are very urgent matters, directly connected to the way we live. They urge us to rethink our relation as Christians with Gods creation. Can we rediscover in our Christian faith the hopeful message for all creation? Can we be people of hope who love God as Creator, who obey his good laws and testify in our lives with Him, with each other and with His creation? I think it starts with the understanding of the scriptures and theology. This brings me to the second part: why creation care belongs to the core of Christian faith.

2. Why creation care belongs to the core of Christian faith

I met A Rocha, a Christian conservation movement, in 2002. It took me about ten years to rethink my understanding of the Scriptures – I’m apparently a slow learner. I think the key was for me – as theologian Tom Wright has underlined many times – the story of the Bible is too limited when reduced to God and man, sin and salvation. The challenge is to realise that the Bible tells us about creation, fall, salvation and recreation. The earth is not the scene where Gods work takes place. The earth and everything in it is part of his big rescue work.

Let us take a look to a few key-texts in the Scriptures.

As humans, we are created in the ‘image of God’ (Genesis 1:26–28). Many interpretations of this phrase have been based on philosophical speculation rather than biblical exposition. There is no mention in the text that ‘image of God’ refers to being ‘en-souled’ (Ambrose), rationality (Athanasius), intellect and will (Augustine), moral righteousness (the Reformers), physically upright form (Von Rad et al.) or many other speculative ideas. Any interpretation of ‘imago Dei’ stemming directly from the immediate context of Genesis 1:26 must embrace humanity’s relationship with other creatures: ‘image’ is, at least in part, a job description. Humanity as a whole is created in God’s image and likeness to reflect God’s character and ‘rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ (Genesis 1:26, 28). At the same time, God forms Adam from the ‘adamah’ (Genesis 2:7), Hebrew for soil or earth. Humans are both/and creatures: created from ‘the dust of the earth’ and made ‘in the image of God’. We are carbon-based life-forms, like all other living creatures in our contingency and physicality, and yet uniquely called apart within (although never separated from) the diversity of creatures, with a divine calling to reflect God’s image. God’s original purpose for humanity was to reflect God’s character in developing and looking after God’s world.

Our first ‘great commission’ is directly related to how we treat the birds, animals, sea-creatures and the earth itself, along with which we were created.

Our vocation as human creatures is to glorify God in assisting in the flourishing of the whole good creation. Thus, biodiversity conservation becomes a missional task and a key means of reflecting God’s image.

Many psalms affirm that, according to their kind, non-human creatures worship and praise God and also that God cares and provides for all creatures. Psalm 145:9, for instance, states ‘The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.’ This is the God whose character humanity is to reflect. Psalm 8 echoes Genesis 1 in speaking of humanity’s kingly role within creation (6–8). Yet the context is theocentric since the psalm opens and closes extolling the supreme majesty of God’s name ‘in all the earth’, before whose creation of the stars and planets human beings are infinitesimally small (3–4). If God’s kingly rule exalts the human creature so highly, does this not suggest that humanity’s leadership within nature should echo this pattern of active concern for the interests of those under our rule?

In Psalm 104, humans are but one of the many works of God and no mention is made of any privilege or authority with regards to other creatures. God has made plants for people to cultivate so that they may produce wine, oil and bread to sustain and gladden their hearts (14–15). Yet God also provides running water for donkeys, trees for nesting birds, rain for the soil, grass for cattle, and mountains for goats. The psalmist chooses to spend three verses (20–22) describing creatures that live and eat by night and only one verse (23) on humans who work by daylight. The world of Psalm 104 is anything but anthropocentric. Yet, neither is the psalm ecocentric. The earth does not belong to any or all created species. It belongs in its totality to God, a God who provides for all creatures and rejoices in all his works (31). The natural world is to provide for all species and, by implication, its riches are to be shared by all, not accumulated by one at the expense of all others.

In the New Testament we find some crucial texts about creation. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes about a longing creation, which will be set free from bondage and will be given freedom and glory, like the children of God. In Colossians, he writes that Jesus came to bring peace ‘in all things’. Our challenge is to understand what ‘all things’ are. Speaking in terms of relations: we as people are related to God, to each other, to ourselves and to the whole creation. All relations are disturbed, but the work of Christ will bring restoration and peace in all. That is fantastic news for our relation with the earth and everything in it, the Scriptures and with this vision about a New Jerusalem, coming on earth. Our destination is not to serve God for eternity in an unknown place we call heaven. Our destination is here, on earth, where his creation will flourish again and Jesus will be the King.

Six biblical principles:

1. This world and all its creatures (human and nonhuman) belong to God and exist to bring glory to God.
2. The value and purpose of every species derives from God alone, and is tied to God’s plans in creation, covenant, redemption and reconciliation.
3. Species have value independently of their usefulness to humanity, so ecological decisions should not be made on anthropocentric or economic grounds alone.
4. Every species matters, irrespective of its usefulness to humanity. Avoidable extinctions damage the integrity of God’s world, erase something of God’s self-revelation in creation, and silence elements of creation’s worship of God.
5. Humanity has a divine vocation in reflecting God’s character towards the animal kingdom through encouraging the flourishing of biodiversity and resisting its depletion. This is both a missional task to be fostered as a special vocation for some, and part of the wider calling of all Christ’s disciples.
6. In an age of ecological depletion, Christianity offers ultimate hope both for people and biodiversity, rooted in the redeeming work of Christ for all creation. (See video: All things reconciled (https://vimeo.com/166843635)

3. Case study in European context

I think the message until now is for every Christian. As A Rocha, we experience a more specific calling to work on conservation in a very practical way. We have lived this out in many places, I will focus on our work in Portugal, where we have fought a battle to save the environment that many others considered to be unimportant, compared to the effort involved. A Rocha Portugal works at Ria de Alvor in the Algarve, a coastal site of important natural value. A Rocha established a field study centre here and carried out long-term scientific studies, which contributed to its designation as a Naturea 2000-protected area under EU law. The place harbours many important plant and animal species.

However, a real estate company, owner of a property in the heart of the site, destroyed 36 hectares of land in 2006, as ground clearing and farm rehabilitation activities. A Rocha tried to open a discussion, but the owner refused to engage. In the meanwhile, he continued his illegal and environmentally damaging activities. Local authorities did not undertake any action.

A Rocha started a campaign, followed by a legal action. The local community was at the centre of their actions, because in A Rocha’s view a concern for the local environment and wildlife cannot be separated from a concern for the welfare of the local community and the quality of their place. A Rocha Portugal was convinced that local people were being subjected to a drive for economic development that did not serve their real welfare. Promises of local economic development and job creation do actually lead to the creation of low-paid, seasonal jobs with few long-term prospects and little security.

After a legal battle of six years, the company administrator was convicted of an environmental crime. He was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 150,000 euro’s. And he was ordered to restore completely the destroyed habitat areas.

The outcome was a direct result of the designation of the site under the EU Habitats Directive. Without this legal protection, the damage to this internationally important wildlife habitat would have certainly continued.

However, the legal protection in itself was hardly effective. A conscious local community, with strong beliefs about conservation and good data about the biodiversity in this area was absolutely necessary for the results.

This legal case was interpreted by A Rocha in terms of the theological principle that what to many seems to be insignificant, weak and small may actually be very important. They aimed to respond in a way consistent with its Christian identity and values. They were committed to the two elements of a Christian theology of the environment: the intrinsic value of nature as God’s creation, and a distinctive motivation arising from the theology of hope, in which individuals are primarily committed to care for creation as an act of faithfulness to God and a desire to participate in the redemptive work of Christ in all creation. They were also inspired by the biblical motif, found in the Hebrew Scriptures, of the ‘healing of the land’.

4. Conclusion: Creation care and the paradox of freedom

There are huge tensions between our freedom and our calling to care for Gods good creation.

The landowner in Portugal thought he had the freedom to destroy and develop an important habitat for many species. But the law and court convicted him.

For western people, there is a world full of choices to make. Without committing any crime, we can bring serious damage to creation. And that is what we do. What I do, probably every day.

I am a hopeful realist. We won’t be able to change this in a moment. But it starts with the recognition that values and faith are absolutely relevant. As Christians we haven’t for a long time brought the whole topic of creation care in our relation with the Creator. It is time to do that now. That is the big challenge. Jesus wants to be Lord of all of our live. His work of salvation and restoration means so much for how we live with each other and all creatures. His message of hope for the whole world is about this world, not about some heavenly reality far away. Our calling is to live hopeful and caring lives.

When we really understand this message of hope, our freedom will get another meaning. It will find its place in a caring and loving attitude to creation. My hope is for a generation of Christians who live integrated lives and testify in practice by their love for creation.

SOURCES/TAKEN FROM:

The greening of the EU? A Christian assessment of the EU’s environmental policies for biodiversity and nature. Janice Weatherley-Singh, Tiago Branco and Marcial Felgueiras.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. The Bible and biodiversity. Cambridge Paper by Dave Bookless, theologian at A Rocha International.