Click here for notes that go with this presentation: Stewardship of Creation.
Click here for Stewardship of Creation Bibliography.
Our Table Talk for February 2011 is entitled “The Kingdom and the Stewardship of Creation”. Concern for the environment and the stewardship of the created order is a topic which has become increasingly important, and at times divisive, among evangelicals in recent years. Our view of creation also has tremendous theological significance. The doctrine of creation serves as a dividing line between Eastern and Western religions and also is essential in differentiating Christianity from various forms of early Gnostic heresies. Garry’s background in theology and philosopohy and Rafe’s background in biology make them uniquely qualified to address this issue.
Here are a few resources for this topic that you may want to check out:
An article Garry has written discussing evangelicalism and the environment
“It’s Not Easy Being Green (Evangelicals)”
Rafe has an excellent bibliography of some important books and articles on creation care:
Some other articles that might be of interest:
Feuerbach famously claimed that, “Nature, the world, has no value, no interest for Christians. The Christian thinks only of himself and the salvation of his soul.” This statment was made over 150 years ago, but it still colors our contemporary perceptions. Most notably, this line of thought was picked up in a very famous and influential paper, published by Lyn White in 1967, which blamed Christians for much of the contemporary environmental crisis. There have been countless responses to his claims, but one detailed theological reflection noted below is from Douglass Moo.
Lynn White, Jr., “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” Science 155 (1967) 1203-7.
Douglas J. Moo, “Nature in the New Creation: New Testament Eschatology and the Environment,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 49 (2006) 449-88.
Richard Bauckham, a British New Testament scholar has done some significant work on biblical themes related to creation. He is advocates a deep respect for divine purposes intrinsic to the created order and pushes back somewhat against language of stewardship.
Richard Bauckham, “Joining creation’s praise of God”, Ecotheology 7 no 1 Jl 2002, p 45-59.
Two websites that you might want to check out that offer different viewpoints, particularly on the issue of global warming: