An Environmental Conscience

In light of the massive BP oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico, there is great concern over the environment.  Make no mistake; this spill is massive.  A friend of mine sent me a link to a site where you can see how large the oil spill would be if it was in your neck of the woods.  Apparently it would run from Chilliwack, British Columbia, all the way to Banff, Alberta.  Imagine that: traveling with the family for 8-10 hours and seeing the same stream of tar whenever you look out the window.  Imagine what that would do to the forests, creatures and communities caught in its path!  There is no way to mince words: this is a horrible catastrophe.

But do Christians care?  I mean, the church is not at the forefront of the catastrophe the same way it would be if it was a humanitarian crisis, like the earthquake in Haiti or the Tsunami in Asia -at least as far as I know.  It would seem that Christians are only interested in people not porpoises, and souls rather than sea creatures. 

This presence-in-one-area-but-absence-in-another causes many to scratch their heads.  Are Christians merely partisan, caring only for their own pet agendas?  Is their compassionate response to the world’s cares and concerns too narrow?  These questions instigate the following problem: on a public level Christians are often dismissed as being interested in only one or two issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage. (Counterpoint:  for an interesting article questioning multi-issue evangelicals click here).  

However, although the Christian community does not always help themselves, when it comes to public concerns there is a much broader range of interest than many people realize.

The fact of the matter is that Christians do care about the environment.  They care a great deal.  And they care a great deal about a lot of things.  The Christian conscience informs all of life, both our individual life and life found in community. 

You could go as far as to say that Christians—at their best—are big-picture environmentalists, interested in the environment of not only the natural world, but also the spiritual and cultural worlds they find themselves in.

Faith communities often engage these environments through cultivating and nurturing practices.  They can be seen cultivating spiritual environments through worship and spiritual disciplines.  They nurture cultural environments through investing in the arts, funding foodbanks and shelters, and promoting fair economies.  And they cultivate natural environments by cleaning up the streets of their town or practicing simplicity and Sabbath.

They also engage these environments through conservation and protection.  This explains why there have been concerns over religious rights in Canada.  But it also explains why Christian groups have campaigned for funding to remain for non-profit groups who make a difference in our communities, or for old growth forests to be protected.    

No, not all Christians are big-picture environmentalists; the same can be said about any society in Canada when the members don’t always live up to the creed.  Regardless, we should take note: as a movement, Christianity is interested in more than just a couple of hot button issues.  The Christian conscience cannot be pigeon-holed.   At its best it operates under the conviction that this world, our world is one worth cultivating and conserving.   So when it comes to environmental disasters like the terrible oil slick in the gulf of Mexico, the church is (and should be) equally as dismayed as the rest of the world.