Issues: Science and Christianity

Christians and the Environment

Christians believe God made the world and everything in it. Christians believe the earth is precious because it was created by God. Humans were the most important part of creation and the only ones made in God's image.

Christians believe God entrusted the world to human beings to benefit from it and to care for it. This is called STEWARDSHIP.

A steward is someone who is entrusted with something to look after on behalf of someone else. God owns the world, according to Christians, and we have been given the responsibility of looking after it on His behalf (see The Bible, Genesis chapter 1 verse 28)

Christians believe that being God's stewards means that they must care for the environment. They must protect it and preserve it for future generations.

This might mean not taking more than we need, recycling etc.

Historically, Christians have not been very concerned with the environment. Christians have been criticised for taking the attitude that we had been given power over the environment and therefore we could use it for our own benefit. Christians had misunderstood what having 'dominion' over the environment meant. We wanted to take the privileges without the responsibilities.

In recent years Christians have felt more their duty as stewards of God's creation. Many Christians would recycle and maybe use more environmentally friendly products. TARGET EARTH is an international organization established in 15 countries that encourages Christians to be better stewards of God's earth. They buy up endangered land and protect endangered species.