A Christian Environmental Ethics - Part Two

This is Part Two of a series, arguing toward a Christian environmental ethics. You can read the first part here, which discusses Creation as the start of a paradigm for a Christian approach to ecology.

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When God created the world, everything started off well. God describes the sum of his creation as very good. Adam and Eve had the job of subduing and ruling over the created order. But, if you’ve been around church much in your life, you know that the story doesn’t stop there. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had everything they needed, but Adam chose to sin.

The snake gets Eve to question God’s command. She eats the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam eats the fruit, even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to. And sin comes into the world through human action.

The serpent is cursed to crawl on the ground and eat dust. We get the first expectation of a redeemer in Gen 3:15. Childbirth becomes hard for women. But there is some more information in Genesis 3 about the effects of human sin:

And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.” (Gen 3:17–19)

 There are two ideas that will help us understand the effects of the Fall in this passage:

1.   The ground is cursed – The ESV says, “because of you.” The KJV says, “for thy sake.” The two phrases mean almost the same thing, but slightly different. Clearly the cursing of the ground is because of Adam’s action, but it is also for Adam’s benefit.
2.   Work becomes hard – Adam still has the responsibility to cultivate and keep the earth, but it will become hard. The good creation will now resist the attempts of humans to improve it.

So, because of the Adam’s sin, not only did spiritual death come into the world, but the ground itself was cursed. It was cursed to help communicate the reality of human sinfulness to humans, to point out that something is wrong with the world. Romans 8 helps us understand this:

 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom 8:19–23)

We should recognize that things are not the way they ought to be in the world. Creation itself has been “subjected to futility” because of Adam’s sin and will only be set free from that when heaven and earth are restored. In the meanwhile, the frustrate creation reminds us that things are not the way they are supposed to be.

This is the stage that best describes where we are in the history of the world. Although redemption has begun through Christ’s work, it hasn’t come to bear on the created order in a holistic way. We are living with the effects of the sin of Adam and Eve and with the effects of other human beings as well. Not all human impact on the created order is sinful, but some of it is.

During this time that we are living, while we are waiting for the restoration of all things, we should live in order to steward the creation well. This was God’s vocation for Adam and he never rescinded it. However, just like the manager of a company, we will have to give an account for our stewardship.  Creation belongs to God, he has merely entrusted us with it. We should be working to improve it and to push back the effects of the Fall.

In the next part of this series, I will cover the third phase of God’s metanarrative: Redemption. This is God’s work to lift the curse, both by providing a way of salvation for those that believe and by removing the effects of sin from the Creation.

Coming Back Home to Wobegon

If you grew up in the suburbs going home is no big deal. You probably never knew every one of the folks in your neighborhood. It is even less likely that you knew most of the people that lived in a several mile circle around you. So, for the indigenous suburbanite, going home means visiting your parents in the house you grew up in.

It’s another thing to go home if you grew up in the country. That’s what it’s like for me to go home. Once we get off the main highway onto the winding roads through the hills of Western Pennsylvania the memories start coming back.

First it’s the little town that I used to stop at to get gas and eat. Then it’s the huge hill with a Country Music radio station at the top with a hotel and restaurant across from it. I ate at the restaurant once and the food was lousy. It looks like it has changed owners a few times since then. I don’t care to risk the food again.

As we get closer in the memories begin to come more rapidly. Here’s the town that I used to work in during the summer. The place where a truck turned over once and we collected scattered wooden pallets. There used to be an antique store on the one side with a hardware and auto parts store in it. Those are closed now. Come to think of it, it’s a wonder they ever stayed open so long at such a distance from town.

Then to see the fast food restaurant closed in the next town, remembering stops for food on the way home from sporting events. Now I wonder where you can get a cheap burger anymore. Some houses look run down, some look a little better. Everything looks different and the same at the same time.

Once we get within a few miles of my house–the only one I lived in until I went to college–most of the houses are familiar. There’s the one with the crossed skis hanging on it. It has changed colors, but still the same. The houses next to it look a little worse for wear and they were shabby to begin with. I remember the names of most of the residents, at least the ones that lived there a decade ago. Some of them moved on, some dead, some probably still there.

I remember the times I rode my bike down that hill and walked it up the next. I remember picking up pop cans along many stretches of the road because I could earn a nickel for them. It took a while, but you could earn some money that way.

This is what it feels to be from Lake Wobegon. Instead of getting there with a little bump as you cross into Mist County--which doesn’t show up on any maps--I can get directions on my phone as long as I can get signal--which isn’t a given. The geography is different between Lake Wobegon and my hometown, but the stories all sound about the same.

Much like Garrison Keillor’s fictional town, the big news is the weather, the neighbors, and the local news. It’s a long way from Raleigh, North Carolina where terrorism, the global economy, and many social ills seem to be on the doorstep. Visits home make moving to the middle of nowhere seem like an option, at least for a little while.

But then the reality sets in. The nearest bookstore is 45 minutes away and most places like this don’t need someone with a PhD. And then, it gets old when too many people know your business and you get questions at the store, at work, and at school about why you cut a tree down. Was it rotted? Are you going to use it for firewood? How are you going to get the stump out?

The first explanation is fine, the fourth alright. By the twentieth you start to wonder whether Mrs. Granger would call the police if you told her you wanted the stump dug up as cover for the grave of the guy from the city you caught hunting on your land.

But you don’t tell her that. You just smile and talk about how it was leaning toward the house and killing the grass. And life goes on about the same as it ever did.

A Christian Environmental Ethics - Part One

Environmental ethics is a hot topic in the world, since concerns over climate change have led to arguments, protests and physical violence. The issue is as much economic as it is ecological, and there is an element of political power-seeking from both sides of the debate. As is typical, a Christian environmental ethics does not line up with many voices in the contemporary debate.

This is not a discussion of climate change, capitalism, the Keystone pipeline, fracking, coal-ash spills, or any particular issue. First, these are all extremely divisive and tend to distract from meaningful argument about the principals of environmental ethics. Second, I am more concerned to present a biblical approach to the environment, which will shape the beliefs behind particular decision.

The basic paradigm for unpacking a Christian Environmental Ethics has three parts: (1) Creation; (2) Fall; (3) Redemption. This is often simply a biblical theology, but it can also be used to describe a basic approach to our attitude toward the creation.

This post is Part One in a series, which will cover the understanding of Creation for an ethics of environment.

I.           Creation

The first thing to understand is that God created everything good. In the Genesis account of creation in Genesis 1, God made everything out of nothing in six days. Six times he described what he created as good. After he created Adam and Eve, he described the whole of his created order very good.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Gen 1:31)

There are a few things that we can learn from this:

1.   God created everything – Everything that exists came into existence because God made it, regardless of the timeline you accept for creation.

2.   As the Creator, God has certain rights over his Creation – It isn’t as if he made something and sold it. God spoke everything into existence, he ultimately has ownership over it all.

3.   Everything God created was good – God didn’t declare everything to be good. God saw that everything was good. In other words, the created order has a goodness due to its nature and right relationship to God, not due to a special declaration.

In the Genesis account of creation, we also learn that man was made in God’s image:

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (Gen 1:27)

There are several things that the image of God can mean. Theologians usually describe the image of God as one or more of the following: (1) Functional likeness to God; (2) Relational likeness to God; (3) Substantive likeness to God.

For this lesson, the key here is to look at the functional likeness to God. We are like God in that we have the function of sub-creators. He is the Creator and we continue his creative actions. This is part of the reason he created humans in his image.

Immediately after he spoke Adam and Eve into existence, he gave them dominion over the created order and told them to subdue it:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen 1:28)

Then, in the more detailed account of creation in the next chapter, we see God give Adam a particular charge to develop the garden of Eden. This is not a destructive domination, but it should be a just stewardship that brings the best out of the created order, much like a farmer works his fields.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Gen 2:15)

Some translations render this as “till and dress” or “cultivate and keep.” There is an agricultural function for Adam (and later Eve) to take charge of the garden. The garden was not a place of absolute rest, but a place of work and worship. Humans were given stewardship of the earth:

The heavens are the Lord's heavens,
    but the earth he has given to the children of man. (Ps 115:16)

The picture we get in Genesis 1 and 2 is of humans given responsibility as stewards over creation. We are to have dominion over it, but always with a view that we are to give account for how we use and tend the created order.

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Other Posts in this Series:

A Christian Environmental Ethics - Part One

A Christian Environmental Ethics - Part Two

A Christian Environmental Ethics - Part Three

A Christian Environmental Ethics - Part Four

Some Thoughts on Scripture, Theology, and Climate

How Do Views of the Environment Develop?

Singleness and the Christian

Given that approximately 64% of households in the United States in 2012 were headed by unmarried adults,[1] a failure to address singleness would be a mistake. In fact, a failure to address singleness has been a significantly overlooked issue among conservative Christians that is only in recent years beginning to be addressed more thoroughly.[2]

 No One is Married in Heaven

 In an attempt to trip Jesus up and pit him against the Pharisees, the Sadducees asked Jesus about resurrection and marriage:

 23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” (Matt 22:23–30)

So marriage is a vital institution, but it is contained to this earth. There is no marriage in heaven. As much as I love my wife and will love her more when we both live in the new heavens and earth, we won’t be married then.

Singleness is a Vocation for Some

Marriage is something that is limited to our time here on earth. And Paul makes clear that some people would do well to be single:

 6 Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. 8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am.9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Cor 7:6–9)

25 Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. (1 Cor 7:25–28)

 32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. (1 Cor 7:32–35)

A few things we can take away from Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 7:

1.      Getting married or staying single is not a sin, so this clearly falls under God’s will of direction.

2.      There are benefits to being single and benefits to being married. These should be weighed in the decision.

3.      All people are called to lived chastely; single people are called to abstain from sex. Purity falls under God’s will of desire.

 Another point to consider in the evaluation of singleness as a vocation is that Jesus–very God living as perfect man–was unmarried. He never sinned. He lived a perfect life. He fulfilled God’s will in every action and demeanor. He was single.

Ultimately, then, choosing to be single or to marry will follow a similar decision making process to choosing a career or choosing a spouse.

[1] Jonathan Vespa, Jamie M. Lewis, and Rose M. Kreider, America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012 (Washington, DC: US Census Bureau, 2013), 3.

[2] See, for example: Andreas Kostenberger and David Jones, Marriage and the Family: Biblical Essentials (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012). Chapter 5 is focused on singleness. See also: John Piper, This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2009). Chapters 9 and 10 discuss singleness.

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Another helpful resource from the ERLC's recent conference on this subject:

From the 2014 ERLC National Conference on "The Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of Marriage."

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Cover photo credit: http://ow.ly/ENoP7 (Licensed under Creative Commons.)

The Myth of "The One"

One of the greatest marriage-destroying myths in the world today is the idea that there is one person that is perfectly compatible with us. In non-Christian circles, this takes the form of looking for romantic attachment that is entirely fulfilling and without conflict. Christians try to baptize this concept by searching for “The One” that God has for them, as if God has a secret matrix of relationships with a single possible combination.

Both of these ideas are wrong. Both are harmful to society and to individuals. We should seek to eradicate the idea of “The One” from our worldview. In the end, everyone will be happier if we aren't looking for something that doesn't exist.

Non-Christians and “The One”

In his book, True Sexual Morality, Daniel Heimbach describes a counterfeit approach to sex as romantic sexual morality. He writes:

“Romantic sexual morality so glorifies the importance of sentimental affection in sexual relationships that sex is justified based on feelings alone. It says couples have only to decide if they are in love, and if they are, then sex is moral whatever else might be the case.” (255)

He goes on,

“In romantic morality, marriage does not legitimize expressing romantic affection with sex; rather, expressing romantic affection with sex legitimizes marriage. Romantics think marriage is a good way to express feelings; but if feelings fade, then sex is bad and the marriage is over.” (258)

At its root, the idea that there is one person in the world with whom we are perfectly compatible relies on this concept of romantic sexual morality: It is moral to do anything for love, and marriage is the way to show the recognition that their partner is “The One.”

However, feelings fade, conflict happens, and the happiness wanes sometimes ending in divorce.

Even before divorce, though, if feelings for another person arise and they appear to be a new “The One,” the old relationship becomes wrong and the relationship with the new “The One” becomes right.

In reality, romantic emotions are an important part of marriage, but they do not define morality and they are not the substance of marriage. Emotions come and go. Keeping promises faithfully helps build stronger families and ultimately a stronger society.

When adults follow romantic emotions to search for “The One” there is often a trail of broken families and broken hearts.

Christians and “The One”

The Christian version of this myth usually involves less extra-marital sex. However, it is still destructive to people’s happiness.

The basic version of “The One” myth goes something like this:

1.      God has a special plan for your life.

2.      This special plan includes every detail and every decision, including who you marry.

3.      If you choose wisely, things will go well because God is pleased; if you make a mistake, God will be disappointed and you will not be happy.

The vision here is of God in his throne room with a chart on the wall. Person A connects to Person B. They are “The One” for each other. Person C and Person D are each “The One” for each other.

However, due to Person A being 10 minutes late to Chem 6A on the first day of class, Person C and Person B end up sitting next to each other, going to lunch, and the rest is history. Now Person B is married to Person C and Persons A and D are left without their “The One.” Thus, God’s plans are thwarted, he is displeased, and everyone is unhappy.

There are a few problems with this:

1.      By this logic, it may be the right thing for B and C to get a divorce so that the proper couples, A–B and C–D can be formed. However, divorce is not consistent with the relationship between Christ and the Church, which is how Paul depicts it in Ephesians 5. This is not a good option.

 2.      This puts too much stress on people who are considering marriage. It makes them think there is a secret will of God they need to decode. This is not taught in Scripture. There are some basic qualifications for the appropriateness of marriage, but finding “The One” is certainly not one of them.

 3.      This vision of God is paltry. He isn’t sitting in heaven hoping we get things right, with the outcome dependent on our daily choices. No, the victory has been won, Christ is risen, the new heavens and new earth are coming and he knows the date of delivery. Our choice of spouse will not send God’s plan into a tailspin.

Ultimately, marriage is about being holy not being romantic. It should reflect mutual submission, humility, and faithfulness, much like Christ’s relationship with us.

This means that we will be faithful to our spouses even when we are frustrated. This means we will continue to perform loving actions for our spouse even when romantic feelings are absent. This means we will pursue joy in God even when we don’t feel “in love” with our spouses.

In the end there is greater fulfillment to be found in faithfulness and enduring love than in chasing romance. This is true for Christians and for non-Christians.

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This is exactly the sort of perspective we want to avoid:

Photo Credit: http://whisperinglove.org/

Thankful for Southeastern

By the time I am done, seminary will have been the best decade of my life.

There’s a punchline there, but there is some reality, too. Lord willing, I will complete my PhD in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Christian Ethics by May of 2016.

I began my seminary studies in August of 2005 while I was still stationed on the USS JIMMY CARTER. I still remember watching the first DVD lecture while I was sitting in the wardroom several hundred feet underwater.

My daughter was born a few months later. I had to apologize to the distance learning office at the seminary because I accidentally left one of the lecture DVDs at the hospital.

Since then, I have finished my MDiv in Christian Ministry. That took me until the spring semester of 2011. I worked full-time through almost all of that time period.

By the time I walked across the stage to receive my diploma from Danny Akin, I was already admitted to the PhD program. I was tired, but ready to get started.

For two more years I continued to work full-time at a commercial nuclear power station 42 miles from my home in Wake Forest. I made an hour long trip each way, each day, investing more than one man-year of time in the car over the five years I worked there. It was hard work, but good work. Most of the time I enjoyed it.

In June of 2013, when I was offered my present position on the seminary staff I jumped at it. I was tired. My family was tired. But that was not the only reason I took the job.

Making a Shift

I actually started my seminary education at another institution. However, after I started taking an Ethics class at Southeastern’s extension center in Charleston, SC I started to think about switching.

Then, one day, Danny Akin called me personally to invite me to visit the campus. When the President of an institution takes the time to call, it is probably worth going.

It was worth the visit.

On the campus of Southeastern, I found the opportunity for an education equal to my previous seminary. However, I also found an institutional focus that was focused, in a direct and unswerving way, on the Great Commission.

Southeastern is a Great Commission seminary.

We changed our plans. We were going to move to Wake Forest to finish seminary. At the time we figured we would only be there for a couple of years.

Working through Delays

I was living alone in Wake Forest for a month while my wife finished the year as a teacher in South Carolina. As the prospect of her paycheck ending loomed, the house in South Carolina still hadn’t sold. So I interviewed for a job that would take too much time and which was too far away.

I took the job because our medical insurance costs were about to jump, we had a mortgage and rent to pay, and our savings couldn’t last forever.

Instead of going full-time, I became a very part-time student. I took one or two classes a semester, watching online videos on Saturday mornings and writing papers whenever I could.

Really, that isn’t too far from normal for many of the students at Southeastern.

I tried to get a job on campus for years. When a position finally opened up I jumped at it, even though it entailed a large pay cut.

Working on Campus

I serve in an administrative position at Southeastern. It’s the kind of administrative position that would cause a lot of people to lose their sanctification. I calculate numbers, write reports, and do whatever odd jobs the Provost assigns me. There isn’t a lot of glory in the work.

However, since I’ve served in this position, I’ve had more “Thank You” e-mails and comments than in several years of my previous work experience. This is a place where people are genuinely kind––the façade matches the reality.

In the past year and a half, I’ve seen this institution demonstrate genuine concern for students, faculty, and staff. There is a real sense of service at Southeastern.

We seek to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission.

This process starts with the way we treat each other and moves outward from there. We certainly aren’t perfect, but there is a genuine effort made to demonstrate kindness as we work together for the kingdom.

Being Thankful

Graduation is, I hope, only a year and a half away. When that time comes, I am not sure what the future holds. I may have opportunities to teach at a college or seminary, or to serve in a local church. I may have the opportunity to go back to work in commercial nuclear power or even to stay here in an administrative capacity.

Whatever opportunities await me after graduation, I look forward to looking back with thanksgiving at this time at Southeastern Seminary.

I am thankful to have been trained by world-class scholars who are more excited about seeing people come to Christ and the gospel preached to the nations than to have their names on the covers of books. This is good for a young scholar to see.

I am thankful to the many individual donors and the whole Southern Baptist Convention as they support the work here, keeping tuition costs as low as possible. This has made my education, and the education of thousands of others possible.

I am thankful for the friends I’ve made in the seminary community. We don’t always agree on everything, but we all have the same goal: to fulfill the Great Commission. This makes the monumental task of taking the Gospel to the nations imaginable.