The Biblical Basis for fighting Climate Change

A recent survey seems to show that young Christians in the UK are particularly concerned about climate change.

Tearfund and Youthscape commissioned some research – which has been picked up by the BBC, and demonstrates the truth of John Stott’s claim in The Radical Disciple, his final book, that everything is up for discussion when we seek the Lordship of Christ in our life:

“that we who claim to be disciples of the Lord Jesus will not provoke him to say again, ‘Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?’ (Luke 6:46)... Our common way of avoiding radical discipleship is to be selective; choosing those areas in which commitment suits us, and staying away from those areas in which it will be costly. But because Jesus is Lord, we have no right to pick and choose the areas in which we will submit to his authority” 

Fighting climate change, engaging in creation care, choosing to be good stewards and seek to play our part in averting the climate crisis, are ultimately biblical ideas. Stott, again, from The Radical Disciple:

“The Bible tells us that in creation God established on human beings three fundamental relationships: first to himself, for he made them in his own image; second to each other, for the human race was plural from the beginning; and third, to the good earth and its creatures over which he set them.

Moreover, all three relationships were skewed by the fall. Adam and Eve were banished from the presence of the Lord God in the garden, they blamed each other for what had happened, and the good earth was cursed on account of their disobedience.

It stands to reason therefore that God’s plan of restoration includes not only our reconciliation to God and to each other, but in some way the liberation of the groaning creation as well. We can certainly affirm that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth, for this is an essential part of our hope for the perfect future that awaits us at the end of time (e.g., 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). But meanwhile the whole creation is groaning, experiencing the birth pains of the new creation (Romans 8:18-23). How much of the earth’s ultimate destiny can be experienced now is a matter for debate. But we can surely say that just as our understanding of the final destiny of our resurrection bodies should affect how we think of and treat the bodies we have at present, so our knowledge of the new heaven and earth should affect and increase the respect with which we treat it now… It is against the background of this wholesome biblical teaching that we need now to confront the current ecological crisis…”

Stott wrote those words more than a decade ago, in the final book he saw published before his death. IVP has long had a particular interest in publishing books that speak into this aspect of our discipleship, at both popular and more academic levels. Here are just a few highlights:

-          Dave Bookless has written Planetwise and God Doesn't Do Waste.

-          Ruth Valerio's modern classic L is for Lifestyle shows us how we can all make a difference.

-          As Long as the Earth Endures offers profound theological reflection on issues of creation and stewardship.

-         David Wilkinson's The Message of Creation in the BST Themes Series traces the whole of the Bible's teaching on this topic.

Later this year, we’ll be publishing John Stott on Creation Care – carefully curated reader/commentary, tracing Stott’s own passion for this, the biblical basis for it, and it’s implications across our discipleship. Keep an eye on this page for more details.