Results

It was the title of Michael Janofsky’s New York Times article that caught our attention last week: When Cleaner Air Is a Biblical Obligation.

Janofsky picked up where, New Heaven, New Earth, John Cochran’s Congressional Quarterly cover story, left off last month: A large and growing number of North American Christians are reaching the conclusion that protecting and nurturing the earth is part of our obligation. Cochran references the Sandy Cove Covenant, a document prepared and signed by 29 evangelical thought leaders in June 2004. The covenant reads, in part:

In reflecting on Scripture and on the pressing environmental problems that beset our world, we are persuaded that we must not evade our responsibility to care for God’s creation. We recognize that there is much more we need to learn, and much more praying we need to do, but that we know enough to know that there is no turning back from engaging the threats to God’s creation.

The Sandy Cove Covenant is, more or less, the sound of theologians weighing in. It doesn’t end there.

The Academy of Evangelical Scientists and Ethicists is essentially what it sounds like: A collection of evangelicals who are scientists and ethicists. Or, if you like, an association of scientists and ethicists who are self-descibed evangelicals. However you parse it, the academy’s statement on environmental responsiblity and species extinction includes this:

As evangelical scientists and ethicists we are in accord–based upon scientific knowledge of the workings of God’s creation and upon biblical and religious beliefs–on the critical importance and human responsibility to care for the earth’s climate system, earth’s abundant life and variety, the great lineages of earth’s living creatures, and the vitality of ecosystems for the well-being and community of all life.

All this is at odds with what’s been expected from American Evangelicals — and what was articulated by Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (and self-described Evangelical) Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma in January 2005:

As I said on the Senate floor on July 28, 2003, "much of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science." I called the threat of catastrophic global warming the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people," a statement that, to put it mildly, was not viewed kindly by environmental extremists and their elitist organizations.

Mr. Inhofe’s view, the term elitist organizations may include the National Association of Evangelicals, whose President, Ted Haggard, and Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Richard Cizik, are both signatories of the Sandy Cove Covenant. The New York Times story cites Senator Inhofe:

"You can always find in Scriptures a passage to misquote for almost anything," Mr. Inhofe said in an interview, dismissing the position of Mr. Cizik’s association as "something very strange."

Mr. Inhofe said the vast majority of the nation’s evangelical groups would oppose global warming legislation as inconsistent with a conservative agenda that also includes opposition to abortion rights and gay rights. He said the National Evangelical Association had been "led down a liberal path" by environmentalists and others who have convinced the group that issues like poverty and the environment are worth their efforts.

Poverty and the environment positioned as fringe issues…

Senator Inhofe can hardly be encouraged by last month’s Congressional Quarterly report:

[Furthermore] evangelical leaders are putting a new emphasis on global poverty. Significantly, after decades of charitable work overseas, some at least are urging an examination of the root causes of poverty. They are considering where a Christian ought to stand on questions of trade policy and the development of the global economy, with an eye toward addressing inequities that hurt the poor in the developing world.

Indeed, For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility adopted by the National Association of Evangelicals in October 2004, includes a pointed declaration about poverty:

We further believe that care for the vulnerable should extend beyond our national borders. American foreign policy and trade policies often have an impact on the poor. We should try to persuade our leaders to change patterns of trade that harm the poor and to make the reduction of global poverty a central concern of American foreign policy. We must support policies that encourage honesty in government, correct unfair socioeconomic structures, generously support effective programs that empower the poor, and foster economic development and prosperity. Christians should also encourage continued government support of international aid agencies, including those that are faith based.

Especially in the developing world, extreme poverty, lack of health care, the spread of HIV/AIDS, inadequate nutrition, unjust and unstable economies, slavery and sexual trafficking, the use of rape as a tool of terror and oppression, civil war, and government cronyism and graft create the conditions in which large populations become vulnerable. We support Christian agencies and American foreign policy that effectively correct these political problems and promote just, democratic structures.

In mid-September 2005, PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly quoted Richard Cizik’s charge to United Nations Ambassador John Bolton: "Remember, poverty from our point of view must be a central concern of American foreign policy. And so, will you keep your commitments?"

The October 17, 2005 Congressional Quarterly also cites Mr. Cizik: "Evangelicals have been used by presidents and politicians for wedge-driven politics for decades. Not all of us think we ought to be at the whim of someone’s secular strategy. We ought to be listening to God’s vision."

Due respect to Senator Inhofe, we’re convinced the biblical narrative supports a broader, deeper view than his. But don’t take our word for it.

• Settle in with the Ark story in the eighth and ninth chapters of Genesis and see for yourself — if you want to cut to the chase, pick up at Genesis 8:15 and read to 9:17 — then answer one question as thoroughly as you can: Before, during and following the flood, what is the substance of God’s commitment to all he created?
• Jump to the eighth chapter of Romans, picking up at verse 18 and reading through verse 25: Describe the relationship between humankind and the rest of creation in this passage.
• Finish at Revelation chapter 11, verses 15 - 18: Who gets judged; who gets rewarded; who gets destroyed in this passage?

There is, of course, a great deal more to all of this. But let’s begin by agreeing not to use the Bible as an ideological club shall we?

To take it a step further:

• Write a brief manifesto outlining your personal convictions about faith and civic responsibility.
• How will your convictions (or how could they) influence the course of your business in the next quarter? The next two quarters? The next year?
• With whom can you talk about these things? With whom do you believe you definitely can’t talk about these things?