Environmental Stewardship and the Church: An Interview with Sandra Richter

In this interview, Dr. Richter responds to some common misconceptions about environmental stewardship by Christians. From “Environmental stewardship isn’t in the Bible” to “Winning souls is more important,” Dr. Richter addresses these misconceptions with answers that are rooted in Scripture and delivered with grace.

…perhaps the most detrimental issue of all is the theological belief that all of creation is destined for destruction.

Ciara Reyes-Ton: Is this Earth and all of creation really just going to burn? What does Scripture say about this? What should be the Christian posture and response, even if it is all going to burn?

Sandra Richter: First Peter and Thessalonians are often used to make the case for the earth’s destruction. But these passages are actually quoting judgment passages from the Old Testament, where the images of fire and destruction are images of judgment, not annihilation. Further, the Book of Romans and the Book of Revelation clearly declare the resurrection of this current planet, not the annihilation of it. The new heaven and the new earth of Revelation 21 are in fact this very earth healed of its scars and washed clean of its diseases.

For the sake of argument, even if everything is going to burn, is it not still the property of the Almighty? Is he still the Creator? Does he still value it? If he values it, full stop, we’re done with this conversation. If he values it, I as his servant and a steward, must value it. If I don’t, I’m rebelling against the character of my God. How do I get away with that? This posture of disregard for the property of the Creator is not logical, but it’s been built into our worldview.

As to what our posture should be, I think that it can be helpful to consider the mortality of our own bodies and our posture toward caring for them. Just because our bodies will one day perish, doesn’t mean we neglect our health. We recognize that it is our responsibility to care for the bodies God has created and given us. Scripture tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Both our bodies and this Earth will pass away, but our posture shouldn’t be one of “eat, drink, and be merry” because death and destruction are inevitable. Absolutely not. That’s a violation of so many of Scripture’s definitions of what our God defines as “holiness.” God values our bodies, this planet, and its creatures so highly that he declares his intention to transform and resurrect them. They are not disposable.

In the Deuteronomy, we see God calling his people Israel to care for the land in ways that respect his ownership of it. The land is his, and he wants it returned to him as fertile as when he left it. He wants it to be preserved for future generations. Mosaic laws reflect this: Allow the land to rest and replenish itself, let the wild ox eat while it works, feed the marginalized from the corners of your fields, and keep the Sabbath, which in and of itself taught limited productivity and consumption, and restraint.

While we might not see the words “environmental stewardship” in the Bible, we do see environmental stewardship practiced in the Bible.

While we might not see the words “environmental stewardship” in the Bible, we do see environmental stewardship practiced in the Bible. We also see our calling to care for the widow and the orphan (the marginalized) and learn to our surprise that part of caring for the marginalized is caring for the land, water, and creatures that they depend on. This is how the creator behaves, so it should also be how I behave. In fact, “holiness” means that my character is in the process of being conformed to the image of God. The core objective of holiness and sanctification is that I would become more like him. So if environmental concern, sustainable use of the land, humane treatment of wild and domestic creatures, respect for the good gifts we’ve been given in our groundwater and our river systems and agricultural land is something God cares about, then that means we should care about it as well. And if we are going to be conformed to his image, his values need to become our values.

Ciara Reyes-Ton: For many Christians, the Gospel is all about building God’s Kingdom by winning souls. Where does environmental stewardship fit in this context? Can you speak to the misconception that winning souls is more important?

Sandra Richter: Evangelism and missions are important, but we cannot afford to frame them as separate from environmental stewardship because they are connected. Evangelism and revival are the lifeblood of the Church. I so admire revivalist groups who are willing to go door to door, even to the ends of the earth, to bring the Gospel to places it has not yet reached. But as we’ve learned so many times, going to the ends of the earth preaching Christ, with no concern for the very real, tangible physical needs of those we are trying to reach is not effective.

Take, for example, the Ganges river system (the Mississippi of Central Asai). It has been declared a dead system due to profound abuse via industrial waste, raw sewage, incomplete cremations, and enormous quantities of trash. In fact, in 2010 the leading cause of death for a child under the age of five in India was contact with their sacred river. In Madagascar, one out of ten Malagasy women die in childbirth because of malnutrition born of environmental degradation. The chaos in Haiti, due largely to deforestation (which leads to famine and forced urban migration), has allowed gangs and drug lords, literally, to take over the country. Mountain top removal coal mining in Appalachia is poisoning the people of that region with harmful chemicals and waste. We must not only preach to the widow and the orphan, we must care for them.