A growing number of Christians are embracing the ... - Biola University

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J O H N B L O O M
“Using our natural
resources more wisely
is part of the Genesis
mandate to be good
stewards.”
President Al Gore has even managed to win endorsements for his
nonprofit, The Alliance for Climate Protection, from the likes of evangelical
leader Pat Robertson, who appeared in a television commercial last March
with the Rev. Al Sharpton, in which the two declared that the one thing they
can agree on is the importance of taking care of the planet.
Still, despite the apparent shift in evangelicals’ approach to environ -
mental activism, they are still — as a whole — well behind the general
population in their level of concern about global warming. A 2007 Barna
Research poll indicated that only 33 percent of evangelicals described
global warming as a “major issue” — the lowest of any group surveyed. By
contrast, 62 percent of those associated with a faith other than Christianity
described environmental changes as a major problem.
For all the hype about Christians making strides in environmental
action, then, it seems there are still lingering questions in the minds of
many evangelicals: Why should we care about global warming? Even if it is
a real problem, aren’t there more pressing issues for Christians to be
fighting for? Isn’t global warming a natural phenomenon?
God’s Word and God’s World
Biola professor Garry DeWeese was a skeptic 10 years ago, but today
believes that a significant part of global warming is in fact humancaused.
“But it really doesn’t matter what we think of the human causes of
global warming,” said DeWeese, a professor of philosophy of religion and
ethics at Biola’s seminary, Talbot School of Theology. “Christians have the
responsibility to be wise stewards of creation.”
Payne, who retired this year after 38 years of teaching at Biola, echoed
this conviction, saying that even if there are natural causes to global
warming, there certainly are some human causes, and Christians ought to
be the very first to decry that.
“We were given a mandate in Scripture to care for creation, and that
never went away,” he said. “When you can measure how many tons of
carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere every day, and then — in a
sense — belittle that fact or disregard it as being not much, then I really
think it’s like an ostrich with its head in the sand.”
Payne and DeWeese agree that environmental concern ought to be an
issue for Christians no matter where they are on the political spectrum —
that they have a duty to conserve, preserve and restore creation until
Christ returns.
“Whether Christ comes back tomorrow or in hundreds of years,” said
Payne, “it doesn’t excuse us from our ecological responsibility.”
DeWeese agreed, adding that Christians are also responsible to the
.
New Talbot Building
Project ‘LEEDs’ the Way
Biola’s latest campus building project is not only the most
ambitious in its history; it’s also the greenest.
The planned “campus within a campus” for Talbot
School of Theology — which consists of two new buildings
and a major renovation of the existing Feinberg
Hall — includes conservation efforts around just about
every corner.
Among other features, the complex will feature
rooftop gardens that cool the buildings and collect rainwater
for irrigation. Photovoltaic panels on major stair
towers will generate electricity. Specially designed
windows will block heat from the sun while maximizing
natural light.
The structures will be Biola’s first LEED-certified
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings
on campus, a designation that requires buildings to
meet a strict set of criteria for environmentally sustainable
construction. The University has decided to pursue LEEDcertification
for all future building projects.
“Biola recognizes the importance of being good
stewards of God’s creation, not because it is politically correct,
but because God calls us to that kind of management
of his creation,” said Ken Bascom, Biola’s senior director
of facilities planning and construction. “As a leader in the
Christian community, Biola seeks to reinforce a growing
trend among conservative Christians to recognize our obligation
to care for creation in a responsible way.”
To learn more about the project and how you can
contribute to its construction, visit www.talbot.edu.
B I O L A