Saving The Creation
A Sermon by
Elder Charles H. Evans, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.
delivered at
Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church
Bethesda, Maryland
August 26 2007
Biblical text: Genesis 1:1, 9:12, 24-28 and Romans 8:19-25
Opening Prayer:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah, our rock, and our redeemer.
Amen Ps 91:14
Sermon
In the beginning, -- however, you may personally view the beginning, Genesis 1 states that God created the earth. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, proclaims Psalm 24. “Throughout the scriptures the visions of the kingdom of God are visions of humanity in harmony with Creation. (1).” From the Word in Genesis 1:26 and in Genesis 2:15 God expects humankind to serve and keep the garden, a garden that we have come to know in all its parts as Nature – God’s Creation.
Listen to the words of John Calvin in 1554 in his commentary on Genesis:
“The earth was given to man, with this condition, that he should occupy himself in its cultivation…The custody of the garden was given in charge to Adam, to show that we possess the things which God has committed to our hands, on the condition that, being content with the frugal and moderate use of them, we should take care of what we shall retain. Let him who possesses a field, so partake of its yearly fruits, that he may not suffer the ground to be injured by his negligence, but let him endeavor to hand it down to posterity as he received it, or even better cultivated. Let him so feed on its fruits, that he neither dissipates it by luxury, nor permits it to be marred or ruined by neglect. Moreover, that this economy, and this diligence, with respect to good things which God has given us to enjoy may flourish among us; let everyone regard himself as the steward of God in all things which he possesses Then he will neither conduct himself dissolutely, nor corrupt by abuse those things which God requires to be preserved. (3)”
Theologian Walter Brueggemann has said: The central theme of world history in the Bible is that all creation is one, living in harmony and security toward the joy and well being of every other creature (2). The problem, writes the internationally reknown Harvard entomologist and environmentalist Edward O. Wilson in his 2006 book “The Creation” is that we have been trying ever since we launched the Neolithic revolution to ascend from instead of to Nature. Wilson goes on to say that while defense of living Nature may be a universal human value “Civilization was purchased by the betrayal of nature….The pauperization of Earth’s fauna and flora was an acceptable price until recent centuries, when nature seemed all but infinite, and an enemy to explorers and pioneers (4).”
But the power of living nature lies in sustainability through complexity. Destabilize it by degrading it to a simpler state, as we seem bent on doing and the result could be catastrophic. The organisms most affected are likely to be the largest and most complex, including human beings (5). Bacteria, insects and plants can live without us; we can not live without them
And Wilson continues -- Humanity is the first species in the history of life to have become of a geophysical force. We have altered the Earth’s atmosphere and climate away from the norm, spread thousands of toxic chemicals worldwide, and are close to running out of fresh water (6). “Around the world invasive species are the second ranking cause of extinction of native species, after the destruction of habitats by human activity. (7)” Since 1973, when Congress passed the Endangered Species Act to stem the hemorrhage, over 100 U.S. species have nevertheless vanished. “Climate change alone if left unabated will be the primary cause of extinction of a quarter of the species of plants and animals on the Earth land by mid-century. (8)”
Even our efforts at conservation at times turn out to be continually destructive. Consider the Tucson Paradox. The inhabitants of Tucson, AZ in the 1970’s were rapidly depleting the aquifer from which they drew their water for the present and the future. Conservation measures were instituted and water consumption was decreased by 25%/capita over two years but continuing expansion of the city and population continued to deplete the water reserves despite a reduced consumption per capita (9).
Wilson believes that the interaction of three problems that affect everyone are: the decline of the living environment, the inadequacy of scientific education, and the moral confusion caused by the exponential growth of biology. In order to solve these problems he argues that it will be necessary to find common ground on which the powerful forces of religion and science can be joined. AND the best place to start is the stewardship of life (10).
Carl Sagan the great physicist and popular science writer had issued a similar call for a joint commitment by science and religion in 1990 (11). Thomas Berry, one of the earliest and most influential ecotheologians also stated in 1988 that neither religion nor science has been seriously concerned with the integrated functioning of the earth community and what is needed is a marriage of religion’s capacity for reverence with science’s capacity to describe reality (12). For as Bill Mckibben in 2001 stated, only our religious institutions, among the mainstream organizations of western, Asian and indigenous societies can say with real conviction, and any chance of an audience, that there is some point to life beyond accumulation (13).
Science is great at analyzing and defining the practical but has trouble dreaming. Another problem is that science is far less objective than it first appears being deeply staged by the participating societies in which it functions. The direction and emphasis greatly depend upon who pays for the science and the technology. Just think of the vast emphasis on the cure of breast cancer compared to the very much smaller amount devoted to prevention. We need to join the strong powers of science and religion to save the Creation. Petra Kelley -- longtime leader if the German Green Party said thirty years ago in 1964. “We must learn to….recognize the interconnectedness of all living creatures, and to respect the value of each thread in the vast web of life. This is a spiritual perspective, and it is the foundation of all Green Politics. (14)”
Because the environmental crisis is unique in human history, Roger Gottlieb, Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester Mass., believes that “the prayers to which it gives rise may well be unlike anything we have had to pray before. People have always had moral failings, but they have never had to confess to devastating creation, or felt the need to pray for the health of the earth as an endangered whole. (15)”
Listen to the April 21, 2002 Earth Day prayer from the National Council of Churches:
On the Earth Sabbath, we open our minds to learn about ecological threats to the health of present and future generations and to the whole community of life.
We reach out our hands to bring healing and change, for the sake of the children of the earth -- past, present, and future.
The prophets Isaiah and Hosea said: The land lies polluted under its inhabitants. The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are dying.
God of mercy, we confess that we are damaging the earth, the home that you have given us. We buy and use products that pollute our air, land, and water, harming wildlife and endangering human health.
Forgive us, O God, and inspire us to change.
Chief Seattle said: whatever we do to the web of life we do to ourselves.
God of justice, we confess that we have not done enough to protect the web of life. We have failed to insist that our government set standards based on precaution. We allow companies to release dangerous toxins that destroy fragile ecosystems and harm human beings, especially those among us who are most vulnerable.
We are connected with those who have gone before us: the martyrs and heroes, all the ancestors who invested themselves for the sake of future generations, and we are connected with those who will come after us.
Our ancestors and descendents support us -- we are their champions.
We are related to the earth and all its creatures in a web that cannot be broken without injury to all.
The earth and our fellow creatures support us -- we are their advocates. We are connected to Jesus Christ, who reveals God to us, sends us the Spirit, and sends us out in his name (16).
Amen.
In the words of Edward Wilson: “Earth is a laboratory wherein Nature (God if you prefer, …..) has laid before us the results of countless experiments. She speaks to us; now let us listen. (17)”
(pause)
AND for us each in her or his own way begin to ACT!
References
1. Van Dyke, F. Mahan D.C., Sheldon, J.K. Brand, R. H., Redeeming Creation: The Biblical Basis for Environmental Stewardship, Intervarsity Press, Downer’s Grove, IL, p. 66.
2. Brueggmann, W. Living Towards a Vision: Biblical Essays on Shalom, United Church Press New York, 1976, p. 15.
3. Calvin, J., 1554 Commentary on Genesis, from the English translation of 1847. as reprinted by Banner of Truth Publishers,
1965.
4. Wilson, Edward O., The Creation: An appeal to Save Life on Earth, W.W. Norton & Co., New York 2006, p.11.
5. Ibid, p. 31.
6. Ibid p. 29.
7. Ibid, p. 53.
8. Ibid p. 74.
9. Van Dyke et al. Op. cit., p.42.
10. Wilson, E.O., Op. cit., p. 165.
11. Sagan, C., “Guest Comment: Preserving and Cherishing the Earth- An appeal for Joint Commitment in Science and Religion.” American Journal of Physics 58 (1990): 615.
12. Berry T., Dream of the Earth, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1988 p. 120.
13. McKibben W., Introductory statement in Religion and Ecology: Can the Climate Change?, Special issue, Daedalus 130 no 4 (Fall 2001): 1.
14. Kelley P., Thinking Green: Essays on Feminism Environmentalism and Non-violence, Parallax press, Berkley, 1964, p. 37.
15. Gottlieb, Roger S., A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet’s Future, Oxford University Press, Inc. Oxford/New York, 2006, p. 180.
16. Ibid, p. 179.
17. Wilson E.O., Op. cit., p. 36.
Additional resources;
Basney, L., An Earth-Careful Way of Life; Christian Stewardship and the Environmental Crisis, Regent College Publishing Vancouver, Canada 2000.
DeWitt, C.B., Earth-Wise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1994
Martin-Schramm, J.B., Stivers, R.L., Christian Environmental Ethics: A Case Method Approach, Orbis Books, New York, 2003.
Robinson, T. with Chatraw, J., Saving God’s Green Earth: Rediscovering the Church’s Responsibility to Environmental Stewardship, Ampelon Publishing, Norcross, GA, 2006.
Dr. Evans is an Elder and Chair of the Worship & Arts Lay Ministry at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda MD. He is a physician scientist, immunologist, and is Professor and Chair of the Department of Human Science at Georgetown University in Washington, DC where he teaches physiological adaptation and science communication.
