Torch, Spring/Summer 2007

20 TORCH W hen the modern “environmental movement” began nearly a half-century ago, many Christians stayed on the sidelines to avoid entanglement in social and political issues they feared would distract from the basic message of the gospel. After all, why expend precious time on environmental issues, such as energy conservation, water and air pollution, and endangered species? Isn’t it God’s plan to bring about the “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells?” As a result, Christianity was sometimes accused of offering a ticket to heaven while disregarding Earth. However, in recent years a remarkable transformation has occurred in both the evangelical church and the scientific establishment. Evangelicals have Christians a n d Creation Care been re-energized to engage the broader culture with biblical truth and kindness. Meanwhile, secular science, mired in a host of bioethical issues from stem cell research to global warming, is beginning to look toward the church to provide moral and ethical leadership. E.O. Wilson, the distinguished Harvard biologist and self-proclaimed scientific humanist, now acknowledges that “religion and science are the two most powerful forces in the world today.” His recent book, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth , calls upon evangelical leaders to bring “the theological and moral arguments for saving By John Silvius, Ph.D. “There is an underlying spiritual dissonance in the universe that makes it impossible for us to live within our means and in harmony with the natural systems that support our lives. We are out of touch with the One who runs the place … We have a spiritual problem, and we need a spiritual solution.” Ed Brown, author of Our Father’s World: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation