God is Green - and so am I

I was the kid who got into heated arguments with their biology teacher whenever the subject turned to Evolution. I was the kid who graduated from high school to travel to the ends of the world to share their faith. In an alternate universe I would be married with two kids living in an African hut preaching to the natives. But I’m not – you see, I also was the kid who excelled in every science class, graduated at the top of their class, studied Molecular Biology and Ecology and was one of the first of my high school class to pursue a PhD in a natural science.
Moving to the States for graduate studies, I discovered that here, being a Christian Conservationist or an Evangelical Ecologist is considered as much of an oxymoron as Military Intelligence and Microsoft Works. When it comes to subjects such as Global Warming, the need for conservation and going green, my fellow scientists put Christians in a box labeled “ignorant, unwilling to face facts & blinded by faith” and my fellow Christians seem to think people advocating these things are automatically either left-wing liberals and/or atheists bent on destroying the church.
I beg to differ. I dare say, God is green – and so am I.
Because I have never felt like I was bridging a gap desperately trying to keep a foot in each camp. Being a Biologist and a Christian never was mutually exclusive to me and neither does my passion for my faith diminish the passion I have t o conserve and responsibly manage the earth and the resources we have been entrusted with. On the contrary, the more I discover about the world we live in, the more I understand about the beauty of nature, the more I stand in awe and call it creation (debating the whos and whats and wheres of evolution put aside). And at the same time, the more I marvel at creation, the more I am driven to study it, understand it and attempt to grasp the fullness of the complexity of how everything fits together. And the more I am exposed to scientific facts of how the world around is changing and hurting - the more I passionate I become about the necessity to take action before it is too late and we have destroyed our planet.
Because the world was not given to us to mess it up. For me, conservation goes back to the Garden of Eden, when God gives mankind dominion over his creation. While dominion does mean “to rule” or “to put under the authority” of, it does not mean “to exploit”. Rather, it implies stewardship, a responsibility to make the most out of what we where entrusted with. It does not mean we need to preserve everything as it is and dare not touch anything lest we mess something up. But it does mean that we need to understand how the world works and come up with a scientifically founded management plan which would enable us to use natural resources in a sustainable responsible way.
Because our own backyard is a good place to start if we want to change the world. If we as Christians want to be taken seriously as a force toward changing the world for the better, we need to become a part of both actively participating in conservation and resource management, as well as speaking up and being an advocate for God’s creation. This could start with small things, such as throwing away paper plates for a ceramic set. Only heating the building when there is somebody in it. Properly isolating windows, making the building more energy efficient. Turning the lights off, adding power switches, asking “what would Jesus drive”– a lot of small things that should also translate into our personal lives, too. It could also mean that this year’s youth outreach doesn’t go to South American for a children’s program but strives to clean up the local forest. Using church buildings a venue for educational programs. Planting trees on church property. Supporting efforts in third world countries that are bringing water, resources and jobs to people in a sustainable way. Yes, it also means being open to work together with scientists, listening to them and using their knowledge and understanding to provide a foundation for our efforts.
There is an entire list of ways to become active. But for earth’s sake, as the church we need to get up off of the pews and do something.