Apathy rules, OK?" read the graffiti on the city wall. Under neath someone had scrawled: ''Who cares?" This reflects the attitude of many toward life today. "Who cares?" and "So what?" are, unfortunately, common responses to the great problems that confront our world.
Such an irresponsible posture is not limited to any one segment of society. It is a pervasive outlook that challenges us as Christian ministers and teachers to relate our faith and understanding to the contemporary world. The issue is relevancy.
Nineteenth-century society had a concern for prepositional or intellectual truth, and our Adventist pioneers produced a whole body of answers to the question "What is truth?" But that is no longer the problem raised by today's secular person. The question has shifted from "What?" to "So what?"; from prepositional to relational truth: What does Christian faith have to do with me and how I live? What does it mean in practical terms to be a Christian in a secular, amoral, technological, and materialistic world? We ignore these issues only at our peril.
In Papua New Guinea Seventh-day Adventists are often referred to as "Seven Day" Christians. This Pidgin English corruption of the church's name conveys a fundamental truth: the need to relate our Christianity, seven days a week, to the everyday tasks of living in the world. Too often we know our doctrines but do not live them.
One crucial area in which our faith must inform our living relates to the environment. Within the past 30 years we have seen photographs of our small planet. Taken from far out in space, they picture a jewel against the blackness of the universe. For the first time we have come to appreciate the vulnerability and fragility of our planetary home. The greenhouse effect, the depletion of the protective ozone layer, the rapid deforestation of the vitally important tropical rain forests, and the continued degradation of the life-sustaining soils threaten the existence of all people, both rich and poor. What does Christianity in general, and Adventist belief in particular, have to say about the destruction of our Father's world?
The creation ethic
Adventists have a "high view" of creation. The Genesis record has particular significance to us; it sets out humanity's origins and is integrally linked with the Sabbath and the three angels' messages of Revelation 14. Our church has invested considerable time, money, and personnel in searching out scientific support for our belief in a literal reading of Genesis 1. But is it possible that creation is a neglected doctrine among Seventh-day Adventists? Have we concentrated exclusively on the veracity of the creation account and thus failed to see the significance of that creation?
We have used the creation doctrine as a basis for propositional truth but have largely neglected its relational and ethical aspects. 1 An emphasis on the ethical aspects of the doctrine does not negate its significance as propositional truth but on the contrary enhances it by bringing out its relevance in the context of the contemporary environmental predicament.
Genesis 1 and 2 present a series of paradoxes. First, the earth is the Lord's and yet it was made for humanity. Second, humanity is part of creation and yet is apart from it. On the one hand, humanity, made on the sixth day from the dust of the earth, is part of the created order as are the stars, the trees, and the animals.2 On the other, humanity, made in the image of God,3 a little lower than the angels,4 is separate from the rest of creation.
A third paradox lies in what humans are to do with the creation. God gave humanity domination over nature to rule it and subdue it.5 In Hebrew, the mes sage is even stronger: to tread down, to trample as when a conqueror places his boot on the neck of the vanquished.
However, this forceful command is balanced by another. God charges Adam to till and to keep the earth; in the Hebrew, to serve, to watch, and to preserve it. 6 The divine command was given not only for the benefit of humanity but for the sake of the earth. Thus humanity's dominion is to be exercised so that it preserves the created order. Humanity is to be both master and servant in the same way that Christ was both master of the universe and a servant to humanity. Our dominion is in the context of our creation in the image of God; we are representatives of and not replacements for Him. 7
The idea of human dominion over nature has been so one-sided and pervasive in history that some writers, like the American historian Lynn White, have attempted to blame the Genesis command for the current ecological problems of the world. White argues that the Judeo-Christian ethic legitimized the plunder and abuse of the earth because "it is God's will that man exploit nature for his proper ends." 8
Of course, other religions and civilizations outside the Judeo-Christian realm have not been without their ecological problems. Nevertheless, many Christians have acted in the way described by White because they have forgotten the balance God requires be tween using and serving nature. God does not ask us to destroy what He has created. As Westermann notes: "A God who is understood only as the God of humankind is no longer the God of the Bible." 9
So what does the doctrine of creation say to us in the late twentieth century? As Adventists we need to take a perspective that goes beyond the geology of Genesis and includes a concern for the ethics and relationships that the Creator would have us display toward His creation. The earth was given to us in the sense of leasehold, not freehold. We are God's stewards and custodians. We can use the property, but we are to care for it. Unfortunately we have viewed earth as freehold and have abused it.
The biblical concept of stewardship is much broader than finance (tithe and offerings) and time (the Sabbath). "Ecology," "economics," and "stewardship" all have the same Greek root, oiko, meaning habitat or environment. Ecology literally means "studying the household." In the New Testament the word for economics is usually translated as stewardship. Hence stewardship is good housekeeping. As Genesis makes clear, God owns the land and the whole of the created order and He demands of us stewardship--accountability in usage. Hence the stewardship of creation involves the totality of our lives: how we treat the natural environment, the quantities and types of foods we eat, our use of energy, the kinds of homes and church buildings we construct, and of course, our relationship to the good news of salvation in Christ. 10
The Mosaic laws of the Old Testament had a number of ecological dimensions. For example, every seventh year was a sabbatical for the land. No cultivation was done that year, thus allowing the land to "rest." Whatever grew incidentally that year went for the poor. 11 Every third year a tithe was to be directed to the Levites and the poor, 12 and the provision of gleaning is well known to us through the story of Ruth.
The purpose of these laws is clear: the land and what it produces belong to God, not to humanity. Furthermore, God's bounty from His creation provides plenty for all. We are only custodians of that land and its produce. But what do we see today? A negation of the principle of planetary stewardship on the one hand, and a denial of access to the wealth of this earth to the poor of the world, on the other. Western technology has developed and indulges in a system of food production and consumption that is both ecologically unsound and socially unjust. Even here, Adventists have cause for reflection. For too long we have focused on the individualistic, unhealthy aspects of food rather than the social and ecological aspects. Both these dimensions are valid and essential, but neither by itself can reflect God's ideal. The Creator's pattern of stewardship not only looks after the created order but shares nature's gifts with all. Hence the need to become more sparing, more caring, and more sharing in the use of God's creation.
The Sabbath call
The relevancy of the creation account in Genesis to the contemporary ecological crisis may also be seen in another way: the call of the Sabbath to turn aside from six days of our work to think of God's work. The Sabbath is an integral part of the creation sequence. For six days each week we are involved in our work using the creation, but on the seventh day we are reminded of God's work of creation. During the six days we are subjected to a constant barrage of "the values, pressures, and seductions of an idolatrous age." 13 Indeed the exercise of dominion over nature has deteriorated into a ruthless attitude to ward the created order, resulting in an antithesis to God's original purpose. One result is that humanity is now more interested in the things they make than in the things created by God. This attitude also infects the Christian: material ism is high on the personal agenda.
As Seventh-day Adventists we need to sense far more keenly the idolatrous nature of our materialistic society. Be cause we live in a culture dominated by technology and materialism, we tend to accept it as the norm. Yet it is just as anti-god and anti-spiritual as is any atheistic culture.
Andrew Kirk has noted very perceptively our participation in materialism: "Many Christians, in all honesty, are playing the game in deadly earnest, personally committed to its success, even when this may endanger our health and cause suffering, for we are literally and metaphorically up to our eyes in debt to the system. . . . Development, progress, and the whole future of man are seen in terms which relate almost exclusively to man's possession and manipulation of things. Affluence has dulled our ability to look critically at the ideology of the modern state and its political mentors and made us vulnerable to the propaganda indiscriminately flung at us with their blessing." 14
Materialism is addictive. How true is the wise man's statement: "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. ... As goods increase, so do those who consume them." 15 The richer we become, the greater our impact upon the environment. The more materialistic our lifestyle becomes, the more we deplete earth's resources.
Against this tragic context, consider the significance of the Sabbath. It shifts our attention from man-made things to God and His creative work. It invites us to worship the Creator. It provides us with one day each week when we can escape the materialistic pressures and values of our culture. It is a bulwark against materialism. It is a perpetual reminder that God wishes to liberate us. 16
And God does liberate us from the consequences of the Fall. The Fall resulted in broken relationships: the spiritual (with God), the social (with fellow humans), and the ecological (with the environment). 17 These relationships interrelate to each other. This is clearly seen in the link between poverty (the social) and environmental abuse. The people of the First World (about one quarter of the world's population) consume such a large share of the planet's resources that it will never be possible for the rest of the world to catch up with their high living standards. There are simply not enough resources available. The rich act as if the world's resources, or God's creation, are on offer at some kind of a global clearance sale.
Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania, once said: "We say man was created in the image of God. I refuse to imagine a God who is poor, ignorant, superstitious, fearful, oppressed, wretched, which is the lot of the majority of those He created in His own image." 18
In part the poor, the ignorant, and the wretched remain so because the rich nations are able to maintain their affluence at the expense of both the poor and the environment. Yet God's purpose in creation was that the earth's bounty be shared by all of humanity. Some may feel that their wealth is not a result of exploitation but of hard work. Even so they will still not escape God's wrath any more than did the rich man in the parable who was condemned not for exploiting Lazarus but for his shameful indifference toward the poor man. 19
Responsible stewardship of the environment and a moral obligation for the poor are thus inherent in the true under standing of the Christian calling. In the face of crises of global proportions involving human poverty and environmental disruption, the creation account demands that we be interested not only in the definition of origins but in the delineation of living here and now. Genesis is a timeless statement, and its neglected message demands the attention of those who call themselves creationists.
The Sabbath call The relevancy of the creation account in Genesis to the contemporary ecological crisis may also be seen in another way: the call of the Sabbath to turn aside from six days of our work to think of God's work. The Sabbath is an integral part of the creation sequence. For six days each week we are involved in our work using the creation, but on the seventh day we are reminded of God's work of creation. During the six days we are subjected to a constant barrage of "the values, pressures, and seductions of an idolatrous age." 13 Indeed the exercise of dominion over nature has deteriorated into a ruthless attitude to ward the created order, resulting in an antithesis to God's original purpose.
One result is that humanity is now more interested in the things they make than in the things created by God. This attitude also infects the Christian: material ism is high on the personal agenda.
As Seventh-day Adventists we need to sense far more keenly the idolatrous nature of our materialistic society. Be cause we live in a culture dominated by technology and materialism, we tend to accept it as the norm. Yet it is just as anti-god and anti-spiritual as is any atheistic culture.
Andrew Kirk has noted very perceptively our participation in materialism: "Many Christians, in all honesty, are playing the game in deadly earnest, personally committed to its success, even when this may endanger our health and cause suffering, for we are literally and metaphorically up to our eyes in debt to the system. . . . Development, progress, and the whole future of man are seen in terms which relate almost exclusively to man's possession and manipulation of things. Affluence has dulled our ability to look critically at the ideology of the modern state and its political mentors and made us vulnerable to the propaganda indiscriminately flung at us with their blessing." 14 Materialism is addictive. How true is the wise man's statement: "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. ... As goods increase, so do those who consume them." 15 The richer we become, the greater our impact upon the environment. The more materialistic our lifestyle becomes, the more we deplete earth's resources.
Against this tragic context, consider the significance of the Sabbath. It shifts our attention from man-made things to God and His creative work. It invites us to worship the Creator. It provides us with one day each week when we can escape the materialistic pressures and values of our culture. It is a bulwark against materialism. It is a perpetual reminder that God wishes to liberate us. 16 And God does liberate us from the consequences of the Fall. The Fall resulted in broken relationships: the spiritual (with God), the social (with fellow humans), and the ecological (with the environment). 17 These relationships interrelate to each other. This is clearly seen in the link between poverty (the social) and environmental abuse. The people of the First World (about one quarter of the world's population) consume such a large share of the planet's resources that it will never be possible for the rest of the world to catch up with their high living standards. There are simply not enough resources available.
The rich act as if the world's resources, or God's creation, are on offer at some kind of a global clearance sale.
Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania, once said: "We say man was created in the image of God. I refuse to imagine a God who is poor, ignorant, superstitious, fearful, oppressed, wretched, which is the lot of the majority of those He created in His own image." 18 In part the poor, the ignorant, and the wretched remain so because the rich nations are able to maintain their affluence at the expense of both the poor and the environment. Yet God's purpose in creation was that the earth's bounty be shared by all of humanity. Some may feel that their wealth is not a result of exploitation but of hard work. Even so they will still not escape God's wrath any more than did the rich man in the parable who was condemned not for exploiting Lazarus but for his shameful indifference toward the poor man. 19
1 Fundamental Belief 6 ("Creation") states
that humanity was "charged with responsibility to
care for [the earth]." See Seventh-day Adventists
Believe . . . (Washington, D. C.: General Confererence
of Seventh-day Adventists, 1988), pp. 69-77,
for a brief account of the purpose of creation.
Richard Rice devotes nearly all of page 112 of The
Reign of God (Berrien Springs: Andrews Univer
sity Press, 1985) to environmental stewardship.
However, Adventist authors generally have
discussed the when and how of creation rather than
responsibility toward creation.
2 Gen. 2:7.
3 Gen. 1:26, 27.
4 Ps. 8:5.
5 Gen. 1:28; Ps. 8:6
6 Gen. 2:15.
7 Rice, p. 112.
8 Lynn White, "The Historical Roots of Our
Ecological Crisis," Science 155 (1967): 1205.
9 Claus Westermann, Genesis 1-11, tr. John J.
Scullion (London: SPCK, 1984), p. 176.
10 Howard A. Snyder, Liberating the Church:
the Ecology of the Church and the Kingdom
(Basingstoke, U.K.: Marshall Paperbacks), p. 62.
11 Ex. 23:10, 11.
12 Deut. 14:28, 29.
13 Snyder, p. 78.
14 Quoted in Ron Elsdon, Bent World: Science,
the Bible, and the Environment (Leicester,
England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1981), p. 153.
15 Eccl. 5:10, 11, NTV.
16 Deut. 5:15.
17 Gen. 3:18, 19.
18 Julius Nyerere, "The Development of Peoples
and the Meaning of Service," in G. H.
Anderson and T. F. Stransky, Mission Trends No.
1 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans and Paulist Press,
1974), p. 146.
19 Luke 16:19-25.
