Climate Change – A Christian's Response

When Jen first asked me to write a guest blog on this topic, I have to admit, I felt pretty daunted by the idea.  Never having had much of a head for current affairs or politics in the past, it's only recently that I've sensed God challenging me to change this, to open my eyes, see what's happening in the world and take responsibility for my part in it.

Two of my passions in life are gardening and the great outdoors.  God blesses me abundantly through them, opening my eyes to the beauty and wonder of his creation and giving me unspeakable joy.  However, like many in the Western world, I've been enjoying these things whilst living a cocooned life, secure and comfortable, well off and quite able to shut myself off from the rest of the world.  In Britain, we live in a 'no questions asked' society, where it's quite possible to pretend that news about drought, famine, debt, poverty and freak weather around the world have nothing to do with us.  We demand everything to be quick, cheap and convenient but remain ignorant or apathetic about the havoc that this lifestyle has on the planet and it's poorest communities.

I am currently reading Rosie Boycott's book, 'Our Farm', which charts her and her husband's venture into running a smallholding in Somerset.  As well as an entertaining portrayal of the joys and trials of country life, the book details the devastating effects that supermarkets have had on small towns and rural communities across our country.  Interspersed throughout, are snippets of information about the wider impact of supermarkets culture.  The quest for cheaper and cheaper meat has led to mass imports from places like South America, where great swathes of rainforest are burned to the ground to provide land for grazing and for growing fodder crops.  Most of the cut flowers bought in Britain's supermarkets are produced, again, in South America and also in South Africa where labourers work very long hours for little pay whilst being exposed to unpleasant cocktails of plant preservatives and pesticides, needed to ensure that the blooms reach their destinations, thousands of miles away, looking fresh and healthy.  Many of these chemicals are banned in the US because of their high levels of toxicity.  Unsurprisingly, workers are prone to respiratory and dermatological problems.

There are numerous other examples of how our lust for cheaper and cheaper goods depends of the exploitation of the world's resources and its poorest people: think 'sweat shops', mining of coltan for mobile phone components, oil.  It doesn't seem to matter who or what we trample on in the process, just as long as we are able to sustain our comfortable, consumerist lifestyles.

But the truth is, we can't escape from the fact that climate change is all part and parcel of this lifestyle.  We want to be able to go anywhere, do anything, whenever we want, with little regards for the limited fuel reserves we are draining so rapidly.  We want a plethora of goods, many of them non-essential, all of which use up precious raw materials and in the process require fossil fuels to be burned.  We cut down forests, the so-called 'lungs of the planet' to make way for buildings, roads and, as already mentioned, to indulge our insatiable appetite for cheap meat.

As a result of global warming, we are seeing changes in weather patterns and consequently, agricultural output: devastating for individuals, communities and nations who's livelihoods depend on it.  Glaciers are retreating, sea ice is melting, sea levels are rising and freak weather events are on the increase, none of which are without their human casualties.

So, what should the Christian response to this be?  In America, there is a belief among some Evangelical Christians that Jesus' second coming is almost upon us and that the end of the world is nigh. As such, they claim that there is no point trying to reverse the effect of climate change or to adopt more ecologically friendly lifestyles.  This bothers me for several reasons.  Firstly, Jesus has made it quite clear that only God know the exact details of his second coming.  We know that he will come like a 'thief in the night' and that we are to be ready for him when he does.

Secondly, this belief implies that God created humans merely to live as parasites on the Earth, consuming it's limited resources and living to satisfy their own desires.  This selfish existence is completely at odds with the Christian doctrine that humans are called to be imitators of God, the creator of the world, who brought humankind into being, remained faithful to them even when they went astray and, out of his great love and grace, reached down to them and gave them a way out of their doomed situation, giving up his only beloved son for them.  God created humans, not to plunder the Earth but to look after it on his behalf, just as he looks after them.  We are his partners in creation.  One of the great promises Christians have is that they will one day stand before God and be rewarded for the work they have done for him.  How incredible it will be to hear our loving father say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servants”.  I want to make it clear here that I'm am not claiming that we need to do good works in order to achieve our salvation.  The Bible makes it very clear that salvation is given to those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  What I am asking is whether we can really claim to love God wholeheartedly if we continue to live lives that have so little regard for the world he created.

Thirdly, the belief stated by those American evangelicals seems to ignore the consequences that climate change has on other people.  When asked which is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself”.  In his book, 'God has a Dream', Desmond Tutu explains that liking someone is a feeling but loving someone is an action.  You have no control over your feelings but you do have control over your actions.  You may not know the people on the other side of the world whose lives are being blighted by the effects of climate change, you may not feel more than a passing sadness or sympathy for them (although you can ask God to give you a heart for them) but, you can choose to love them and, you can choose to do something to show that love.  Choosing to adopt a more sustainable way of life would be a good start.

Fourthly, I am concerned about what this attitude actually does to us as individuals if we take this casual viewpoint.  By choosing to continue with our consumerist lifestyles and ignoring the plight of our world and the other people in it, we do damage to ourselves.  I find this quote from C.S. Lewis' 'Mere Christianity' helpful in explaining what I mean by this:

'People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, "If you keep a lot of rules I'll reward you, and if you don't I'll do the other thing." I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself.
To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.'

Choices which favour satisfying our own thoughts and desires, turn us towards C.S. Lewis' 'hellish creature' which will experience no peace of joy or delight in God's presence.  The more we indulge this side of our nature, the harder it is to turn back.  By saying things like 'die to self, take up your cross and follow me and love your neighbour', Jesus makes it very clear what sort of character we should be transforming into if we are to become a 'heavenly creature'.  God wants us to be Christ like, loving each other sacrificially.  Why does he want that? Because he know that this is what's best for us.  He knows just how beautiful we will be when this process of transformation is finally complete.

Finally, there is one further aspect of our relationship to the natural world that I would like to explore: the apparent link that exists between our interaction with creation and our health and fulfilment. I believe that, as well as creating us to protect and nurture the earth and calling us to love one another, God also created us to be intimately connected with his creation for our own well-being.  Having worked in the field of Horticultural Therapy, I have experienced first hand, the rejuvenating power to be gained from working the land.  I have had the pleasure to meet many people who's lives have been transformed from utter despair and hopelessness to joy and excitement about the future through gardening and other outdoor activities.  Other advocates for this form of therapy include the Gardener's World presenter, Monty Don, who himself has found relief from depression through gardening and Rosie Boycott, mentioned earlier, who understood the major role the natural world played in her recovery after a car accident left one of her legs shattered and at risk of amputation.  Around the country, many projects have been established to help people in need  through similar experiences.

Personal Applications

None of us is perfect, I know I'm not and I'm certainly not claiming to have got all this sussed out but do I know that I'm being challenged to consider the choices I make on a day to day basis in the light of the knock on effects they have.

My husband and I are currently in the process of relocating to rural Gloucestershire and so are being given a fantastic opportunity to consider how we can really adopt a more sustainable lifestyle there.  Having a patch of land and growing vegetables seems an obvious first step, as does keeping a few chickens and, maybe one day, even some other animals as well.  However, there's something about this that still seems too insular, too self focused.  It would be very easy for us to shut ourselves away and live only to provide for ourselves.  I don't think this is what God intends.  He created humans to be in fellowship with other people.  He gives us different gifts with which to build others up.  Only by spending time with others, sharing our gifts with them and building relationships with them can we all truly start to become the people God wants us to be.  A truly sustainable lifestyle requires one to be part of a community: to be in fellowship with other people.  But there's more; Jesus calls us to reach out to those who are marginalised – “the unlovables”, to extend to them the same grace that God has bestowed on us.  A truly sustainable lifestyle, therefore, requires one to be part of a community that is growing, that reaches out in love to those in need, that welcomes them in and that enables them to become everything God intends them to be.  I know it will take hard work, we'll have to accept that we can't have things as easily or as quickly as we'd like them and we'll have to be prepared to compromise so that we can all get along peacefully.  Easier said than done! Only time will tell whether this is God's plan for us but if it is and if we remain faithful to him and seek to bring him all the glory then I know that he will provide for us in every way we can imagine and more.

In conclusion, I'm not advocating that everyone give up their lives and start a community smallholding- that's just what I'd like to do. I would, however, like to encourage you to join me in trying to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and in particular, I would urge you to try growing a few fruit and veg.  Having lived above shops for the past 6 years, with only a small roof terrace for growing space, I can testify to the fact that, growing your own is possible even in the smallest of spaces.  Make the most of the time, talents and resources God has blessed you with. After all, one day, we will all be called before him.  And won't it be fantastic to hear him say, “Well done good and faithful servant”.