Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, asks the question, “Can faith be green?”
Keller gives an overview of the history of the creation care dialogue as he works toward an answer to the question: What is the relationship of Christian theology to environmental issues? What conclusion does he come to? He says, “There are no better intellectual, moral, and spiritual resources for a passion for caring for creation than you can find in Christianity.”
He outlines four of those reasons:
- The Bible teaches the goodness of creation. At every stage of creation God pronounces the goodness of what he has made. Why is it good? Because at some level the works of his hands reflect him and glorify their maker.
- The stewardship of creation. Keller points to the Noahic covenant which God made after the flood in which God himself enters in to a covenant relationship with the earth itself. He commits himself to the earth and all its living creatures.
- The fallenness of creation. Christian theology gives an explanation for why so much in nature seems so broken (disasters, diseases, etc.) and therefore the motivation to make it better. It is not the way it is supposed to be and as stewards we have the call to work to set it right as much as we are able.
- The restoration of the earth. The Bible says God is so committed to this material world that one day he will restore it and we will live in a perfected creation forever.
Listen to the rest of Keller’s “Can Faith Be Green?” More Tim Keller resources.
