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"Green" Evangelism Can an evangelical Christian be a staunch environmentalist? The answer is YES, and leader Richard Cizik's mission is to convert tens of millions of Americans to the cause of conservation, using a right-to-life framework. Cizik MattersAn interview with green evangelical leader Richard Cizik05 Oct 2005
Polluters will have to answer to God, not just government, according to Richard Cizik. Vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, Cizik is a pro-Bush Bible-brandishing reverend zealously opposed to abortion, gay marriage, and embryonic stem-cell research. He is also on a mission to convert tens of millions of Americans to the cause of conservation, using a right-to-life framework. Cizik has been crisscrossing the U.S. in recent months, spreading the doctrine of "creation care" to evangelical Christians.
Q: How has the National Association of Evangelicals been involved in political and social issues, and what led you, most recently, to take a stand on the environment?
A: The public has long acknowledged our involvement on family values and pro-life issues, and they've begun to take notice of our engagement on concerns like human rights, slavery, and AIDS. Only recently have we begun to adequately address the challenge scripture presents to us to be faithful stewards of God's creation. We released a paper in 2004 titled "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility" [PDF], which calls on our movement to articulate a public theology to address what we call "creation care." It urges our 30 million members to live their lives in conformity with sustainable principles, and our government to reduce pollution and resource consumption.
Q: Can you unpack this term "creation care"? How does this differ from environmentalism?
A: It is simply our articulation of a biblical doctrine, which is that we are commissioned by God the Almighty to be stewards of the earth. It is rooted not in politics or ideology, but in the scriptures. Genesis 2:15 specifically calls us "to watch over and care for" the bounty of the earth and its creatures. Scripture not only affirms this role, but warns that the earth is not ours to abuse, own, or dominate...it is a tragedy of enormous proportions -- to destroy, degrade, or despoil it.
Q: The Bible also says that humans have "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing." Some in your community interpret this as a license to exploit natural resources.
A: That is a deeply flawed interpretation. Dominion does not mean domination. It implies responsibility -- to cultivate and care for the earth, not to sully it with bad environmental practices. The Bible also teaches us that Jesus Christ is not only redeeming his people, but also restoring God's creation...we show our love for Jesus Christ by reaching out to and healing the spiritually lost and by conserving and renewing creation. Christ's call to love nature is as simple as his call to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Q: What specifically are you doing to get people involved in these issues?
A: We ask Christians to shape their personal lives in creation-friendly ways by practicing effective recycling, conserving resources, and experiencing the joy of contact with nature. We urge government to encourage fuel efficiency, reduce pollution, encourage sustainable use of natural resources, and provide for the proper care of wildlife and their natural habitats.
Q: How much influence do you think you have on the direction of the Republican Party?
A: Our membership is 30 million strong, with 45,000 churches, 7,000 megachurches, some with billion-dollar budgets. We represent 40 percent of the Republican Party. There is a saying that "as evangelicals go, so goes the West" -- meaning our community sets trends. Is everybody in our community ready to support a creation-care agenda? Certainly not. But conservation is conservative at its roots, and they can be regrown. Q: Did you have a conversion moment of sorts on this issue?
A: ...I had a conversion experience on the climate issue not unlike my conversion to Christ. I was at a conference in Oxford where Sir John Houghton, an evangelical scientist, was presenting evidence of shrinking ice caps, temperatures tracked for millennia through ice-core data, increasing hurricane intensity, drought patterns, and so on. I realized all at once, with sudden awe, that climate change is a phenomenon of truly biblical proportions. This article is an excerpt from an interview with Richard Cizik; to read the entire interview, see http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/10/05/cizik/index.html?source=daily
"The Hebrew Bible states that Adam was given dominion over all the animals and plants of the earth--this is of course, the human birthright, and the choice must by made whether humans will use their power to dominate, destroy, exploit, or use it for stewardship of the lands and waters and airs and creatures and growing things as was meant to be. "
from Mother Earth Speaks: Intention/Prayer http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=356&i=43
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