Biblical Environmentalism

It is all too common for Christians to misunderstand Biblical ethics, which in turns leads to neglect of certain duties prescribed by the Bible.  Many key mistakes in the moral theology of Christians start with assumptions about the first few chapters of Genesis.  Assumptions are inherently unsound by virtue of falling short of actual knowledge, but false assumptions have an expanded capacity for destructive consequences.  One such assumption about Genesis is that its doctrine of human exceptionalism conflicts with environmentalism.

There is nothing exclusive about fulfilling one's Biblical obligations to other people and caring for the condition of the environment that those very people live in, of course.  In fact, someone who is concerned about the wellbeing of others and is informed about the relationship between humans and the environment will realize that treating the environment well is in humanity's best interests!  It is not as if human life can automatically flourish without respect to the condition of the very world that people inhabit.

While the Bible does at least metaphorically predict several vehement natural disasters (with supernatural causes) in Revelation, it never says that these cataclysms will lead to the complete extinction of the human race.  If the events in Revelation were to unfold literally, a specific proportion of the earth's population would die from each disaster.  Unfortunately, many Christians assume that this means that there is little to no reason to take environmental issues seriously, which in turn discourages efforts to alleviate environmental problems among Christians (especially evangelicals).

That the Bible does not promise human extinction as a result of natural causes in no way justifies mistreatment of the planet or apathy towards environmental matters.  Revelation does not describe an extinction event caused by the natural world, but the first few chapters of Genesis explicitly say that every aspect of the physical universe, as God initially created it, is good (Genesis 1:31).  It follows that the general environment, although it is of lesser value than the humans that bear God's image (Genesis 1:26-28), should not be needlessly harmed or exploited.

The command to subdue the earth is neither a command to abuse or neglect it nor permission to treat it in such a manner.  God tasked men and women with the responsibility of presiding over the planet (again, see Genesis 1:26-28), and no one who intentionally neglects what was given to them for safekeeping by a friend is a successful caretaker.  Anyone who thinks that the Bible's priority on human significance excludes concern for the environment is blatantly mistaken--and an indirect hazard to other people.  Biblical environmentalism is not an oxymoron.