Some green theological perspectives for theological discussion groups and sermons. In this module we explore how to put ecology and Christianity together, and see creation care clearly in the Bible.
Choose a resource from the list below.
A Rocha is one of the Christian environmental organisations in the UK, and has many international projects too. They have a series of articles looking at creation care theology.
A Rocha have a selection of articles by Peter Harris, Dave Bookless and others.
Alliance of Religions and Conservation have a good section on Christianity here and sections on other faiths and their commitment to environmental concerns.
The Bible Society has a publication called The Bible in Transmission, a publication distributed free to church leaders.
In the Summer 2008 edition, Chris Sunderland wrote an article called "Sinning against the earth?" (23kb .pdf) examining our attitudes to our actions which impact on earth.
The Summer 2006 edition was about sustainability. On their website you can view the Bible in Transmission articles on sustainability, by authors such as Jane Williams, John Houghton, Ian Hore-Lacey, Edward Echlin, Prof John Guillebaud. The Spring 2003 edition of Transmission was about the environment.
The environment articles in the Spring 2003 edition are by the following authors: David Pickering, Steven Bouma-Prediger, Robin Old, Peter Heslam and John Wibberley. You have to scroll past Autumn, and Summer before getting to Spring!
Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright on the earthing of heaven: read his sermon 'On Earth as in Heaven' given at York Minster on 20 May 2007.
This booklet by Martin and Margot Hodson is a product of the Agriculture and Theology Project (ATP) which is a joint project involving JRI, the Church Mission Society (CMS) and the Agricultural Christian Fellowship (ACF). The abstract is at http://www.jri.org.uk/index.php/2011/10/climate-change-faith-and-rural-c...
Copies can be ordered from THE JOHN RAY INITIATIVE (JRI), Room PH201, Francis Close Hall, University of Gloucestershire, Swindon Road, CHELTENHAM, GL50 4AZ. Please make out cheques for individual copies to the John Ray Initiative for £3.50 (inc. P&P). For multiple copies please enquire at admin@jri.org.uk
Here is a list of books you may find helpful:
In recent Christian history, the expectation that Christ will return soon and reconstruct the earth has been used as a reason for not living as if resources need to last. Another view is that the Kingdom extends not just to reclaiming lives, but also to abused ecologies, the whole fabric of life. In this paper, given at a conference organised by Redcliffe College, Dr Ernest Lucas seeks a greater understanding of our part in God's plan, and a vision of Christ's return that stimulates creation-care.
A resource from the Operation Noah website.
The Catholic Conservation Center (US) has a collection of writings about ecology and the environment from a variety of Catholic sources.
Christian Aid's theological position on climate change is in the document All Creation Groaning by Paula Clifford.
Christian Ecology Link's Keith Innes produces regular 'green pointers for preachers' as a helpful guide to seeing where the lectionary readings point towards our responsibility for caring for creation.
This two year Certificate course provides an opportunity to study rural and environmental issues from a Christian viewpoint. It will be of interest to all with a personal or professional concern for the environment and countryside, rural communities and churches. The uniqueness of the course lies in its innovative approach combining the academic expertise of The John Ray Initiative (JRI) with the practical experience of Christian Rural Concern (CRuC). There are no entry requirements.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams gave a fascinating lecture in March 2005 linking ecology and economy, here in a speech on climate change to the Tyndall Centre in 2006, and here a speech to the UN climate talks in Bali in 2007. You can watch his New Year's Day message 'God doesn't do waste' on YouTube here.
Earthcare is a US organisation promoting creation stewardship within the Christian community. They have a list of books on environmental theology from different perspectives (US bias, and dated 2001).
Eco-justice is a US site providing (US orientated, but nonetheless helpful) pointers to including ecological issues into the life of the church. Peter Sawtell provides some helpful pointers in preaching, worship, education generally in the church and many other topics.
The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion regularly holds lectures and seminars which explore the interplay between science and religion. They publish the material on their website, including transcripts of the lectures and some in mp3 format. They have had some notable speakers, including Sir John Houghton, Prof. Sir Ghillian Prance, Prof Holmes Ralston, Prof Sir Brian Heap and Dr Michael Northcott.
The Genesis Programme is A Rocha's resource to help the church in the UK recapture God’s original commission for mankind to care for all of creation. The Churches programme aims to resource today's church and impact the next generation of church leaders.
The significance - and ultimately the quality - of the work we do is determined by our understanding of the story in which we are taking part.
Excepted from Wendell Berry's essay "Christianity and the Survival of Creation" and available from the Operation Noah website.
Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones gave a seminar at St George's Chapel Windsor, addressing the relationship between evangelical Christians and the environment. It makes fascinating reading! Click here to go to the speech.
The John Ray Initiative has a series of articles on the website which deal with some of the basic theological questions about caring from creation by authors such as Prof Sam Berry, John Houghton, John McKeown and Revd Margot Hodson.
Click here to see the list of briefing papers available from JRI.
Jubilee Centre (Cambridge, UK) has produced one of their Cambridge Papers on environmental issues called A Burning Issue by Robert White. Click here to view it on their website.
Keith Innes has produced an interesting paper: The Old Testament wilderness in ecological perspective.
How can church communities help the natural world? This short film is an introduction to Christianity and care for nature, featuring Archbishops Rowan Williams and Vincent Nichols. Nurture In His Name is a series of short films to help Christian communities be environmentally aware.
Producers: Mary Colwell (www.curlewmedia.com) and David Shreeve (www.conservationfoundation.co.uk)
The press release below was issued at the time of the launch of this document:
"Operation Noah launch their Ash Wednesday Declaration at the beginning of Lent [2012]. The Declaration challenges the Church to realise that care for God’s creation and concern about climate change are foundational to the Christian gospel and central to the church’s mission.
Operation Noah sees this Declaration as a call of considerable significance. The Declaration is framed around seven biblical themes and argues that, to be a Christian is to accept the call to radical discipleship and to work through the implications for church life of a real change in lifestyle. It marks a definitive line for the church: if we are Christians these are key issues which we need to respond to – as individuals, as local churches and as national Churches.
In 1934 the Church took a stand with the Barmen Declaration which rejected Nazism. The authors believed that the subordination of the church to the Nazi state was a confessional issue, an issue that touched the very heart of faith, not something that they could politely disagree about. Operation Noah believes climate change to be a confessional issue of similar magnitude.
Leaders representing all the main UK denominations have now signed this Declaration and a number of Christian organisations working on similar issues have endorsed it including Tearfund, Progressio, Micah Challenge, Eco Congregations, A Rocha, Christian Ecology Link and the European Christian Environmental Network.
Operation Noah is encouraging individuals and church fellowships to read through the Ash Wednesday Declaration carefully and then, if willing, to sign the pledge on their website;. Here you will also find a wide range of resources to support the Declaration and to help spread the word."
Sage Oxford has some helpful resources from Martin & Margot Hodson (Chaplain at Jesus College, Oxford) under the title "Christian perspectives on issues in the global environment" - click here.
Tearfund's theological perspective on creation care is available online(200kb .pdf).
The Columbans have a page of interesting and challenging articles available online.
The Theological Studies site has a helpful list of some articles that are available online, and others which aren't, all linking Christianity and ecology.
For example, there is an article written by Steve Bishop and published in Themelios, but available through the Theological Studies site.
If you'd like to take a few folk off for a weekend to look at some key issues, including a biblical approach to the environment, why not try Workshop? The weekend in question is called Peace & Power, and will be held at various venues around the country. Have a look at the Workshop website for more details.
Module 3 - Theology and Environment
