Grace, Sabbath, and Al Gore

What I wish I had said

A day ago, I took part in a thirty minute panel discussion of climate change, Christianity, and the Scriptural call to action where the environment is concerned for a new show on the Loma Linda Broadcasting Network (LLBN). While I don't want to give away too much since the conversation we taped has not yet aired on LLBN, I'll mention that the conversation began with an anecdote about Al Gore. (You can read my report of the show's taping here.)

Two things occurred to me, both of which I wish I would have said, but neither of which I actually said. First, many viewers of LLBN will probably take exception to Al Gore as a reason for Christian care for the environment because Gore has gone beyond the science by politicizing the issue in many people's view. Secondly, this issue has gone well beyond Al Gore. It's bigger than Al Gore. While he remains a prominent voice stirring conversation about the environment, this isn't about him. It never really was. It's about understanding the problems and finding viable long-term solutions. I wish I had said that while doing the show for LLBN.

I also wish that I would have said what occurred to me today in a class entitled "Issues in Adventist Theology" at La Sierra University. It occurred to me that two central themes in Adventism - Sabbath rest and God's grace - lie at the heart of why we care for the Earth.

A brief explanation is in order.

God's Grace

I haven't heard too many Adventist theologians who make the following point, and yet it is essential to our understanding of Creation. God's first action recorded in Scripture, Creation, is clearly, undeniably, and unmistakably an act of sheer grace. Creation is undeserved. God's giving this planetary home to all its living things is an act of unmerited favor toward all living things on Earth. Creation happened as an expression of God's loving generosity. Creation is a demonstration of God's grace!

The Sabbath

If Creation is a demonstration of God's grace, then Sabbath is a perpetual reminder of God's graciousness. It is accentuated by the command to rest. The culmination of Creation Week is rest, and humanity's first act is rest! No action on the part of humanity, no quality humanity possesses can account for the Sabbath rest. It is a manifestation of God's grace. Every time we celebrate Sabbath, we acknowledge that it is God's acts in the world, not our own that give life, that renew, that sustain. It is because of God's gracious gift that we are, and Sabbath rest is the invitation to revel in that graciousness on a weekly basis.

What has all that to do with environmentalism, climate change and all that? Plenty, I think.

The majority of what I have read (and written myself) concerning care for creation and environmental stewardship has had to do with the command to care, the moral imperative, the necessity of action. To be sure, those things matter. To be sure, they are biblical and true. And yet the primary reason why we care--why we act as stewards of the environment--flows from the grace of God.

Grace precedes Creation. Grace provides Sabbath. Grace is God's undeserved, lavish giving seen in all that we are and all that we have. In response to God's gracious giving, we honor God and honor Creation as God's primary act of grace. From a sense of thankfulness, we take up the task and priviledge of caring for the Earth.

I wish I would have said some of that when the cameras were rolling and I had a brief moment to articulate in front of tens, even hundreds of thousands of people, what forms the basis of my interest in caring for the environment--God's grace does. But you know what they say about hindsight...

*Some of these ideas may be extensions of what Jeff said in his first post here.

We're probably eco-nerds

My wife and I ate at a Thai restaurant last night in the neighborhood. We took our own reusable containers knowing that we'd have leftovers, and not wanting to take their styrofoam to-go containers.

We are officially eco-nerds, and proud of it! Styrofoam is bad stuff. In 10,000 years if the world is still spinning, cockroaches will still be alive and styrofoam will still be as it is now. Along with plastic, it does not biodegrade. And guess what - it costs more to recycle plastics and styrofoam (where it is actually recyclable) than to make new products.

So we take our own containers. It's free, easy, and saves a whole lot of garbage from sitting around in landfills or rivers, lakes and oceans for the next 10,000 years. Join us! Make your next meal out a BYOC dinner - bring your own container!

The earth says thanks.

In front of the cameras - LLBN

Yesterday, I had the unique opportunity to appear on the Loma Linda Broadcasting Network (LLBN) as part of a panel discussion on Christianity and Care for the Earth. LLBN, which started as a small-town dream, has grown its viewership steadily and surpassed the audience of SDA TV giant 3ABN.

I took part in the taping of a program called Intersections, scheduled to air in the Fall. Our discussion, called "Why on Earth Should We Care?" dealt with global warming and ecological crises and how Christians might faithfully respond to them. I joined Lee Greer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Genomics at La Sierra Universty as a guest panelist. Julius Nam, Carla Gober, and Leigh Aveling hosted the program.

Before the taping, we met together in a restaurant in Loma Linda to discuss the program and become acquainted. I already knew Julius Nam from various other associations, and had met Lee Greer once before at the San Diego Adventist Forum's retreat at Pine Springs Ranch, during which Greer was a guest presenter and panelist.

After lunch, we went over to the LLBN studios to apply makeup and tape the segment. If you don't know me, let me tell you about my receding hairline. It has been likened to deforestation and low tide. It glows when light shines on it. After liberally applying some powdery stuff to my shiny dome, I took my place in front of the cameras with the other panelists. (I realized after the taping that I had cotton fuzz stuck to my facial whiskers from the pad I used to apply my makeup. I just know it'll show up on TV!

The 30-minute segment flew by! While taping, we managed to tip the tabletop by leaning on it, and someone's cell phone went off for about ten seconds. We hashed out the Christian response to the environment and made certain that nobody would confuse us for New Agey Earth Worshippers. It's the Creator we honor by caring for Creation people!

I had a great time at LLBN, and look forward to the show's airing in the coming months.

Adventist Leaders on Environment, Global Warming

Over at the Spectrum blog, discussion has warmed up over the environment and climate change (once again). Only this time, the president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, Jan Paulsen, is part of the conversation. Paulsen recently made his clearest statement to date on environmental stewardship in the Adventist World. His article, "Freedom to Care" outlines reasons and motivations for a faithful response from Adventists on environmental issues we face today.

"Is the environment an 'Adventist issue?" Paulsen asks. "Do we have something significant—something unique—to contribute to environmental care? I believe the answer is 'Yes.'"

The first step, Paulsen suggests, in dealing with the environment is removing political wrappings from the issue. He states, "...when we peel back the layers that surround 'environmentalism,' we find ideas that resonate also with our own deeply held beliefs and values: care for God’s world and care for our fellow human beings."

He goes on to say, "As we look more closely at environmental stewardship and consider our response, I believe we will find a bedrock of principle on which to develop a clear, biblically sound, distinctly Adventist approach. I pray that as we do so, we will not be less bold, less farsighted than our early pioneers."

Read the full article.

This is hardly the first time Adventist leadership has provided direction in the conversation on Adventism and the environment. Here are more statements approved by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists:

Caring for Creation

A Statment on the Environment

Stewardship of the Environment

Dangers of Climate Change

Aside from Jan Paulsen and the leaders at the GC, another prominent Adventist addresses climate change from his position as a senior member of the Science Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, and two of its subcomittees: Energy and the Environment and Research and Science Education.

Roscoe Bartlett is a self-described conservative Republican and Seventh-day Adventist professor, farmer, scientist and inventor-turned Congressman. In 2007, Rep. Bartlett introduced legislation along with Edward J. Markey to "provide a crucial planning and risk-assessment tool as the Congress seeks innovative solutions to global warming. "

The Global Climate Change Security Oversight Act (H.R. 1961), required the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress a National Intelligence Estimate on the anticipated geopolitical effects of global climate change and the implications of its effects on U.S. national security. Bartlett acknowledged that climate change is a "threat multiplier."

As it turns out, both Paulsen and Bartlett have been made into caricatures, which are used here by permission of the artist.

Energy Independence Day - A Good Idea

Energy crisis. There's a phrase that's being thrown around a lot in the media these days. You've heard it, probably said it. Everyone is talking. About the high cost of gas. About the rising cost of crude. About the need to drill or the need to prevent drilling. About oil and coal and alternatives.

Independence Day is a day we celebrate our freedom from external control, taxation without representation, dependence on foreign imports. Even so, today when it comes to the energy that Americans use, we are still subject to foriegn control, prices influenced by cartels and foreign leaders, and we are still dependent on oil from abroad.

Here are some quick points to ponder when considering the issues America faces pertaining to energy, its production and its consumption.

Petroleum

reserves are finite

comes primarily from outside the U.S.

pollution (greenhouse gases) a damaging byproduct

spills are extremely damaging to ecosystems and extremely costly to clean

costs are highly unstable and are subject to external forces

drilling damages fragile ecosystems

will run out eventually

Coal

reserves are finite

extraction causes lung diseases
poisonous gases pollute bodies of water

mountaintop removal for coal extraction devastates ecosystems

coal emits harmful greenhouse gases

coal causes acid rain

is nonrenewable

Wind

essentially infinite

no harmful byproducts

wind farms do not emit any toxins into the environment

clean and efficient energy

entirely renewable

Solar

totally clean

sun will not run out

not subject to external market manipulations

long-lasting panels

no emissions

Drilling for more oil is not a long term fix. Economists suggest that it is not a short-term fix either, as it would not impact the price of fuel, and it would not significantly impact oil production until 2030. And that is coming from the Bush Administration's Energy Information Administration. By 2030, $5 a gallon for gas will seem like peanuts if trends continue, and greenhouse gas emissions will have continued to devastate our planet.

It is time to declare our independence from foreign energy and to ramp up production of clean alternatives to petroleum and coal. Our economy, our country, and our planet depend on it!

Faith & Environmentalism

Today I came across an interesting post written by Brian McLaren at God's Politics, a blog hosted by Jim Wallis of Sojourners, describing a booklet published by the Sierra Club about faith and environmentalism--Faith in Action.

D#@*$% Environmentalists! (by Brian McLaren, June 27, 2008)

"Faith in Action" is a colorful, easy-to-read booklet and after a brief introduction, it is pure stories -- stories of Baptists and Catholics, Quakers and Congregationalists, synagogues and mosques, Vineyard churches and Buddhist communities, creatively expressing care for God's beautiful earth. They're launching projects as varied as their backgrounds -- fighting mountaintop removal, protecting watersheds, changing light bulbs, tithing C02, building energy-efficient buildings, promoting energy conservation, sponsoring local agriculture, sponsoring retreats and bike rides, and in scores of other ways building deep commitment to "keeping the faith by keeping the earth."


Click here for Sierra Club's main page on faith that is full of great links like this one on greening your church. Looking for more? Check out this list of other religious websites dedicated to creation care. And the Renewal documentary looks interesting.

Cloth with a Message

My wife showed me this piece of organic cloth today, a fine message to wear when covering one's nakedness.

Portland-based Herbivore Clothing also prints this same message on a handy tote.

I decided not to post the provocative "Praise Seitan" t-shirt. FYI: seitan is wheat gluten, the mystery goo behind many meat substitutes.

Adventist Review Links Vegetarianism and Environment

We certainly do!

That's how Adventist doctors Peter Landless and Allan Handysides responded to the question, "Do you agree that our dietary practices affect the environment?"

Landless and Handysides went on to give a good (if brief) overview of a few ways that a vegetarian diet profoundly benefits the environment in the May 22 edition of the Adventist Review.

For people who spend time considering the earth's ecology and how to protect it, the link between vegetarianism and the environment comes as no surprise. There are tons of credible examples available on the web and elsewhere making the connection.

And yet for Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarianism has traditionally been about two things: health and legalism. Adventists have known since the days of the notorious Sanatarium at Battle Creek that a meat-free diet is good for you. The "Health Message" is as Adventisty as the Sabbath.

For others, Vegetarianism had to do with rules. Misconstrued (and perhaps a few not misconstrued) statements by Ellen White led many SDAs to the conclusion that vegetarianism = morality = law keeping = salvation issue. That many Adventists have bucked vegetarianism (no pun intended) is a testimony to the damage such a legalistic view has done to our collective psyche.

But when it comes to ecological reasons for going veg, many Adventists remain clueless. Enter Landless and Handysides in the Review (Adventism's flagship journal). The article states in part: The consumption of animal flesh foods has a very powerful effect on the environment. Additionally, the use of irrigation and fertilizers and pesticides also has enormous impact on the environment.

"It is calculated that the production of one pound of animal protein costs multiple times more than the production of vegetable protein in resources such as water, land usage, and fertilizer. Individuals switching to vegetarian diets might seem to have little impact, but whole shifts by large populations would have much more effect. Huge industrial-type farms for poultry, pigs, and beef produce massive quantities of concentrated animal waste that are nightmares of sewage disposal. Water utilization in the production of animal food products versus that needed for plant food products is about threefold greater—2,400 versus 800 liters per person."

The doctors go on to describe the need for personal responsibility when it comes to energy consumption. If their encouragement doesn't do it, perhaps the cost of fuel will!

They also recommend buying produce from local growers where possible considering the vast amounts of energy required to transport produce to your local grocer from, say, Chile.

They go on to offer this helpful line:

"It is time for concerned study into how we can address these environmental issues, recognizing that our concern has to address the whole slate of our behaviors, not merely diet."

But then botch it a bit (I feel) with an attempt at exegetical support for environmental concerns:

"The Bible plainly states that the Lord will destroy those who destroy the earth."

This text (Revelation 11:18) is theologically problematic enough that I plan to deal with it separately in another upcoming blog entry. But for the way that the docs use sketchy biblical support to get there, they make a solid conclusion:

"As Adventists, we can argue individual issues of environmental change, but we need to be strong supporters of environmental protection and depoliticize the issue because it belongs to us all, regardless of our political persuasion or national identity. Surely the earthly future for our children is clouded, and action today impacts their tomorrow."

Thank you, Adventist Review (and Drs. Landless and Handysides), for this helpful and generally insightful article on not only the environment, not only vegetarianism, but also on the ways that we can live faithfully in anticipation of the new creation!

Stewardship, Not Ownership

The shining world outlasts us all

-Fernando Ortega

Most Christians (most Adventists included) agree that the earth is OLD. Really old.

Nobody wants to say for certain exactly how old -- 10 thousand years? 10 million years? 10 billion years? But whatever time frame we decide on (and by the way, scientific data does not have an agenda), we can all agree that the human lifespan, even for the oldest newsmaking Adventists, is like a flea on a camel (that is, not much at all) when compared with the time our planet has been bravely careering through the cosmos.

When we put human life into that context -- against the backdrop of the seemingly endless march of time* -- human claims of ownership of any portion of creation seem somewhat absurd. Even the great civilizations of antiquity gave way to the endless rush of days so that today, they are remembered by their colossal ruins, if at all. Time gets the better of us all in the end.

This isn't meant to be a diatribe against optimism (I'm generally a fairly optimistic person, myself). Rather, it is a sober look at a reality that is quite helpful when we talk about things like ownership of property and privatizing this and that, as though we had some enduring claim to a part of the cosmos. Guess what, you can't take it with you when you go (though the Egyptian lords certainly tried).

So what's the point?

Christianity has always claimed two things:

1. We are strangers here. We are sojourners, immigrants or wayfaring wanderers. Please notice that this does not in the least imply that we should seek to escape from this planet as quickly as possible, or that we should not be fully engaged with the world we live in. In fact, some sharp scientists and theologians have proposed that the cosmos itself is homeless alongside of us due to its origins from nothing, and that special relativity and quantum physics suggest now more than ever that we belong to this world!

2. We are stewards of creation, not owners. Scripture tells the story of our human parents receiving a mandate from God to serve and preserve their earthly home. "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15). It's right there in Scripture: This planet of ours isn't ours. We are tenants, attendants, servants of the earth, but never masters or owners!

It is perhaps because we have forgotton these two truths about ourselves that the earth has endured so much abuse at our hands. When we confused dominion with domination, stewardship with ownership, we at once began exploiting the earth for our own ends with no thought for all the others who have lived before us, all those who live alongside us, and those who will live once we have taken our places back in the ground, waiting, waiting for the time when theOne (only one) who owns will be fully known.

Until then, let us be faithful stewards, never acting as if we were owners.

*It's worth noting that modern cosmology does not affirm a steady-state, static universe with an endless march of time, but rather a universe with a definite starting time just before the Big Bang. That should not be problematic for Adventists who have always contended that the universe was created ex nihilo (out of nothing), in fact it should be exciting!

Cartoonists take on energy crisis