As Americans reel from the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history, the Christian community has been forced to ask difficult questions about our witness on environmental issues. How should we respond when the structures of human society cause mass damage to the world, our wildlife, vulnerable people, and our economy?
Using the oil spill as a template, this was the question I asked in a recent CNN article entitled, "My Take: How Should Christians Respond to the Oil Spill?"
An overview of those responses so far:
Ignoring it. Perhaps the most confounding reaction coming from some Christians is apathy. Many Christians seem unconcerned with what is going on in the Gulf, or at least preoccupied with “more important” political issues like Arizona’s new immigration law. Searching the web sites of major Christian groups for “oil spill” returns few or no results.
Capitalizing on it. Some Christians, particularly those who have taken a laissez-faire approach to environmental regulation in the past, have seen this tragedy as an opportunity to attack the President. Ken Blackwell of the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition have both lobbed bombs, and Sarah “drill baby, drill” Palin has been clobbering the administration everywhere from Fox News to Facebook. They are hoping to tar this administration with the legacy that Hurricane Katrina left for the Bush administration. Rather than attacking others, perhaps we should look inward at ourselves.
Extolling it. According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, about one third of America’s 60 million white evangelicals believe that the world will end in their lifetime. Some of them, it seems, believe the oil spill is a sign of the end times. As Lisa Miller wrote in a recent Newsweek article, “A growing conversation among Christian fundamentalists asks the question that may have been inevitable: is the oil spill in the gulf a sign of the coming apocalypse?” These Christians are so focused on future prophecies that they aren’t helping solve our present problems.
Prayerfully Mourning it. As the slick spreads and the situation worsens, a few Christians—most surprisingly, conservative evangelicals—are responding with prayer, contrition and a reconsideration of their environmental positions. (See Russell Moore's thoughtful response.) These Christians realize that the world needs a thoughtful Christian community that helps the hurting, protects God’s creation, and cares more about people than politics.
As I concluded in my CNN article:
"Now is the time for the Christian community to open up our deep coffers and provide assistance to those in need. We should spend some of our political capital to call politicians to the table to implement safeguards to prevent another catastrophic oil spill. Individuals should pray, churches should send cleanup teams and all of us should reflect on those habits in our lives that have contributed to this mess.
"If Christians fail to rise to this occasion, Americans won’t only lose faith in big corporations and the ability of the federal government to manage environmental crises. They’ll lose faith in us."
What do you think is the proper response? Is there something I've missed or I am not seeing?
Order a copy of my new book, Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan to Our Planet
Sophia TeresaMarie Sanchez de la Fuego said:
I would say, the Cristian community looks like the World community, as complaciant. Who cares?
Posted: June 18, 2010
Bullet said:
A Christian who is complacent does the Kingdom no good! Church groups and mission teams who are looking for a ministry to serve - the Gulf Coast probably be a great place to start! Awesome article Jonathan
Posted: June 18, 2010
Roy Fletcher said:
"Sarah “drill baby, drill” Palin"? Really? It seemed like you were making a case AGAINST politicizing this event. I guess you had to do a little pandering to the left, huh? After all, it was a commentary for CNN...
Yes, Christians, like all Americans, should be concerned. We should be helping financially, politically and when possible, with our own sweat. But, this is not the most important event happening in the world. Finding and electing good leaders who know how to deal with messes like this should be on the top of the list right now. The absence of leadership is a much larger tragedy for our country than the oil spill.
Posted: June 19, 2010
Jonathan Merritt said:
Yes, Roy. I had to pander to the left. After all, when you write for CNN, the editor will usually send the article back if you don't do enough pandering.
Posted: June 20, 2010
Justin said:
Why should we have faith in corporations, and what are the expectations of that faith? I think we would be better off to have a large reservoir of suspicion and monitor their behavior closely.
Posted: June 20, 2010