With the celebration of Earth Day on April 22, The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) releases the first in the Mt. Nebo Papers series, “What is the Most Important Environmental Task Facing American Christians Today?” by IRD Adjunct Fellow Dr. E. Calvin Beisner.
Christians are called to wise stewardship of the Earth God created. However, a debate rages within the Christian community on what stewardship entails. Dr. Beisner’s paper looks at not only what the Bible addresses as a good stewardship, but also what the church teaches historically, and finally makes recommendations. Should nature be valued over humanity? The Institute on Religion and Democracy is offering the paper as a free downloadable resource on www.TheIRD.org.
Beisner commented, “Christians really need to face the challenge of triage—comparing the benefits and costs of various environmental policies and selecting those that will be the best stewardship. That’s what this paper does.
“Like Moses standing on Mt. Nebo and looking into the Promised Land, readers of the Mt. Nebo series will have an opportunity to see where the churches are heading and what are the challenges and opportunities facing us in the years to come. The careful, mature, Biblically grounded scholarship of the papers’ authors will make them trustworthy aids to Christians trying to chart a wise, godly course.
“The fundamental point of this paper is that because economic development not only makes environmental stewardship affordable but also provides the best protection of the world’s poor from disease, hunger, and premature death, development must not be shunted aside in a quixotic quest after environmental desiderata, particularly when, as with global warming, the science and economics are far from clear and compelling.”
The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches’ social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.
Read the paper free here, or buy a hard copy here.
Featured Image Courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography/Freedigitalphotos.net
