Hope for the Earth

The Christian Alternative to Doom-and-Gloom Environmentalism

Seven years ago, the news was grim. National Geographic headlined that “Half of the Great Barrier Reef Is Dead” due to climate change. The Guardian pronounced, “Great Barrier Reef at ‘Terminal Stage.’” The Washington Post agreed: “The Great Barrier Reef Is Dying.” 

Given the alarm, Australia’s most famous natural treasure is surely lost, isn’t it? Well, no. According to an Australian Institute of Marine Science report, “the Reef has rebounded.” After successive years of cooler temperatures, “hard corals have recovered significant ground,” reaching “record high levels in 2022 across two-thirds of the reef.” Despite the many funerals held by media outlets, the report marveled at the Reef’s “impressive ability to recover from widespread disturbances.”   

I doubt the same can be said for the public’s investment in the reef. How many aspiring marine scientists called it quits five years ago after reading the grim headlines? How many young men and women who might have helped solve environmental problems threw in the towel? How many who might have developed a lifelong passion for one of God’s most beautiful creations were derailed by despair? 

Hope-Filled Stewardship

Herein lies one of the most serious flaws of the modern environmental movement, as well as one of the most promising opportunities for Christians. Hope-filled stewardship is better for the Earth. As Andrew J. Spencer wrote in his book Hope for God’s Creation: Stewardship in an Age of Futility, “One of the dominant themes of much environmental discourse has been despair that any real improvement in the environment can come without a massive shift in nearly every area of human life.”  

Such improvements have, however, come about in our lifetimes, often because of relatively minor changes. As Spencer describes, the recovery of the bald eagle and the virtual elimination of acid rain show that real environmental improvement is possible if fatalism is replaced with smart, incremental action. Spencer argues that despite long-standing criticisms that Christianity encourages exploitation of the environment, the faith actually offers the best foundation for hope-filled stewardship.  

It starts by seeing the world as God’s creation. Unlike secular environmentalists, Christians understand that this dazzling world we live in is no accident but is the handiwork of a Divine artist. “Christian hope,” Spencer writes, “encourages us to love the creation for the sake of the one who made it.” God called his handiwork “very good,” and throughout Scripture, the majesty of our world is treated as a signpost pointing back to its Maker. Nothing in secular environmentalism parallels this or confers objective value on nature. 

A Bright Future

Christianity also assigns human beings a special place in creation, unlike secular accounts of history, which often treat humans as a rogue species or a virus. We’re not just another animal. We are the Creator’s representatives, “crowned with glory and honor” and responsible for tending his Garden and everything in it. Though the Fall damaged God’s creation and made our role as stewards much harder to fulfill, it never changed our job description. Nor is it the end of the story. Not only does Christianity place real value on creation and real responsibility on humanity, but it promises that God’s world will not be in bondage to futility forever. Creation has a bright future—not annihilation but miraculous renewal.

Spencer’s book is a crash course on how the Christian worldview better meets some of the ecological challenges that drive secular minds to despair, and it’s a timely reminder that a hope grounded beyond this world makes all the difference in the here and now. 

—This article first appeared at Breakpoint.org. Used with permission of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.