Frequently Asked Questions

Why should Christians care about the environment?

Biblically understood, "the environment" is actually part of God's creation, of which human beings are also a part. So why should we care for all of God's creation?

1. Christ died to reconcile all of creation to God (Col. 1:20).
2. All of creation belongs to Jesus (Col. 1:16; Ps. 24:1).
3. It fulfills the Great Commandments to love God and love what God loves. (It's hard to love a child with asthma when you're filling her lungs with pollution.)
4. Pollution hurts the poor the most, and Christians are called to care for the poor and the less powerful (Mt. 25:37-40).

Thus, caring for all of creation provides a Christian with the deepest sense of joy and contentment since it is part of loving God. We call this "creation-care."

What is "creation-care"?

Creation-care means caring for all of God's creation by stopping and preventing activities that are harmful (e.g. air and water pollution, species extinction), and participating in activities that further Christ's reconciliation of all of creation to God. Doing creation-care fills us with the joy that only comes from doing the will of God.

What does the Bible say?

Our scriptures page provides many texts from the Bible about God's relationship to creation and what God's will is concerning our relationship to creation.

What have Christian leaders said about creation-care?

Nearly 500 Christian leaders have signed EEN's Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation.

Below are some quotations from leaders:

If it were not for the outside world, we should have no inside world to understand things by. Least of all could we understand God without these milions of sights and sounds and scents and motions, weaving their endless harmonies. They come out of his heart to let us know a little of what is in it.
George MacDonald, in The Highlander's Last Song

If I am going to be in the right relationship with God, I should treat the things he has made in the same way he treats them.
Francis Schaeffer, Pollution and the Death of Man.

I find myself becoming more and more an advocate of the true ecologists where their recommendations are realistic. Many of these people have done us an essential service in helping us preserve and protect our green zones and our cities, our water and our air.
Billy Graham, Approaching Hoofbeats, 1983.

The growing possibility of our destroying ourselves and the world with our own neglect and excess is tragic and very real.
Billy Graham, Approaching Hoofbeats, 1983.

Christian people should surely have been in the vanguard of the movement for environmental responsibility, because of our doctrines of creation and stewardship. Did God make the world? Does he sustain it? Has he committed its resources to our care? His personal concern for his own creation should be sufficient to inspire us to be equally concerned.
John R.W. Stott, from the introduction to Under the Bright Wings, 1993.

For he has raised everywhere, in all places and in all things, his ensigns and emblems, under blazons so clear and intelligible that no one can pretend ignorance in not knowing such a sovereign Lord ... It is evident that all creatures, from those in the firmament to those which are in the center of the earth, are able to act as witnesses and messengers of his glory to all men.... For the little birds that sing, sing of God; the beasts clamor for him; the elements dread him, the mountains echo him, the mountains and flowing waters cast their glances at him, and the grass and flowers laugh before him.
In grasses, trees, and fruits, apart from their various uses, there is beauty of appearance and pleasantness of odor.... Has the Lord clothed the flowers with the great beauty that greets our eyes, the sweetness of smell that is wafted upon our nostrils, and yet will it be unlawful for our eyes to be affected by that beauty, or our sense of smell by the sweetness of that odor?... Did he not, in short, render many things attractive to us, apart from their necessary use?
While it is true that God declares Himself to us by His Word, nevertheless we are inexcusable when we have not at all considered Him in His works... Let us note then that St. Paul says, (Acts 14:17) that when God causes the sun to shine, sends the diverse seasons, fructifies the earth, that He does not at all leave Himself without good testimony... Let us then only open our eyes and we will have enough arguments for the grandeur of God, so that we may learn to honor Him as He deserves.
John Calvin, Institutes

What about nature worship?

As a biblically orthodox Christian organization EEN totally rejects nature worship and pantheism. Nothing is clearer in Scripture: we are to worship only the Creator - never His creation. There is only one God in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - to whom all praise, glory, and honor are to be given. EEN's Evangelical Declaration puts it well: "Our creating God is prior to and other than creation, yet intimately involved with it, upholding each thing in its freedom, and all things in relationships of intricate complexity. God is transcendent, while lovingly sustaining each creature; and immanent, while wholly other than creation and not to be confused with it."

At the same time that we condemn nature worship, we must not let our zeal to avoid idolatry prevent us from our biblical call to care for all of creation. Indeed, one cannot fully worship the Creator and at the same time destroy His creation, which was brought into being to glorify him. Worshiping the Creator and caring for creation is all part of loving God. They are mutually reinforcing activities. It is actually unbiblical to set one against the other.

How are we to treat non-human creation? Are not people more important?

Our relationship to the rest of creation is to be based on God's relationship to it and how God wants us to behave towards it. The Bible proclaims that in the beginning God blessed the rest of creation and called it good (Gen. 1:20-25; 31). It exists to praise and glorify Him (e.g. Ps. 19:1-6). Christ sustains all of creation and died to reconcile all of creation to God (Heb. 1:3; Col 1:16, 20). In Christ's future Kingdom the rest of creation will be transformed into a new earth (Rev. 21:1). Thus, the Bible clearly teaches that God values the rest of creation tremendously.

At the same time the Bible also proclaims that human beings have a special role and a special responsibility in God's creation since they are created in God's image and have free will. Human beings are called to care for the rest of God's creation, not abuse or destroy it.

Good economic stewardship has a significant overlap with good environmental stewardship. God created us to depend on the rest of his creation for our material existence, for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the raw materials we use for everything else. Creation includes the natural environment, the built environment (including our houses and cities and economies), and all the creatures that depend on those environments. We’re charged with safeguarding the fruitfulness and productivity of creation for all its inhabitants, including people.

It is clear from Scripture that God plan and providence allow resources for people and for the rest of God’s creation. We are hard pressed to think of an irresolvable conflict between human needs and care for the rest of creation. The power of God's grace, combined with human creativity and intelligence and our responsibility to fulfill the task of creation-care, provides us with the capability to find peaceful resolutions to what appear to be serious unavoidable conflicts with the rest of creation. (There are clearly conflicts between unlimited human wants and careful stewardship of God’s creation.) Furthermore, environmental problems that harm the rest of creation usually harm human beings as well (e.g. air pollution). Thus, the task of creation-care is part of loving one's neighbor, loving what God loves, and therefore loving God.

What is the Evangelical Environmental Network, or EEN?

EEN is a biblically orthodox Christian non-profit organization. Our purpose is to declare the Lordship of Christ over all creation to the church and society-at-large in both word and deed. EEN is made up of both individual members who believe in and support our vital ministry and major evangelical organizations who work with EEN to implement creation-care projects appropriate to their ministries. EEN's Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation is our guiding faith and praxis statement.

What are some of EEN's accomplishments?

We highlight some of our recent activities on our Campaigns/Projects page.

What does EEN have to offer those who want to learn more about creation-care?

Since its founding EEN has produced and helped other prominent evangelical organizations such as World Vision and the International Bible Society produce and distribute biblical resources on creation-care. Our Resources page lists publications that can be ordered from EEN by calling 678-541-0747. Our Scriptures page has significant biblical texts on God's relationship to creation and how God wants us to live in relation to all of creation. EEN's Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation is an excellent starting point for serious reflection on creation-care. Finally, our magazine Creation Care is a wonderful resource. We'd be happy to send you a free copy. Sign up today. We also have back issues available on our Magazine page.

What does the EEN have to offer local churches?

EEN has an entire kit of materials entitled "Let the Earth Be Glad" especially designed to help local churches begin to explore a biblical approach to creation-care. A $50 value, we offer it for $10. Indeed, most of the items on our Resources page are for church use. On our Creation Sunday page we have materials to help a congregation set aside one Sunday annually to celebrate the Lord's creation. Our magazine, Creation Care, is also an excellent resource for congregations.

Besides these resources, EEN has a Small Groups ministry to help creation-care groups get started in churches.

My church has not considered creation-care before. What should I do?

Start where you find interest and build from there. Seek out other like-minded persons in your congregation and see if they would like to start a creation-care small group in the church. Show your minister(s) and important lay leaders this web site and the materials we have available. Have your small group suggest that the church observe a Creation Sunday to celebrate the Lord's creation. Check out our Small Groups Action Ideas page for more suggestions.

Can I join EEN?

Yes! We need your prayers, your creation-care efforts, and your financial support. Join us today! And please help us spread the word by telling someone about our ministry.

Where does EEN get its funding?

EEN relies significantly on contributions from individual members. Without the financial support we receive from individual contributors, EEN would soon cease to exist. Since it's founding EEN has also received grants from major philanthropic organizations (e.g. the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Nathan Cummings Foundation) to fund major projects.

How can I contact EEN?

EEN can be reached via email at een@creationcare.org by phone 678-541-0747, or by postal mail at

EEN
4485 Tench Road Suite 850
Suwanee, GA 30024

If you are ordering materials you may call 1-800-650-6600.