If Genesis is Not Static, Why Are Some of Our Creation Care Initiatives?

The beginning of every new year is subtle reminder of the various origin stories in scriptures through religious traditions. In the Book of Genesis, Christians are shown the manifestation of God's creation, one in which form is conceived, light and dark, the sea and land, of which humans are made to inhabit. More importantly, Christians are told that what God created is good. 

Our understanding of God's creation is often perceived as a static moment, locked away in the recesses of time. Here in lies the problem. God's creation is not something in the past, it is here and now, constantly evolving, moving and taking new shape. Genesis does not display God's creation as motionless, rather, it is something designed for humans to steward as Adam is charged with caring for the land in Genesis 2:15, one the first edicts given to humankind. 

As we embark on another year, we must rejoice in the creation God has given us, and continue our path to a postive future. As we move into what I assume will be another exciting year of creation care and climate action, we must continually challenge ourselves to care for His creation, not simply for the trees, ocean and mountains (though they are reason enough), we must care for one another. And caring for one another means maintaining those beautiful and life-giving aspects of creation. 

Let's make 2016 and even bigger year in climate action than ever before!


Caring For Our Earth

Evelmyn Ivens | Theoloqui 

Does it make a difference using reusable bags instead of plastics bags? Or not buying bottled water? Or being conscious about how long you take in the shower? Or recycling? I asked questions similar to these a while ago as I was trying to understand the link between the environment and my Christian living. I grew up in a place where there is an abundance of natural resources, where everything is green, where there are rivers, lagoons, beautiful beaches, oil, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables.  I always took for granted the creation that surrounded me.

Living in a country like the United States, where individualism and materialism are so embedded in our culture, we have forgotten about the rest of creation, the other living things, which we need to be conscious about. In the last couple of weeks climate change has been all over the news, and last week 195 countries signed to limit global warning of what is called the Paris Agreement. According to experts on the matter, even though this is a good start, there’s still much more to do. I feel that it is somewhat similar on how this issue/conversation it is happening in the church, in particular in the evangelical world. We finally, have come to an agreement that in fact there is a problem with global warming, however, there is still a lot to do. I can see this even happening with progressive evangelicals, when discussing about justice issues.  The conversation about creation care is still the least talked about. Even at places like CCDA we are still behind in that conversation.

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