Environmentalism - A Christian Imperative?

Environmentalism should be a Christian value because we are supposed to be stewards of the Earth. I think the Bible is a tool to look through and see God's message and not a literal interpretation of exactly what happened. If God was in favor of the Spotted Owl, then I wasn't on the wrong side of the fence. People can be retrained and make choices. It is unfortunate our choices endanger other living things. I think this is an excellent question that I will continue to think about...not something to be quickly answer (like I just did)

You have some very interesting perspectives there!

Environmentalism ideally is a Christian concern, and it comes from the book of Genesis. In Gen 1:28, we are instructed to 'be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it." to have dominion over it... God looked at everything he had made and found it very good. Now some people understand this as being selfishly exploitative, but others understand the word 'subdue' as like, when we trim bushes, pull weeds, water the garden, rescue animals from floods and fire, and generally keep things from getting out of control.

In Gen 2:15, "The Lord, God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it." Well, we know what happened there. Instead of cultivating and caring for it they went and focussed on the forbidden fruit and got kicked out.

So it is there, and some of the greatest saints are famous for their relationships with nature and animals, like St Francis of Assissi.

jewel flower is correct. would anyone who is a sinner such as adultery (for it was sin that was the downfall of adults and if they lived to teach their bad on the children then what god did was a waist of time. that happens to have kids be allowed on the ark just because the kids are innocent.also being a mother i don't think i could raise 100's of children and have to be worried of death for being the adult saved and not their parents. how do you know if animals that didn't make it also had free will to say no and didn't get saved(unicorns for example is mentioned in the bible, but none exist now) yes we should preserve the animals no matter how dangerous they are or deadly, for each animal has its purpose. he saved a family and 2 of each specifies to preserve life. to start over

Environment is a great concern of Christians, as well as most people, and I'm sure we need to cut down more trees, after all they are pretty useless, just because they help stop erosion, and convert carbon monoxide to oxygen, or give us a cool place to set out of the sun. of course if we were really interested in the environment we would walk more and drive less.

Yes, care for God's creation is a Christian value.

One of the major themes of Catholic Social Teaching is Stewardship of God's Creation

"The goods of the earth are gifts from God, and they are intended by God for the benefit of everyone. There is a "social mortgage" that guides our use of the world's goods, and we have a responsibility to care for these goods as stewards and trustees, not as mere consumers and users. How we treat the environment is a measure of our stewardship, a sign of our respect for the Creator."

You can read all of the themse of Catholic Social Teaching at http://www.osjspm.org/major_themes.aspx

Yes, but not for the reason you stated. The real reason should be that God commanded us to be "environmentalists". He told Adam and Eve that he is entrusting all creation to them. The environment is a gift that God gave us to take care of.

All people have been charged to care for the earth and its flora and fauna.

God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them

reflecting our nature

So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,

the birds in the air, the cattle,

And, yes, Earth itself,

and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."

God created human beings;

he created them godlike,

Reflecting God's nature.

He created them male and female.

God blessed them:

"Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!

Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,

for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

Then God said, "I've given you

every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth

And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,

given them to you for food.

To all animals and all birds,

everything that moves and breathes,

I give whatever grows out of the ground for food."

And there it was.

Gen 1:26-30

That to me means that as a Christian, I should be looking at alternate energy sources rather then oil and coal that destroys the earth. I should be using reusable bags when shopping. I should not abuse animals. And there is much more...

I think many Christians get lazy with this one.

If you can't take care of your environment, Why would a God what you in his palace or heaven, cause then you'll do the same thing there to, until one create good environmental habits.

The Bible does say that when babies and innocent toddlers die, they will be returned.

And yes Noah preached to everybody, and they didn't believe it would rain.

Yes it should be a christian value, but it's not. Only pagan or earth based religions care what happens to mother earth.