In last month’s Carillon (the monthly newsletter of St John’s UCC in Dover, OH) I began a series of articles about Biblical Justice. In that article I mentioned that Biblical Justice includes at least five different forms of justice. Last month I wrote about “Social Justice.” This month I am writing about another of the forms of Biblical Justice – “Eco-Justice.” Just as we cannot fully understand Biblical Justice without considering “Social Justice,” we cannot fully appreciate Biblical Justice without including “Eco-Justice.”
I will ask the same three questions about Eco-Justice we explored last month about social Justice: A) What do I mean by the phrase Eco-Justice? B) What does the Bible say about Eco-Justice? C) What is the United Church of Christ’s stand on Eco-Justice?
What do I mean by the word Eco-Justice?
We all know that God craves justice for all human beings. But we, human beings, are part of a larger creation than just humanity. God craves justice for the whole of creation. Eco-Justice is that part of Biblical Justice that pertains to the home God has created for us and for all other living things in the garden in which God’s has placed us. Another phrase for Eco-Justice is environmental justice.
Eco-Justice is about access to, control over and distribution of the resources of the earth in order that all of God’s creatures may enjoy life to the fullest extent possible. Human beings, whether acting as individuals or the whole of humanity, are simply not to act in such a way that their pursuit of life’s extravagant pleasures exploits other people or any other part of God’s creation.
So, you ask, what does the ecology have to do with justice? Well, one of my seminary professors described Original Sin as “humanity’s perpetual propensity to mess things up.” And so it is. When it comes to finding and using the resources of the earth, both natural resources and living creatures, humanity has a perpetual propensity to act unjustly.
We fight wars over oil and other sources of energy. We enjoy the bounties of creation far beyond what we need in order to enjoy life while others on this globe die for lack of food, clean air, adequate clothing and water for bathing, cooking and drinking. We displace whole communities of the politically powerless and voiceless poor in order to build dams, mine coal and store nuclear waste. We claim ⅕ of the world’s freshwater that is stored in the Great Lakes as if it belongs to us and not to all of God’s creatures. We irrigate and draw down water tables that everyone needs to provide the corn that provides the corn syrup that sweetens our Coke’s and Pepsi’s. My professor was right. Humanity has a perpetual propensity to mess things up.
Eco-Justice then has to do with how we view the earth and all that it contains. Has God provided it only for some of us? — Or for all of his creatures? How do we access, control and distribute the earth’s natural resources so that all of God’s creatures may enjoy earth’s bounty? That is the question posed by Eco-Justice.
What does the Bible say about Eco-Justice?
Let’s briefly look at five passages from both the Old and New Testaments: the creation, manna in the wilderness, stewardship of creation, fishing in the sea of Galilee, and the feeding of the five thousand.
The Creation.
For centuries Christians and Jews have read the opening of the book of Genesis and concluded that God gave human beings the authority to exploit the earth and dominate all all other forms of life. “… let them have dominion over … every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” – Genesis 1:26. We have taken this verse as license to exploit and use, abuse and consume God’s creation.
Take notice of the instruction in Genesis chapter 2, the second creation story: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” – Genesis 2:15. We are not to use, abuse and consume the earth’s bounty. We are to view the earth as a garden that needs tender loving care and nurture. To exercise “dominion” is to rule gently and wisely with care and concern that all of God’s people. That’s Eco-Justice.
Manna in the wilderness.
We are all familiar with the story of Manna from heaven. But we often skim over or ignore the instructions that came with that Manna: “gather as much of it is each of you needs, … They gathered as much as each of them needed.” – Exodus 16:16,17. God provides enough bread for everyone if everyone takes only what they need. That’s Eco-Justice.
Stewardship of Creation.
The Psalmist prays: “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” – Psalm 24:1. Humanity does not own the earth. We are not free to do anything we want with it. The earth is God’s possession and we are God’s stewards, given the responsibility to hold the “earth and all that is in it” as a sacred trust. We are to manage the earth, our home, our environment as God would manage it. That’s Eco-Justice.
Fishing in the sea of Galilee.
After a long night without catching any fish, Jesus said to Simon, “put out into the deep water and let your nets down for a catch.” “When they had done this they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.” – Luke 5:3,4. This is not a mere miracle performed by Jesus. This is a profound statement about our relationship with the earth.
You see, Herod claimed the fish in the sea as the property of Rome. He taxed every fish taken from the sea. After paying the tax and feeding their families, Simon and the others seldom had anything left to earn a living. But, Jesus’ instruction teaches us that the fish do not belong to Rome. The tax is unjust when Herod lives in luxury while the peasants are forced into abject poverty. That’s Eco-Justice.
The feeding of the five thousand.
We all know the story of loaves and fishes. It is the only miracle to appear in all four gospels. (Mt 14:13-21, Mk 6:31-44, Lk 9:10-17, Jn 6:1-13) Among other things, the story screams at us about the abundance of God’s creation and its availability to all of God’s people. “Take what you have found, take what is available to you,” Jesus tells the disciples, “and share it. There is more than enough in God’s creation for everyone to eat.” That’s Eco-Justice.
What is the United Church of Christ Stand on Eco-Justice?
The UCC has been an advocate for conservation, ecology, environmental issues and Eco-Justice since its founding in 1957. For more than half a century the UCC has provided public advocacy, developed and supported Eco-Justice programs both at home and abroad and created and provided resources to local congregations. Stewardship of Creation became one of five national priorities in the late 90’s. All of this has been done under the guidance and direction of the General Synod. The Synod is composed of 700 local church members (both clergy and lay) who are elected to represent UCC Conferences. For more information about the UCC stand on Eco-Justice, visit the web at www.ucc.org/environmental-ministries.
The UCC is also a participating sponsor of Eco-Justice Ministries, an independent, ecumenical agency that helps churches answer the call to care for all of God’s creation, and develop ministries that are faithful, relevant and effective in working toward social justice and environmental sustainability. See www.eco-justice.org for more information.
D Gene Kraus 