CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE AND RESPONSE TO CREATION CARE:

A PRACTICAL APPROACH

A paper Presented at

7th Annual Sacred Earth Ministry Workshop

Ajayi Crowther University

December 2, 2014

by

Helen I. A. Oyekanmi

Baptist College of Theology, Oyo

08068717377

humankind 62@gmail.com

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Introduction

The Scenario:

In April 2009, this writer was travelling to

Accra in a luxurious Bus to complete an

assignment for two universities in Ghana. Inside

the Bus were two rubber dustbins to use for used

papers, nylons, wrappers and left over food. A

man seated beside me ate two cooked eggs and

dropped the shell under his feet. Shortly after

then he began to preach in the bus. He focused on

the holiness and clean life. I was trouble in my

mind because l had earlier called his attention

on the egg shells he did not put in the dustbin.

He frowned at my correction and said he paid for

the service that the conductor or the driver will

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clean up the bus after we come down. That may be

an attitude of ignorance or carefree.

On our way, we got to a very clean place

along the road as we entered Togo when one of the

passengers dropped her banana peel through the

window and our bus was stopped we were asked to

identify the person and dropped him/her for

interrogation. To my surprise, the man who called

himself assistant pastor of one of the notable

Pentecostal church in Nigeria did not show

himself as the offender. So we were delayed for

more than one hour until l walked to him and

talked to him in privacy to set us free by

telling the truth. He confessed and was asked to

pay a fine 5,000 ciphers; an equivalent of about

N1, 500 by then. He was also asked to sweep for

10 minutes or pay more. This may sound every

strange but l wish such will be the penalty for

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everyone and everywhere to teach persons lesson

on how to care for the environment and every

creation.

In the creation story, everything was in

perfect order, both human and animal creature and

other creations inform of plants, land and water

were rightly positioned. Man as God’s crown of

creation is put in charge of every other

creation. This then and now call for a

development of right attitude towards the

management of the creatures. This writer has

observed three major attitudes of man towards the

creation care. They are the attitude of

ignorance, attitudes of laziness and

carelessness. The problem this paper seeks to

solve is the provision of the required

information on appropriate attitude formation by

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Christians in order that they will positively

respond to the care of creations.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine

the understanding of the contemporary Nigerian

Christians towards creation care. And to identify

what should be their right responses to creation

care. There is need to foster a deep

understanding on changing attitude and initiation

of ideal responses to environmental related

issues as well as the need to fundamentally

address the crisis of value for the environment.

The Concept of Creation care

Creation care means caring for

everything God created including every micro-

organisms /common plants/weeds and lands by

stopping and preventing every activity that is

harmful to them and by participating in

activities that will promote their5

sustainability. It is the removing of every form

of abuse on physical and human social

environment. Merritt said, “If we are concerned

about the gospel, we should be concerned about

the environment”1

Creation Care Include the following Practices;

i. A total obedience to the creator. Human

beings have been instructed to care for the

rest of creation; this must be obeyed to

the letter. (Gen.1:28)

ii. Reinforcing communal and peaceful living.

Christians should be initiator as well as

executors of peaceful co-existence.

iii.Increase value for every item of creation.

E.g. pouring water on a goat or putting dog

food on mere floor is reducing their value.

After all, each of these play important

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role in the life of human. Animals should

be accord their own respect.

iv. Good environmental stewardship should be an

on going practice. Since man depend on

other creation for material existesnce, he

has to be cautious of how much care he

gives to them. Passing feaces inside the

farm, in uncompleted buildings or inside

the farm or asking domestic birds or dog to

eat up children feaces on the floor is bad

environmental stewardship.

v. Prevent and control every form of

pollution; air, water, noise, chemical,

gutter and so on.

vi. Prevent and control every form of abuse

such as gossip, blackmailing, instigating

fighting, sexual abuse, child abuse,

animal/plant abuse and so on.

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vii.Stop spreading unconfirmed rumous and make

solid plans to settle disputes among

children, adolescents, couples, families,

community and institutions.

viii. Mobilization of community members to do

environmental sanitation as regular as

possible and encourage the community or

local government to employ some people to

clean public places.

ix. Developing a great passion for the

aesthetic appearance of environment by

plant flowers at strategic places around

the houses and in the public places.

x. To stop been inattentive to the growing

threats facing the life of creation

Reduction of ignorance to the significance

of God’s creation.

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xi. Seek for and welcome knowledge of how

creations should be cared for.

In the light of the above, one or two

questions may be raised, are reasons why

creation care should be given important

concerns to? What is the biblical position on

the care of the creation to?

The Necessity for Creation Care and the Biblical

Position

From the biblical point of view, the

environment is God’s creation of which human,

animals and other creatures are part. So it must

well be cared for. Far more than this is God’s

attitude towards the care of his creation, he

took various steps to stop anything that will mar

the beauty of his creation. For instance; sin

pollution was dealt with and provision was made

to reconcile creation with the creator. (John9

3:16) Pollution hurts God while chemical and

industrial pollution hurt the poor. So Christ

came to help the situation of the environment.

His blood did the cleansing of sins and taught

man to take care of the poor, the needy and

fellow humans. (Mat. 25:37-40; Col. 1:20). This,

caring for the human creation became very

significant to Christians. In fact, witnessing

began with God and creation and not with Jesus

(Rom. 1). The Biblical truth is that, God loves

everything he has created3 (Psalm 145: 9, 13).

Beyond this is a general care for everything

God created. In the words of Terence Fretheim,

Holbert reinstated how effectively biblical

preachers should engage every opportunity to

preach on environmental issues3. It is a wider

concern that the universe at all times should

look healthy and praise worthy. This will show a

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gratitude to its creator. There is a concern of

on going current negative climatic change which

is caused by human activity. The negative impact

of human upon the universe and its inhabitant’s

added urgency to the need of developing

information strategy on the care of the creation.

Theologians in Nigeria should borrow leave from

Holbert commitment to the traditional biblical

interpretations to the contemporary environmental

care. 4 For example, Holbert wrote and teaches

from the chapters of Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs,

Hebrews and Revelation on the understating of

stewardship of creation and the use of earth

resources. In the concluding chapter of almost

one hundred and twenty pages book on

environmental issues. Holbert stressed that “It

is not too late for our conversion to become

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lovers and partners with God’s world. But we must

be honest; it is surely getting very late” 5

Another need for creation care arose from the

conviction expressed by the 9 (out of 57

religions leaders) Africans representative and

participants from Ghana, Democratic Republic

Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Togo, Malawi, Burundi

and Kenya at Lausanne Creation Care Consultation

held in Montego Bay, Jamaica.6 These 9

representatives from Africa excluding Nigeria had

opportunity to brainstorm together and review the

role of the church is playing as a key

stakeholder of creation care. 7 It was therefore

agreed to start mobilizing the church to

understand and own-up the issue of creation care.

This indicate that, Nigerian Christians and

church leaders counter parts should hasten action

towards national transformation issues.

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Fortunately Rev. Prof. Yusuf Turaki was able to

organize the Nigerian Lausanne Congress in

October 2013 where conscious response to the

challenging’s issues of national transformation

were drawn. At the congress 13 issues of concern

were diligently addressed. Among them were

pertinent issue on the role of the church in

values stewardship and Wealth Creation as well as

the need for a definite proactive response to

agenda for authentic national transformation.

Other related issues discussed focused on

commitment to national unity, global

evangelization and reduction of violence and

conflict in the society.8

Further necessary actions could be taken on

collaboration efforts to make things work for man

and environmental reconciliation. What marvels

this writer most is the carefree attitude to

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man’s last room. Large number of humans care-less

for where he/she will sleep at death. man has

been repeatedly reminded of where he will return

to “… till you return unto the ground; for out of

it you were taken; for dust you are, and unto

dust shall you return” (Gen 3: 19; Psalm 104:29

and Eccle. 12:7) The mother-Earth deserves a

respectful care, for instance; hoeing, weeding,

sweeping and tidying once environment especially

the ground should be done in a mutual efforts.

The Landlords associations of each community

should see the need to make provision for public

toilet facilities and ensure that each house has

toilet, bathrooms and refuse disposals.

The situation that surround both rural and

urban setting as regards amenities for waste

disposal is not too good. For example; 68

students of my college and l went round in March

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2014 to count the number of houses without toilet

and other disposals in four areas not far from

the college. It was amazing to find that out of

more than 485 houses we entered in 3 days (within

2 weeks) only about 273 have toilet and well for

clean water. 16 were under construction while

others use either using the small uncut bush

behind their neighbours building, or use

uncompleted buildings around them or put feaces

in the black nylon and throw them along the path

or just on the mere floor at the back of

somebody’s house which may be the front of

another persons’ house. Some of the landlords

were approached. But some gave excuses while some

didn’t attach any importance to sewage or refuse

disposal. People throw any used papers, plastics,

tins of milk, and nylons anywhere without second

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thought. I was furious, even the literate are the

worst of them.

The most unfortunate part of the story is

that some nurses and the hygiene offices are

living in the same areas as well as many private

hospitals flourish in these areas. When then are

we going to start doing the right thing to our

environment? On this, Ghanakan reinstating the

UN’s Millennium Development. Goals (MDGS) said

most of the people in developing countries do not

have access to safe sanitary systems. Water

supply and sanitation are cornerstones of public

health as well as social and economic wellbeing.

Unfortunately again; “Sanitation receives less

priority during planning, policymaking, budgeting

and implementation”9

There is no doubt a greater need to reduce

environmental crisis which is causing a great

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damage to relationships and creation normal

existence. This writer visited a family of a

retired pastor who is doing a little farming to

sustain the family immediate needs before his

meager pension will arrive. The yam he has

labored on did not yield much. They are tiny and

ugly. When he was asked what happen; he and his

wife chorused the answer, “Hun? Ile ti sa” means

the ground can no more yield good harvest. What

can they do? This confirm the urgent need for a

way out. The rich may not feel it much now, but

it will soon reach them. Gnanaka said three areas

are critical to human and animal existence: food,

energy and water, he therefore called for a

“dedicated plan of action” to cater for these

three factors.10

Caring for creation will provide answers for

how environmental goods and services increase the

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welfare of societies. It will also help man to

manage environmental resources available to him

at a time. Creation caring will ensure the market

capacity and politices successes as well as

examine failures when they occur. At longer last

creation care helps man to sustain development.

What then has been Christian attitudes to

creation care?

The Factor of Attitude

The remarkable teaching on the creation story

is well-known to the followers of Jesus Christ.

This teaching include that God after the creation

of everything made man to be responsible for its

care. (Colossians 1:15-20; Gen 2:15) Christians

are therefore called upon to exhibit their

dominion but rightly put value to each of the

creation. To Calving as far as 1554, man should

be responsible for earth care and its keeping,

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not neglecting, injuring, abusing or ruin the

earth. 11

However, Christians attitude toward creation

care has not been encouraging at all. Even though

their attitude is not different from others who

are not Christians, but this writer’s expectation

is initiated by the over whelming teachings that

have already been going on to expose Christians

to their stewardship roles towards the creation

and environment and which have not yielded the

expected results.

Christians attitudes to creation care have

been so cruel, crude, savage, vicious, brutal,

wanton, butcherly, atrocious, barbaric fenoaus,

fiendish, harsh and catty. Instead of been

tender, warm, pacific, peaceable, compassionate,

agreeable aesthetic and sustainable. For

instance, there are attitude of neglect, attitude of

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laziness, attitude of ingratude, attitude of disgrace, attitude of

insanity dirtiness, pollution, selfishness, loitering, poor

maintenance, degradation, deforestation, toxification,

alteration, and many more.

Many atimes, Christians don’t remember that

the earth is the Lord (Psalm 24) which must be

preserved. For instance Egunjobi gave example of

Ibadan where, pit latrines are dug side by side

with hand-dug wells without consideration for

environmental pollution and human health. While

this may not be from Christians alone, they

contribute to it. This writer is mediating peace

recently between two families in Oyo (Cele-Winner

area). Both families are Christians and in fact

ministers of the gospel. The pastor dug a well

where many people come to fetch drinkable water.

It was year after, when his neighbor who is a

prophetess dug her toilet beside the well. And

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despite the struggle of the pastor to correct

this abnormality the prophetess refuse to yield,

claiming her right to her land. What sort of in

human behavior?

According to Ajayi, human settlements should

offer their inhabitants every opportunity to

maximize their welfare”12 This is not to suggest

that only Christians lack waste management

strategies but they can be good examples in the

reduction of pollution and value crisis. They

should safeguard healthy environment.

Other carefree attitude is showing in the

lack of consideration to hazard causing by noise

pollution generating from religious activities.

Both Christians and Muslims are now competing the

use of public address systems in a very noisy

manner. A congregation of not more than hundred

using highly powered electronic systems with

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giant speakers even during the night vigils

organized by Christian churches. The funny thing

is that their Muslims counterpart are making the

use of high-level electronic gadgets and

expensive musical equipment’s priority not only

during the day, but at night. It is now a big cut

throat competition in the bid to outdo each other

in respect of the struggle for converts. Noise is

no more limited to the in-house church or mosque.

In fact some speakers are placed outside and many

of them are very close to the hospitals.

Unfortunately, there is no layout in the

house- plan of most of the Nigerian towns and

cities. On the same street and very close to each

other are hospitals, petrol stations, block

industries, plastic factories, mechanic shops,

residential, poultry/pig firms and so on. Noise

pollution on humans have led to loss of hearing,

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cardiovascular diseases, poor cognitive function,

sleep disturbances trouble communicating and

mental health problems.13 On the part of animals,

noise pollution has made the earth an

uncomfortable place to stay for them. Hearing

loss and rapid increase in heart beat rate are

some of the ill-effects of noise pollution on

animals. Churches are worse in the production of

hazardous noise leading to serious ill-health and

untimely death of some individuals. This attitude

has to stop or must be addressed. The question

is, who will address it? Christians should

develop attitude that will build a better society

that is devoid of rancor and pollution. Even,

evangelism should be done in a way that will be

positively and ethically acceptable. Alana and

Abok were of the opinion that Christian

Association of Nigeria as one of the pressure

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groups on some critical situations in the

country should do “a sort of self examination and

they should be humble and humane to acknowledge

the absurdity of Mosques and Churches being

involved in noise pollution”14And do something

about it.

In some further practical examples.

Christians care free attitude towards creation

care take its root from upbringing, parenting,

family relationships, home and compound cleaning.

It may sound ridiculous that this writer has to

mention that the bad attitude might have been

initiated from home. For instance, putting used

and wet towels on the bed, teeth brushing with

sticks (pako) done in and around the kitchen,

splitting through the parlous or rooms windows,

throwing phlegm infront of the house, urinating

beside the bedroom walls or on flowers, putting

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refuse on mere floor beside the house on another

person’s land and so on. This various awkward

attitude initiation to the public behavior will

stop the physical and social environment will be

duely cared for. It should therefore be remarked

here that major ecological challenges within the

universe today are consequences of bad attitude

of man towards environment. What then should be

Christians response to creation care?

Christian Responses to Creation Care

A lot have been said on man’s recognition of

his ‘Imajo Dei’ nature and some Christians are

responding positively to this by keeping the

flock of God and respecting fellow human beings

regardless of their status, races, culture and

tribes. Efforts have been made by some Christian

organization to foster humanitarian services than

ever before to the extent that, the destitute,

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the sick, the underprivileged the orphans and

people with disabilities have places to go. They

can also flourish in their own chosen career.

However, the provisions made are not enough to go

round. Many Christians are still not contributing

to the care organizations for fellow human. And

on the care for the physical environment little

has been achieved.

According to Peterson and Harris, creation

care should be responded to naturally. To them

Christians need no training or much preaching or

teaching before they should do the right thing to

the environment and the creatures in them.15 But

there are lot of things about the creation care

the individual, family or group of persons may

not be exposed to about the care. For instance,

taking care of the poultry faeces and left over,

gardening and its harvest or preservation of

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fruits and other food items in their raw status

or cooked. To some children, once you sweep in

the morning, don’t weeping again until the

following morning. Whereas, sweeping should be

done as soon as the floor is dirty, unless, one

is not around on the spot. So Christians response

should be in obedience to the biblical

instruction. (Gen. 2:15). As followers of Christ,

full commitment must be accorded ecological

welfare and problems. Every creation must be

cherished and nurtured by Christians.

There should be a rethink in our stewardship

of creation. A rethink that generate from

repentance. Christians should respond by

confessing every form of pollution, distortion

and destruction of the creation. In sharing good

news and in reconciling fellow men to God, proper

care must be given the environment where man

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lives, work, play, worship God, grow and

developed. Christians should in a nutshell

positively and aggressively respond to

restoration of the groaning creation into

their proper status

Protection of every habitants physical and

human

Honouring and helping children activities to

grow in positive dimensions.

Bear and nurture few numbers of children that

one can conveniently catered for.

Stop down grading fellow human beings and

environmental degrading.

Raise a commitment to poverty and damaging

reduction

Resist all ideologies and preachings which

presume that the gospel has nothing to do

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with the care of environment and other

creation

Respond to biblical principles, teaching,

public policies and instructions on how

creations should be cared for. The cosmos in

all its beauty, wildness and the life-giving

bounty are the prudent work of personal and

loving creator16 (Gen. 1:31; 9:9-17; Job

39:41; Col. 1:20

Recommendations and Conclusion

Each Local Government authority and church

leaders should enforce laws on animals and

environmental up keep.

Church leaders should periodically remind

owners of domestic animals to make houses for

them or cage them. While local government

officers incharge should go round time to

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time to give warning and locate offenders or

rule brakers.

A group of Christians can take the lead in

teaching and living the care by changing

consumption and throwing behaviours. Such

things as reduce street meal, clean their own

environment, build toilets and cenerators,

strategically placed dustbins in churches,

schools, streets, packs/garages, gates and

waiting rooms.

Christian families, institutions, hospitals

and schools should paste information in large

print about creation care wherever people can

read them. Flyers can read such as”Please

Sweep Me” (with the picture of a woman

sweeping). Another may be ‘Please Pick Me,

‘Please Throw Me’ Please Use Me (beside a

dustbin) and so on.

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Christian parents and pastors should teach

their children and members respectively on

how to consume carefully and less. The rate

of eating street foods and snacks item in the

papers and nylons should reduce.

Christian churches should celebrate the

beauty, the design and the complexity of the

environment they belong by putting flowers,

colourful decorations and stickers with care

messages not only at Christmas but as well on

quarterly basis.

Christians cell groups should give award to

the families whose environment are kept neat

and beautiful as they visit homes.

Christian organizations and institutions

should sponsor training workshops and

seminars on creation care, environmental

sanitation, gardening and so on.

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Conclusively every man, woman, youth and

children, created in God’s image have unique

responsibility to creation. Christian should take

the lead in providing actions and responses that

will sustain the creations fruitfulness, beauty

and preserve creational testimony to their

creator.

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End Note

1J. Merritt, “Creation Care: As Much as God Is” Christianity

Today June 2010:1

2D. Ohiman, “21 Reasons that Evangelical Don’t Get”

Creation Care 2011:1

3J. C. Holbert, “Preaching Creation: the Environment andthe Pulpit” The Preacher Scotland: Cascade Books, 2011:1

4Ibid, 2

5Ibid, 3

6S. Wambua, “A Response to God’s Call for EnvironmentalStewardship” Kenya: CMS Africa 2012.

7Lausanne Creation Care Consultation Montego Bay, JamaicaReport. October 29 – Nov 2, 2012: 3.

8M. Makinde, “Nigeria Lausanne 2013| Abuja: Media and

Communications. 2013:8.

9Gnanakan, “ECO-TOILET” The Challenge We Face” Theology of

Creation and Environment Faniran, Adetoye ed. ICHE. Bangalore:

TBT, 2013: 309.

10Ibid, 3.

11L. Egunjobi, “Our Gasping Cities” An Inaugural Lecturedelivered at the University of Ibadan. October 21, 1999: 4.

12B. Ajayi, Perspectives on Urban and Regional Planning in Nigeria.Ibadan: Penhouse Public (Nigeria), 2013:285.

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13en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/noise-pollution. Accessed

November 2, 2014.

14O. E. Alana and T. A. Abok, “Dissecting Religious Noise Pollutionin the Nigerian Pluralistic Society” Religion Vol. 23 (1) 20.

15A. Crouch, “The Joyful Environmentalist: Eugene Petersonand Peter Harris Christianity Today. June 2011.

“Mercury and the Unborn Climate and the vulnerable”Evangelical and Environment . June 2012: 4 & 7.

16E. A. Odumuyiwa, “Christianity Governance anddevelopment: A Case Study of Nigeria in the 21st Century” Religion Governanceand Development NASR 2006: 211.

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