CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE AND RESPONSE TO CREATION CARE: A PRACTICAL APPROACH
Transcript of CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE AND RESPONSE TO CREATION CARE: A PRACTICAL APPROACH
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 [email protected]
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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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