Protestant Christianity and the Bible as Wisdom for Earth Environmental Stewardship

Abstract

Since the 1967, after Lynn White Jr.´s seminal article in science, entitled “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis,” Christianity has received academic and popular criticism, for having, supposedly, served as a major driver for our current ecological crisis. Contrary to White´s negative historical account of the role of Christianity in environmental affairs, in this article, I offer a rebuttal by stressing that, actually, Christianity is a major source of wisdom towards building a more sustainable Earth stewardship. White´s biggest mistake was not telling apart what Christianity teaches from what self-ascribed Christians think and do about the environment. Christianity itself explains this paradox: People’s right and wrong doings are solely the result of their own choices and flaws due to sin, and not because Judeo-Christian traditions or the Bible lack values and principles that are benevolent to the environment. In conclusion, White´s views on the interplay between Christianity and Ecology are fundamentally mistaken, mainly for his lack (or dismissal) of a deeper knowledge of biblical principles for environmental stewardship.

Keywords

• Christianity and ecology
• Bible and ecology
• Lynn White Jr.
• loving dominion
• caring for nature
• stewardship