Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

Going Green: 'To cultivate and to keep'
Marin Christians are putting the 'eco' back in ecclesiastical

by Jordan E. Rosenfeld

'God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.—Genesis 1:28

In the face of mounting scientific evidence that global warming is a ticking time bomb urging humanity to "act now" in the face of disaster, a surprising faction in Marin and across the U.S. is making a sudden about-face and getting on the environmental bandwagon—conservative Christians.

The Biblical scripture that says humankind has "dominion" over all living things (Genesis 1:28) and nature (Genesis 2:15)—often interpreted to mean that man is king of the natural food chain and can therefore do as he pleases—is undergoing reinterpretation. Many Christians feel that a few bad seeds on the conservative end of the continuum have made Christianity as a whole look uncaring about the environment. And they're striving to change that.

In a surprise move, even Pope Benedict XVI recently declared "polluting the environment" to be a newly qualified sin that modern Catholics must avoid.

Marin Christian congregations have begun to adopt "green" messages, activities and attitudes that share a similar passion and grass-roots sense of organization with other environmental movements, but which stem from a place of religious duty rather than practical urgency.

The Bay Marin Evangelical Church of Marin recently held a series of talks it called "God is Green," led by pastor David Cobia, with topics such as "The Green Samaritan" and "Serve God and Save the Planet." Cobia says that the impetus for this series arose predominantly from a sense that caring for the environment was a missing component in their religious practice. "It's very much a part of the Christian faith to care for creation," he says. "It's a stereotype that all evangelicals believe that global warming isn't real."

Even global warrior Al Gore, according to a recent 60 Minutes segment, has invested his personal millions in launching a new advertising campaign reframing the global warming crisis as a "moral" issue, and bringing religious leaders like Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton together to rally people from a new center.

Cobia, who is also author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Evangelical Christianity, says that his congregation is part of a new movement with evangelicalism called "the emerging church," which invests itself more in social issues and strives less to interpret Biblical scripture in favor of simply taking Jesus' teachings at face value. "We don't take the Bible literally, we take it seriously."

Which brings him around to the idea of dominion.

"There is some bad Christian theology out there. There are people who would say that dominion over the earth means it is our job to produce and consume. When you actually look at the text in Genesis, the words that are used around caring for creation are more lined up with 'to protect and to serve.'"

Cobia says that some members of his congregation were at first a bit leery that he was taking a political stance by discussing environmentalism, which can often end up being a divisive, even partisan, issue. But they were soon won over. "There are lots of things that the emerging church movement of evangelicalism is concerned with that are thought of as traditionally 'left' issues, such as poverty and consumerism," says Cobia. "We're just helping people be aware of the impact of the choices they make."

Driving the environmental message home most successfully, he says, requires taking the viewpoint that it is part of a good Christian's spiritual path to do so. "One thing that has kept evangelicals from engagement [in environmentalism] is skepticism about whether or not we can make a difference. Does recycling your plastic in the long run make a difference? From a spiritual perspective, we believe it does," he says. "But even if not, you do it because that's what you're supposed to do. There's an obedience issue here; we obey God for all sorts of reasons we don't understand."

One of the main areas of concern he stresses is that consumerism has a negative effect on one's spiritual life as well as the planet. "One way to love your neighbor is not to buy things you don't need," Cobia says. Like any other environmental group, they offer tips ranging from buying local food to using compact fluorescent lights, but the most important point he stresses: if his flock does nothing else, incorporate a "weekly Sabbath."

"Sabbath crosses a lot of religious lines, not just Christian ones," Cobia says. "The idea is deeply connected to sustainability—you don't try to overproduce from the resources you personally have. If we would all Sabbath as a habit, we would probably see consumerism go down, see less of a drive toward overproduction, the planet would get to rest and we would, too."

Though evangelicals might wave the most conservative flag of any Christians in Marin, many other local congregations are rising to the green challenge.

Sausalito Presbyterian Church has formed a group it calls "the green team," which organizes—and sends out to the congregation—a weekly newsletter full of green tips.

Alice Cochrane, a member of the green team and the church's board of directors says, "It takes only a few people to start something. It doesn't have to take a board of directors; a small group can have a gentle influence. If every church, temple and synagogue in the country did it, we would have a big impact."

Reverend Nancy Wiens is a Presbyterian minister who teaches a class titled "Spirit of the Earth," a Christian approach to nature, at Dominican University. She feels that the sheer manpower and spirit of charity within the Christian community is actually necessary to make truly large global changes in the environmental crisis.

"I think there's a wonderful movement between what science is telling us and what our faith experiences are telling us," Wiens says. "The evidence is piling up in the scientific community, and there are increasing numbers of religious groups that are open to understanding that [the scientific evidence] is not in opposition to God's revealed truth in scripture, but is information for how to work together. The more there can be a dialogue between science and theology, the more progress we're going to make."

Wiens is taking part in an upcoming public forum called "Sustainable Practices in Marin Congregations," a joint forum by MarinLink, Marin Interfaith Council and Dominican University, to be held at San Rafael First Presbyterian Church on May 6 at 7pm.

Reverend Carol Hovis, executive director of the Marin Interfaith Council, feels that despite the negative press on conservative Christians and their environmental openness, there is an existing synergy between Christians and the caretaking of nature.

"For many religious people it is not a stretch to be green," Hovis says.

She also says she has great faith in the awakening green consciousness of more conservative churches. In particular, she cites The Renewal Project, a documentary that is making national headlines. The film follows Southern Baptists in Appalachia who visit a clear-top mining operation that is devastating to nature and surrounding communities. "This powerful film is about them having a conversion experience to becoming environmentalists," she says.

Wiens, who has also seen the documentary, finds herself heartened by the fact that more conservative Christians are starting to listen to the science and take action. "As Martin Luther King Jr. said, we can use laws to desegregate, but we can't use laws to integrate. Integration is a movement of the heart and that's where the work of religious organization comes in. It's going to take the deep traditions of faith to encourage people to make those changes on the magnitude that we need to make them."

David Cobia feels that evangelical churches have a real opportunity to spread the green movement exponentially from a place of religious duty. "Evangelicals are late to the party, so what we have to do is say, 'Sorry we're late, but guess what, we're ready to engage.' God loves creation as well as He loves us. There's real power in folks recognizing that."