"Will we run out of food, water, or room?"

This week, we have been examining the issue of the environment. Specifically, we are asking and answering two questions. And the two questions are “What policy would Jesus promote when it comes to the issue of the environment? And what would Jesus say we should do as a country about the care and concern for the environment?”

Yesterday, we examined the current discussion in our country when it comes to the issue of the environment. At one end of the conversation when it comes to the issue of environment are politicians and others who advocate environmental protectionist policies and are referred to as environmentalists. Environmentalism advocates the lawful preservation, restoration and/or improvement of the natural environment, in an attempt to control pollution or protect plant and animal diversity.

On the other end of the conversation when it comes to the issue of the environment would be politicians and others who are often referred to, for a lack of a better word, as anti-environmentalists. There are politicians, who would be viewed in our culture as being on “the right”, who reject some aspects of environmentalism for economic reasons, and focus on job creation, wage enhancement, and industry. Other politicians reject some aspects of environmentalism by arguing that the Earth is not as fragile as some environmentalists maintain.

We then began to look at what the message and teachings of Jesus have to say when it comes to the issue of the environment. In Genesis 1:26-31, we discovered that God created humanity to be responsible and to be His representative here on earth. We have been divinely designed to live in relationship with God and one another and have been given responsibility to rule over the earth as His representative here on earth.

We discovered that not every creature on the earth is of equal value and worth in God's sight. While God cares for all of the creation, only humanity has been created in the image of God.  The letters that make up the Bible teach us that humanity has been given a special place within creation above every other aspect of creation. God's Divine design is for humanity to have the responsibility to gain mastery over the resources of the earth for the flourishing of the earth and all of the creatures that live on the earth.

And to be in a position to represent God all over the earth and fulfill the responsibility we have been given to gain mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth, humanity was commanded to populate the earth. In verses 29-30, we see God follow up His command to populate the earth by providing humanity the necessary resources to populate the earth.

A natural question or objection that could arise here is "Well Dave, what about the issue of overpopulation? I mean we can't seem to be able to feed the people who are already here on earth. Shouldn't we be trying to decrease population?" This is actually the position of many in the environmental movement. Many in the environmental movement promote policies of population control with the belief that the planet is unable to sustain such a population. But this morning, is that the case? Are we in danger of overpopulating the planet?

First, from a purely Biblical perspective, do you think that God would command humanity to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, if the earth would not be able to provide the necessary resources to fulfill such a command? You see, the basis behind God's command is that the earth was created with all the resources necessary to be developed in such a way that the  earth would benefit from the development of those resources. The command "be fruitful and multiply" means that the spread of human population over the earth can be done without harming the earth.

Now a natural reaction at this point would be to say "Well Dave that is just fundamentalist Christian nonscientific thinking. That is just church mumbo jumbo talk without any science to back it." If you are here and those objections are running though your mind, I would point you to the book "The skeptical environmentalist", by Bjorn Lomborg, which evaluates and addresses the scientific claims behind the radical environmental movement.

For example, when it comes to the question, "Will we run out of room?" Lomborg points out that the rapid increase in population that began in the 20th century is already slowing down and is predicted to end at a world population of around 11 billion people in 2200. And in many parts of the world, such as Western Europe, the population is actually already declining. This occurs because as nations increase in wealth, their birth rates decline. As a matter of fact, this principle has been seen throughout history.

When it comes to the question "Will we run out of food?" Lomborg points out that we currently grow crops on less than 1/3 of the earth’s arable land. The term arable land refers to land that can produce acceptable food crops. In addition, food produced per acre has increased dramatically in the last 60 years. And, while there are people in the world who are still struggling with starvation, the percentage of people who are starving has dropped from 35 % to 12% in the last 40 years.

When it comes to the question "What about water?" Lomborg points out that the percentage of people in developing countries with access to clean drinking water has increased for 30% in 1770 to 80% in 2000. In addition, despite the claim of some environmentalists, the issue isn’t if there is enough water; the issue is access to water. Lomborg points out that we use less than 17% of the annual renewable water on earth. So, from a scientific point of view, we see reinforced the reality that the earth has abundant resources that are able to be developed and the earth would benefit from man’s development of these resources for human flourishing.

However, to achieve mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth does not mean that humanity can exploit the earth's resources in a way the hinders or hurts the earth. To gain mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth does not mean that humanity and governments can implement policies when it comes to the environment that threaten the flourishing of the earth and all of the creatures that live on the earth.

The reason that I can say that with such emphasis is because of what God had to say when it came to how humanity was to gain mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth. You see, just one chapter later, in Genesis 2:15, we see God unpack the responsibility that He gave humanity when it came to gaining mastery over the earth and the all of the creatures that live on the earth.

Friday, we will unpack that responsibility...