Evangelical Environmentalism: Oxymoron or Opportunity?
Please come to the Institute for the Theology of Culture: New Wine, New Wineskins' environmental conference on Saturday, November 1st, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The title of the conference is "Evangelical Environmentalism: Oxymoron or Opportunity?" Why this title? A friend of mine was sharing his passion for the environment at an evangelical retreat when someone replied suspiciously, "Evangelicals and the environment – isn't that an oxymoron?" Too often, Evangelicals do not see the Gospel as having any constructive bearing on the environment.
Can Evangelicals and environmentalism go together? Why are non-Christians so often more concerned about God's creation than we are as Christians? Shouldn't we take our rightful place alongside others as God's stewards of creation? On the environmental continuum where one extreme is "Why save it when you can pave it" and the other extreme is made up of radicals ready to blow up lumber mills, where do Evangelicals fit? Are there other options available to us beyond these extremes? Indeed, there are. That's what this conference is all about.
The aim of the conference is to help people come to a deeper understanding of God's concern for the environment, especially as it relates to the Gospel of Christ's kingdom. What is the biblical mandate for global stewardship? What is each person's responsibility, and how does one fulfill that task? These questions and others will be addressed within the theological framework of the Bible. Conference speakers will include theologians, an ecologist, an environmental lawyer, and a Christian environmental activist. These participants will share their expertise from their respective fields in order to help us understand the issues and take this opportunity to become the stewards God has called us to be.
This all-day conference will be hosted at Multnomah Biblical Seminary, in Travis-Lovitt Hall, rooms 111 and 112. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. There is a suggested donation of $10 at the door. For more information on this and other New Wine events, please contact Tracy Spitler at 503-251-6767.
So, is evangelical environmentalism an oxymoron or an opportunity? I believe it's an opportunity! It's an opportunity to reflect Christ as we steward his creation and set an example for the unbelieving world. I hope you can come to the conference – whether for the whole day or just a part of it. Either way we look forward to seeing you there!
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