Biblical stewardship and environmental sustainability: A scriptural study

Abstract

Religious communities are faced with significant ethical issues as a result of to the accelerating environmental crisis. This paper reveals biblical principles of environmental stewardship and shows their applicability in modern ecological ethics. Investigating the scriptural corpus of Genesis 1–2, Leviticus 25, Psalm 24, Romans 8:18–25 and Colossians 1:15–20, the study resorted to historical-grammatical exegesis and ecological hermeneutics; thus, it is in a position to identify five related principles: creation has intrinsic value as a gift from God, human beings are responsible stewards and not independent proprietors, and the Sabbath rest establishes the ecological boundaries that are required. These biblical principles are stimulating in their challenge to modern environmental philosophy, in their challenge of growth-focused economics by imaginative Sabbath wisdom, in their insistence on the value of biodiversity in the worth of creation, and in the rejection of an ecological ethic in the name of social and environmental justice. Concrete actions are necessary to change the individual, congregational, and systemic consumption habits, and prophetic advocacy to change economic systems and political policies that continue to degrade the environment. Therefore, this study provides theological materials to Christian leadership in environmental issues on how to address the current ecological emergencies facing societies across the globe.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article adds theological material to Christian environmental leadership in response to the ecological emergencies that affect communities worldwide.