Running head: [STEWARDSHIP IS SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS WORLDWIDE] 1

Stewardship is Synergistic with Improving Living Standards Worldwide

Bethany Barr

ENVR 330-D01

December 10, 2015

Professor Breuner

[STEWARDSHIP SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS] 2

Introduction

One only needs to look around the world today to see that there is a need for better

stewardship of the world’s natural resources. The lack of equal distribution of the world’s

resources causes many places to have extreme poverty and other places to have resources in

abundance. As a result poverty is rampant all around the world today and many people die daily

from malnutrition, dirty water, and preventable diseases. This is in part due to the degradation of

the environment caused by humans’ actions. There are numerous issues and challenges; disposal

of hazardous wastes, worries of overpopulation, climate change, and species loss, to name a few.

When one sees and assesses these problems all over the world, there is an evident and necessary

burden that humans - and especially Christians - have to responsibly look after the world where

they live in order to leave the future generations with in inhabitable world. There are, however,

many differing beliefs as to the solutions to these problems, and how Christians should best

follow God’s commands to be stewards of His creation. Some believe that some of the problems

mentioned above are theoretical and some believe they are all valid problems that we are

currently facing. Therefore not only do people come up against the issue of what best way to

steward the earth but also what aspects require stewardship. The Cornwall Alliance and the

Evangelical Environmental Network, two Christian Organizations, both believe that as Christians

we have a responsibility to care for the earth according to Scripture; however, they disagree on

what certain actions should be taken.

Points of Similarity

These two organizations are similar in several aspects: they are both committed to

making the world a better place and bring glory to God the creator of it, through recognizing

their responsibilities as humans to care for all creation. In addition to this, both organizations put

[STEWARDSHIP SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS] 3

people and their well-being at the center of their mission as they aim to improve the living

standards of all people around the world.

Both of these organizations base their objectives and mission on Biblical principles. The

Evangelical Environment Network states this in their “Evangelical Declaration on the Care of

Creation” page saying that “As followers of Jesus Christ, committed to the full authority of the

Scriptures, and aware of the ways we have degraded creation, we believe that biblical faith is

essential to the solution of our ecological problems” (“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). Likewise

The Cornwell Alliance states on its page “The Cornwall Declaration on Environmental

Stewardship”, “Out of shared reverence for God and His creation and love for our neighbors,

we...unite in this declaration of our common concerns, beliefs, and aspirations” (“The Cornwell

Declaration”, 2000). Clearly both of these organizations base their principles, objectives, and

claims on God and His Holy Word. Throughout their declarations on stewardship they keep

referring back to Biblical principles and Bible passages.

Both organizations aim to improve the world they are living in order to give God the

glory, “Our God-given, stewardly talents have often been warped from their intended

purpose...that we nourish civilization in love, creativity and obedience to God; and that we offer

creation and civilization back in praise to the Creator” (“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). They

also both recognize that humans’ lifestyle and actions negatively affect the earth and the creation

living in it in some form or another. This is stated by Stuart F. Chapin III et. al., authors of

“Earth Stewardship: science for action to sustain the human-earth system” where it states,

“Human activities have altered Earth's life support systems so profoundly as to modify, and often

threaten, the ecological services that are essential to society” (Chapin III et. al., 2011, ). This fact

cannot be denied. Both of these organizations, therefore, also recognize that it is humans’

[STEWARDSHIP SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS] 4

responsibility to obey God’s commands and care for His creation in order to reverse some of

these negative impacts caused by humans.

Points of Contrast

However, these two organizations are also different in regards to their beliefs as they are

different in their approach to stewardship. Firstly, the Cornwell Alliance believes that human life

is of utmost importance and must be allowed to thrive and that environmental stewardship should

allow for this. They also believe that some environmental concerns are unfounded including

“fears of destructive manmade global warming, overpopulation, and rampant species loss” (“The

Cornwell Declaration”, 2000). Whereas, the Evangelical Environment Network believes that

human life is important and allowing them to thrive is important as long as it doesn’t degrade the

environment as “God’s purpose in Christ is to heal and bring to wholeness not only persons but

the entire created order” quoting Colossians 1:19-20 (“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). In

addition to this the Evangelical Environment Network does believe in large-scale environmental

concerns such as species extinction and the alteration of atmosphere. Therefore it is these two

areas where they differ most; in what they view as issues, and what is most important, humans or

the earth; therefore, this causes their approaches to stewardship to be very different.

As shown by these two organizations, what stewardship should encompass has no

straightforward answer. The Cornwell Alliance believes that if one focuses on combating the

larger risks such as global climate change then human life will not be improved and the

environment will not improve either. Therefore, they believe that stewardship’s main focus

should be on humans caring “wisely and humbly for all creatures, first and foremost for their

fellow human beings, recognizing their proper place in the created order” (“The Cornwell

Declaration”, 2000). In contrast, the Evangelical Environmental Network believes that humans

[STEWARDSHIP SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS] 5

are to “resist the allure of wastefulness and overconsumption by making personal lifestyle

choices that express humility, forbearance, self-restraint and frugality” and it places the care of

the environment on a par, equal with the living conditions of humans being improved

(“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). This organization aims to find compromises in situations

where the two come into conflict and where both objectives can be achieved. An organization, A

Rocha, does likewise and works in areas where biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation

come into conflict. They aim to find a compromise and do not place one as more important than

the other. The article “Christians, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: a potential

synergy?” states that “The Christian worldview provides one in which both people and the

environment are considered to be of intrinsic value” and when talking about A Rocha it states

that “At the core...is a commitment to view biodiversity and poverty alleviation from a Christian

perspective” (Sluka et. al., 2011, p. 108-113). Like A Rocha, the Evangelical Environmental

Network believes that “Christianity, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation are

synergistic” (Sluka et. al., 2011, p. 115). Therefore they do not aim to only achieve one aspect as

the Cornwell Alliance does, meaning that their approaches and techniques are different.

Personal Response

Both of these organizations are vitally important and do a great work to enhance

stewardship here on earth because as Luke 10:2 states “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers

are few” and in the case of caring for the earth and its inhabitants, this is very true. Lifestyle, and

a generally apathetic mindset towards sustainability and stewardship, has contributed to

increasing amounts of unnecessary waste and climate shift. As individuals and communities it is

important that people partner with organizations like these in order to become better stewards as

we are called to do in Genesis 1:28. However, the Cornwell Alliance makes a valid argument

[STEWARDSHIP SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS] 6

that human life is of utmost importance and must be allowed to thrive, and we as Christians are

called to love each other and it says in Matthew 25:40 what one does for those around them

reflects what one does for Christ. Christians should, therefore, be trying to improve the standard

of living for those in poverty - who are often worst affected by acute changes in the environment.

It is also very true, however, that biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation are

synergistic and so a choice does not have to be made between one and the other as to which

should be achieved, yet, it does require compromises and discussions, and a viable solution for

all issues of stewardship. It is not simply a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution.

Finally, it is important that stewardship includes the macro-issues such as climate change

and species loss, as the data clearly illustrates that this is occurring. In “Air pollution, greenhouse

gases and climate change: Global and regional perspectives”, V. Ramanathan and Y. Feng states

that, “the CO2 blanket, traps the long wave radiation given off by the planet...As CO2 is

increasing with time, the infrared blanket is becoming thicker, and the planet is accumulating this

excess energy” (Ramanathan and Feng, 2009, p. 38-39). This illustrates how the climate will be

altered as humans’ production of Carbon Dioxide increases. Therefore, these big issues need to

be considered as they are happening today with the current consumption of fossil fuels.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both of these organizations are making an impact in their community and

it is important that one realizes the need to be a steward of the environment around them. Many

organizations take different approaches to caring for the environment and have different missions

and principles in place to do this. The Cornwell Alliance and the Evangelical Environmental

Network both have similarities and differences in the way that they are stewards for the

environment around them.

[STEWARDSHIP SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS] 7

References

Chapin, F., Power, M., Pickett, S., Freitag, A., Reynolds, J., Jackson, R., Lodge, D., Duke, C.,

Collins, S., Power, A., Bartuska, A. (2011). Earth Stewardship: Science for action to

sustain the human-earth system. Ecosphere, 2(8).

Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation. (2015, April 29). Retrieved December 11,

2015, from http://creationcare.org/creation-care-resources/evangelical-declaration-on-the-

care-of-creation/

NIV Bible. (2007). London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Ramanathan, V., & Feng, Y. (2009). Air pollution, greenhouse gases and climate change: Global

and regional perspectives. Atmospheric Environment, 43(1), 37-50.

Sluka, R., Kaonga, M., Weatherley, J., Anand, V., Bosu, D., & Jackson, C. (2011). Christians,

biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: A potential synergy? Biodiversity,

12(2), 108-115.

The Cornwall Declaration On Environmental Stewardship. (2000, May 1). Retrieved December

11, 2015, from http://www.cornwallalliance.org/2000/05/01/the-cornwall-declaration-on-

environmental-stewardship/