Book Review: Pollution and the Death of Man

As JB will testify, this book review is long overdue.

Francis Schaeffer on environmentalism? Absolutely! And well worth the read. Believe it or not (he says in mock astonishment) there once was a time when environmentalists blamed the earth's eco problems on ... Christians!! I know it's hard to imagine such a time in human history, but trust me - it happened. Oh wait, it still does. All the time.

So even though this book was written in 1970, it's still of value to us today. My one most prominent criticism of the book isn't entirely fair - Schaeffer doesn't adequately reflect on postmodernity as he wrestles with the issue. Postmodernity was in an emerging state (pun intended!) in 1970, so I can't really blame Schaeffer. Still, it's probably the biggest mark against the book for us today.

On to the gist of things. Schaeffer wrote in response to a specific article (included in the appendix of the edition I read) that explicitly blamed the Christian doctrine of "dominion over creation" for the ecological problems of the day. In his short book, Schaeffer responds to this criticism and turns the tables. For Schaeffer, not only is a proper Christian worldview not the problem, it is in fact the only real solution.

In a nutshell: we are creatures, in that we are created beings. So are trees and flowers - we therefore share a base-level commonality with these other created things. As such, we should show tremendous respect for them, in their place. In other words, we cannot let the needs of a tree override the needs of a family. But that doesn't' mean we can treat the tree however we choose - it is, after all, a fellow created being. Our position as Christians is to act as God's stewards - we care for the earth, not dominate it.

Here's where Schaeffer turns the tables: non-Christian environmentalists, no matter how well-meaning, are ultimately serving out of selfish motives. Most genuinely believe they are "saving the earth for future generations" - but even that is a humanocentric way of looking at things. Only the Christian can honestly say, "I'm caring for the environment selflessly - I'm just serving the LORD who created it and me". Some would argue that Christians are, in fact, doing this selfishly (with an eye to some sort of divine "reward") but this reasoning is too presumptive and cynical to take seriously. Do any of us truly think that God somehow "owes" us a reward for anything we do here on earth?

But don't think that Schaeffer is letting Christians off the hook. Not at all! He calls out those who misuse the environment for what they are - wrong, and in sin. We can never go back to the oft-heard "Christian" attitude of the past, "The LORD's coming back sometime soon, anyway - what's the sense in caring for the planet?"... I've actually heard Christians say that - one as he was throwing a Styrofoam cup out of his car window!

So let's embrace the challenge of making the environmental movement a distinctly Christian movement. We have the best answers and the purest motives, after all.

And a Biblical mandate to steward the Creation.

Hatushili