Environment of Contention

The Columbia Tribune ran an article today on the debate over environmental issues among evangelical Christians. It is a good piece that offers a wide variety of opinions. Toward the end of the article, the piece offered my thoughts:

Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and communications specialist for the Baptist General Convention, said it is exciting to see more evangelicals waking up to the importance of environmental devastation but many are only giving "lip service" to "creation care."

"The primary problem is a lot of these leaders have aligned themselves very strongly with the Republican party. ... They are toeing the party line more than dealing with the issue," Kaylor said, citing a statement by Richard Land that it was time for evangelicals to consummate their marriage to the Republican Party.

"The Bible is abundantly clear that the Earth is the Lord's and everything in it, and we are supposed to take care of the Earth, which brings glory and praise to God and helps humans ... to worship God because we see the beauty of creation," Kaylor said. "I don't see how we can sit by and let creation be destroyed."

Hopefully, more evangelicals will take environmental issues seriously and live out the biblical admonitions to care for creation.