Creation, Stewardship, and Eschatology

While recent posts have made it clear I'm skeptical on the prevailing theories of human-induced climate change, I should also make it clear that I do think environmental issues are important. God has entrusted His creation as a stewardship to those made in His image, and we are called to be faithful with that charge. Christians have even more reason to do so, as we understand that Christ's rule is not only over the hearts of his people but extends to all of creation in all its aspects. For that reason, I think that pollution, for example is a bad thing, and efforts to use land responsibly are good things.

Unfortunately, too many conservatives these days (in the US, at least) believe that environmental concerns impinge on capitalistic venture and the all-important individual freedom that is the god of our liberal society. Even many Christians sadly believe that creation exists for man's use (over against stewardship) and see no problem with individual or societal lifestyles that destroy the beauty of the created world. Both of these are problematic for reasons that I think are almost painfully obvious from Scripture, but which I'd be happy to elaborate later, if necessary.

One question has long plagued me, though. Passages like 2 Peter 3, Hebrews 1, and Matthew 24 seem to indicate that the created world, regardless of its beauty or creational goodness, is destined to be destroyed in the last days. What then, is the eternal use of caring for creation, if it's going to be consumed in fire? Isn't it all a bit like painting the rails on a sinking ship?

Neocalvinist blogger Steve Bishop is doing a series of posts on environmental issues called "Christians--the reluctant greens." In his latest entry, he addresses the question I just outlined and explains why it's the product of a faulty eschatology. It's a very interesting, and persuasive, piece of exegetical reasoning. It also has clear implications beyond the issue of environmental stewardship. The idea that earthly work is ephemeral (and therefore of no ultimate significance) is mitigated if the earth will not be destroyed, but instead transformed. There is hope that we can contribute to efforts--social, political, environmental, cultural--that will become part of the new heavens and the new earth because they have been faithful in light of the reality of Christ's rule over and renewal of all things.

Friedman and Freedom

Economist Milton Friedman died today, at the age of 94. Friedman is much admired by conservatives and libertarians for his work as the leader of the Chicago School of monetary economics. Friedman also wrote much on public policy, with the overarching goal of promoting individual liberty in society.

I have some admiration for the man myself, a remaining influence of my conservative upbringing and education. I am no economist, but Friedman undoubtedly did much to work against the harmful effects of a Keynesian approach to monetary policy and its promotion of a directed economy. However, I find myself increasingly at odds with conservatives, to some extent, and libertarians, to a much greater extent, when they promote individual freedom as the goal of public policy and the greatest good in society.

Part of this disgreement stems from my belief that the individual is not the basic unit of society--that is, all institutions, phenomena, mechanisms, cultures, and such cannot merely or fundamentally be thought of as a bunch of individuals working together in a particular way or for a specific purpose. To look at them through the lens of the individual is potentially to miss the created structure of these institutions as such, and so to misunderstand their nature. For example, a family is an institution created by God with a specific structure--father, mother, children--and ordained for particular roles and ends in the world. It is not merely a collection of individuals who bond together to express and experience love and commitment. Therefore, two men can't be or have a family together--biological considerations aside. Likewise, to assume that government exists to promote the liberty of individuals is to wrongly account for government's existence, structure, and purpose.

A related principle is that any government or institution created by God is obliged to be ordered by God's law. He reveals this law to us in part through nature, and more fully and more clearly in Scripture. The only model of a society ordered by divine law that we have in Scripture is that of Israel in the Old Testament. Looking at the law given to Israel seems to show that promoting right relationships, not individual freedom, is the greatest good in society. Thus a purely free market that takes no account for human selfishness (as sin, not simple economic self-interest) fails to properly restrain man's own impulses that would destroy relationships and twist them for his own purposes.

Now, freedom is not a bad thing. Jesus Christ came to set men free. But freedom, defined wrongly, is an idol that conservatives and liberals and libertarians alike must repent of. Freedom is found in loving submission to the Lord God, and that has implications for all of life. So as you think about the legacy of Milton Friedman, think carefully and critically. His work contains keen insight, but, like any man's, should be examined in light of the Word of God.