Editorial: God's faithful steward cares for the environment

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3092 Edition

May 30~June 5, 2011

Editorial

Editorial: God's faithful steward cares for the environment

Translated by Lydia Ma

A flood followed by a landslide took the lives of 35 people in Thailand this 
March and washed away farmlands. On the other side of the globe in southern 
United States, 362 tornado strikes – the highest in US recorded history for a 
3-day period – were sighted between April 25-28, 2011, which led to 520 
casualties.

We’ve been informed recently of severe drought and water shortages in Chinese 
provinces downstream of the Yangtze River, which has affected more than 4.2 
million people who are now without potable water. We’ve also heard that 
environmentalists in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are alarmed that the 
water level of the Mekong River is at its lowest in 50 years, most likely 
because of 11 dams built by China in the river’s upstream to generate 
electricity.

Along with other Asian countries, Taiwan has also had its share of 
environmental problems and concerns recently. Earlier in the year, the 
government raised an alarm that low levels of precipitation in recent months 
was emptying reservoirs and the country might have to ration its water supply 
if this drought continued. Luckily, Taiwanese dodged the bullet when rainy 
season finally came in mid-May and parts of Taiwan got some rain.

Unfortunately, the examples listed above are merely the tip of the iceberg we 
call “global warming”, which is also affecting many countries in the Pacific 
and making Pacific Islanders “climate refugees”.

From these examples we can all see that climate change is not an arcane subject 
for scientific debate or a set of shifting government policies, but rather a 
devastating and immediate reality that can ravish us all and threaten the very 
existence of whole nations.

From Genesis' account of the world's creation, we know God originally created a 
beautiful world for us to inhabit and govern. But sin, avarice, and abuse by 
humans brought catastrophic consequences on the whole of creation.

During the 44th PCT General Assembly Annual Meeting in 1997, the church voted 
to make the first Sunday of June "Environment Sunday" and remind all churches, 
pastors, and congregations on that day to be good stewards of God's creation.

Though many churches have done a great job in raising awareness and caring for 
the environment, it’s still insufficient because mere awareness won’t go far. 
We must change our consumption patterns and lifestyles besides merely 
conserving energy. We mustn’t rule out lobbying governments to save energy, 
exert pressure on corporations that pollute our environment, and pursue 
renewable energy.

Dennis Smith, President of World Association of Christian Communicators, once 
said, “One of the greatest strengths that we bring to this struggle to save the 
environment as followers of Jesus is that we believe that all truth, all 
beauty, all justice flows from the One Creator. And so, this not only beckons 
us to encourage one another to care for the environment, but also frees us to 
build alliances with all people of good will to raise awareness together and 
seek to build the common good.”

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