Kristus og naturen

Abstract

Christ and nature: An evangelical eco-theology
 This article motivates evangelical environmental care. Theological environmental ethics tends to be based on the doctrine of creation, but evangelical ethics – if it wants to be properly evangelical and convincing to evangelicals – should be based on the heart of the evangelical faith, namely on Jesus Christ. I argue that belief in the resurrection of Christ has relevance for a Christian environmental ethics. Paul's ethics is tied to his eschatology. He argues that the eschatological reality should shape our stance toward the reality of this present age. The eschatological reality is revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When the disciples meet the resurrected Jesus, they see that the same body that hung on the cross and lay in the tomb is now a resurrected glorified body. As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15, the continuity between our earthly bodies and the resurrected body entails that we should take care of our bodies. By pointing to Romans 8, I argue that the same line of reasoning applies to nature: the continuity between creation and the new creation entails that we should take care of nature.