Following Jesus in a Warming World

December 5, 2022
In this confident debut, Meyaard-Schaap, vice president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, sounds the alarm on the dangers of climate change with particular emphasis on the ways Christians can take action. Framing climate change as the “defining moral challenge of our time,” the author argues that “Christian faith and concern for the well-being of God’s creation” are intimately linked—even if one’s political and social beliefs may suggest otherwise. The author first probes the causes of this divergence, citing a common Christian emphasis on the spiritual realm over the physical, and the faith’s deep ties to the Republican party and its history of climate change denial. Meyaard-Schaap then analyzes scripture through an environmental lens, citing the creation narratives in Genesis 1 and 2, and elsewhere to explain that, though nature’s importance is underemphasized in current Christian narratives, the “theological imperative to love and serve God’s good creation” remains biblically central. As well, the author urges believers to eat less meat and drive electric cars, while stressing that Christians “have a particular responsibility toward this... engagement in public life.” Meyaard-Schaap easily balances matters of faith with those of action, and has a knack for helping readers reframe scriptural understanding without pandering to them. Christians will welcome this definitive faith-driven take on climate change.