What does your congregation ask about climate change? Part 3

Over the years, I’ve talked with many Christian congregations and groups about climate change. In the course of these conversations, I’ve discovered that there are three questions that come up over and again. Why not speak proactively to these concerns in your preaching? 

Part 3: Is saving souls more important than saving species? 

This is, in some ways, the hardest question. Whilst the other two questions can be answered in a way that makes sense to most theological perspectives, some traditions get stuck on this one. 

For Christians who think humans are more important than other species, the best route in can be a practical one. In Luke 14: 28, Jesus speaks to the need to be practical in our planning, to reckon the future cost of our actions. The story of Joseph includes prudent planning to combat times of famine (Genesis 41). It is a matter of science, of observation, and of common sense that when we destroy ecosystems, we destroy the basis for our own life. Killing pollinators, for example, threatens agriculture.  Melting glaciers remove crucial water sources for millions. God calls us to take care, to use the wisdom we are given. 

Another human-centred route into the question comes by unpacking the uneven effects of climate change on human beings. On a global scale, the data is shocking; up to a billion people forced to migrate out of unliveable climate zones by the end of the century. Crop failures, flooded homes: these things are already happening. They affect the poorer countries of the world, and poorer people within rich countries. Insurance becomes unaffordable, food becomes expensive, health declines and conflict increases. 

The Bible overflows with teaching on poverty and compassion. Prioritising care of the vulnerable is central to both Old and New Testament scripture. When we encounter these passages, we can highlight their relevance for climate-related matters. Protecting the wellbeing of the poor entails protecting the wellbeing of many species. 

The Bible also warns against the hubris of thinking that humans can fix things in their own power. ‘A horse is a vain hope for deliverance’ (Psalm 33:17). Sermons can challenge the optimistic but unproven technological fixes that dominate many media accounts. Many people are seduced by these stories, because they suggest that there is no need for repentance or spiritual transformation. 

Indeed, the need for spiritual transformation is evidently implicated in the systems that feed the unfolding disaster. Passages in the Bible that speak of false gods, bad masters, can be connected to the consumerism that fills so many lives, blocking sight of the natural world and its creator. Preaching ‘sin’ may seem old fashioned, but the emerging crisis is a clear demonstration of what orientation away from God produces on a global scale. 

These are sermon points from a human-centred theology. Some Christian traditions are comfortable with a theological perspective that is less centred on humans and more on creation as a whole. Romans 8:22-25 and Colossians 1:15-20 place Christ’s incarnation and saving work in the context of the whole created world. 

Whichever tradition we inhabit, it is important not to get getting overly fixated on Genesis 1:26 and 28 but to look at the many other nature-related passages in the Bible. God’s delight in creation, and God’s invitation for humans to take similar delight in it, is woven through many scriptures. The earth is not a cardboard stage for the drama of salvation, but a real and beloved world. 

So, is saving souls more important than saving species? Even if you think it is, it is impossible to do one without the other. Meanwhile, we are invited to share God’s jubilant – but increasingly poignant – judgement on creation that ‘it is very good’. 

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of the series 

Learn more about this topic 

St Augustine's College of Theology, Kent, has put the project ‘Discipleship for a Planet in Crisis’ at the heart of its educational and worshipping life. As part of this project, it has developed two new courses to help people take their questions further. One is an MA suitable for committed learners: Theology for a Planet in Crisis. The other is a short, online course suitable for everybody: God, the Planet & Us.   

About the author 

Charlotte Sleigh is Director of the project ‘Discipleship for a Planet in Crisis’ at St Augustine's College of Theology, Kent, and is associate priest in the parish of St Martin and St Paul, Canterbury.