Gospel and Agriculture: Problematic Narratives

Continuing the series on gospel and agriculture, we're thinking about problematic narratives: unfortunate readings (or failure to read?) of the Biblical story.

Example 1

Recently, on an online discussion forum, a fairly mature Christian remarked that if animal species were wiped out but it enabled his kids to play safely in that area, then so be it. When pressed on God's ownership of the earth, he stated that "God gave it to us".

Example 2

There was a documentary about the Rift Valley in Ethiopia shown recently, A Thousand Suns. It was proposing organic farming methods over some of the other methods being introduced, and then it turned its attention toward the rising number of Protestant churches in the area. The pastors seemed to be calling people to cease worshiping natural things, like land and trees (and so they should - idolatry is wrong), but they seemed to be advocating the consumption of resources as God's provision to man to use. The outcome, if the documentary is to be believed, has been rapid degradation of the land.

What's wrong here?

• Did God give the earth to humanity? No, the earth is the Lord's and everything in it! According to Colossians 1, it was made by Christ and for Christ.
• What did God give to humanity? According to Genesis 1, God gave the fruit-bearing plants to humanity - prior to the fall. Interestingly, the leafy greens were given to animals, indicating that animals were given some rights - they're lower down the order, but they were given rights!
• What kinds of reactions are going? In response to tree-huggers and environmentalists who elevate the rights of animals over people, I think there's a Christian tendency to react and make ecology (i.e. the created order, God's good creation) dispensable so long as man's needs are met. In response to pagan religions worshiping nature, I think there's a Christians tendency to react and fit nature into a Western consumerist paradigm - something for people to use up.

Hopefully in future posts we'll get to investigate the Biblical narrative in this regard. There has to be a more careful reading of the text if the church is going to be in any way relevant to some of the most pressing issues in the world today - and that reading needs to consider the creation account, the law of Moses, the Hebrew prophets, the New Testament revelation of the Messiah, and the eschatological hope of restoration.