Environmental care is biblical. Prophets often tie damage to moral failure

Christian Post ^ | Feb 2026 | Tom Mullikin

[CondoleezzaProtege]

The Bible opens with a declaration of ownership: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Creation is not self-originating, nor is it humanity’s possession. It belongs to God. After forming the world, God pronounces it “very good” (Gen. 1:31), revealing not only functional adequacy but moral value...

Some Christians have understood the command to “subdue” the earth (Gen. 1:28) as license for unrestricted use. Scripture itself corrects that reading. Biblical dominion is never autonomous power; it is delegated authority under God’s sovereignty. The earth remains the Lord’s, and human dominion is exercised as stewardship...

The Law reinforces this ethic through commands that protect land, animals, and future generations. Sabbath rest is extended not only to people but to the land itself (Lev. 25). Even in warfare, Israel is prohibited from destroying fruit-bearing trees (Deut. 20:19). These laws reveal a God who cares about restraint, sustainability, and continuity.

The prophets make explicit what the Law implies: environmental degradation is often tied to moral failure. Hosea describes a land that “mourns” because of human unfaithfulness, where animals perish and the sea suffers (Hos. 4:1–3). Jeremiah laments a desolate land resulting from covenant violation (Jer. 12:4).

These passages do not suggest that every environmental hardship is a direct punishment...Rather, they reveal a theological principle: Human rebellion disrupts not only relationships with God and neighbor, but also the created order itself. Creation is affected by how humanity lives within God’s covenant.

The New Testament does not retreat from this vision of creation’s value; it deepens it. Jesus’ ministry is saturated with attention to the natural world... “Consider the lilies of the field,” Jesus says, grounding trust in God’s faithfulness to creation itself (Matt. 6:28–30).

Jesus’ miracles frequently restore the physical world: calming storms, multiplying food, healing bodies...

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TOPICS: Moral Issues; Theology
KEYWORDS: bible; creation; environment; environmentalism; genesis; god; liberals; nature; stewardship

[CondoleezzaProtege]

[ansel12]

Environmental care and managing nature is simply part of successful life, it is how we could grow and develop large cities and populations, and then the modern anti-God left discovered its usefulness as a political tool and made nature a political god to control people.

[Carry_Okie]

True stewardship starts with the first First Commandment of Genesis 1:28, awesome in its comprehensive scope and simplicity:

Be fruitful and multiply to:

Bring the earth to fullness,
Struggle with all your might,
Stay within your boundaries.
To care for every bird, fish, and swarming animal (from insects to grazing animals), ALL of which transect those boundaries. Hence, love your neighbor to meet that mandate is elemental to stewardship.

[PGR88]

I guess we need to do whatever the UN Framework on Climate Change and IPCC tell us.

And of course, we will need to have Govt arranged carbon credit markets, like Mark Carney, the EU and Goldman Sachs tell us.

And also stop eating meat or driving cars - because, you know “the environment”

We wouldn’t want to be BAD Christians, would we?

[kvanbrunt2]

some Christians belive subdue to mean unrestricted use. name one.

[Responsibility2nd]

Was there ever a time when the Christian Post wasn’t a feel good woke example of humanism disguised as Christianity?

[Godzilla]

Such an unbelievable contorted interpretation of scripture. Hard to even begin.

[Ken Regis]

Just exactly what I was thinking.

[Salman]

Subdue the earth. Proper historical context. It means farming.

Not a religious doctrine, just what the words mean.

[Wuli]

Most of the problem with that topic in today’s society is not common sense good morals concern and care for the environment. It’s environmental extremists and their claims that they are pure and anything less is wrong.

[No name given]

Exactly.

[No name given]

That’s true.

[Libloather]

Didn’t the Garden of Eden give us trouble?

[Bob434]

No Eve did, with Adam’s approval and participation

[Bob434]

Well we are one of the cleanest nations on earth and have some of the strictest enviro laws around- so yeah- we’ve already done what needs doing- the do-goodie environuts can go suck a lemon cuz we aint doing anymore!

[Carry_Okie]

As you might suspect, I've made quite a study of that verse. The one Hebrew root that somewhat eludes me is in ha romeset. Its usage varies considerably through Biblical history. Currently, it refers to insects. To me the essence is in 'swarming'; i.e., a group of animals moving together in huge numbers (Genesis 1 being no exception to Jewish hyperbole :-) Locusts do it, herds of sheep do it, schools of fish do it, and so on.

I really do love studying Hebrew roots looking for their essences, even in the "seeds," particularly with the pastoralist perspective from which I believe it was written. It has yielded a very fruitful study and then some yet to be published.

[Jim W N]

Environmental care is biblical.

But for the federal gov't to do it, it must be CONSTITUTIONAL!!!

Of course, it is not.

[dadgum]

Crock of crap.