Diocese of Liverpool

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

Climate Change and Ecumenical Collaboration

27 April 2007

Seven years ago in the year 2000 known as the Millennium Year I spent the days in Lent travelling around the Diocese of Liverpool and meeting with young people in their schools. I wrote to the Headteacher of the largest State Secondary School in each of the 16 Deaneries asking if I could meet with as many 16-18 year olds as possible so that I could listen to their dreams and dreads about the future and tell them why I thought that the message of Jesus Christ was still relevant 2000 years on. Every single door was thrown wide open. Sometimes I had as many as 250 young people in front of me. We produced three short video clips to get the discussion going. The first was on the future of the planet. It contained some pretty apocalyptic scenes about what might happen to the earth in the future. After the short film I asked the young people on a scale of 0-10 how worried were they about the future of the planet.

0 was ‘not worried at all’ and 10 was ‘very worried’. I asked those that had placed themselves between 5 and 10 to raise their hands. In every single one of the 16 schools 100% of all the hands went up. I was taken aback. I then said “Given your concerns about the earth to what extent do you think we ought to do something about it?” I added: “Please note the little word ought because it’s a moral word and we might start digging around asking where this sense of morality comes from”. 0 is ‘don’t bother’ and 10 is ‘we really ought to do something’. I asked those who had placed themselves between 5 and 10 to raise their hands. In each venue 98%-99% of hands went up.

I came away from this encounter with literally thousands of young people, many of them living in areas of multiple deprivation in our inner cities, challenged to think about my own attitude to the environment. It struck me then and it continues to concern me that there is a generational gap in attitudes to the planet. Young people seem much more aware and alert to the impending crisis.
As the African proverb says “We have borrowed the present from our children”.

Shortly after this encounter I had the opportunity to return to my old theological college in the University of Oxford and took the opportunity to study the relationship between Christianity and the environment. In particular I wanted to explore the relationship between Jesus and the earth. I have in fact written a small book on this subject (I should add also that I have also written a little book on the problem of suffering called “Why do People Suffer?” When the proofs came back from the printers they had left off the question mark so the title of the book ran “Why do People Suffer James Jones”!)

If you had asked me then if our Lord had anything to say about the environment I would have replied “Very little”. My reading thus far suggested that when Christian Theologians explored the doctrine of creation and caring for the earth they concentrated mainly on Old Testament texts. There was some reference to the Epistles but very little attention to the Gospels themselves.

While engaging in this study I also enlisted on a course in Islamic Theology offered by the Islamic Centre through the Faculty of Theology at Oxford University and took myself off to meet with people such as the Chief Rabbi to find out what the Jewish ethic of the environment was. I shall return at the end with some comments on the Islamic approach to the environment not least because I believe that this might offer some common ground and a pathway to hope through the current tension between Islam and Christianity. There is already acknowledgement of the common ground within the Judaeo-Christian tradition on attitudes to creation.

Although, I have to say, in my conversation with the Chief Rabbi he very politely corrected me when I assumed that the Jewish ethic of the environment began in the opening chapters of Genesis. He said that his ethic of the environment was rooted in Deuteronomy 20 vv 19-20 which laid down the law that as the children of Israel took the promised land they were never ever to destroy a fruit bearing tree (it is worth noting that in an era when people did not have the science about how over 20% of carbon emissions come now from deforestation that there should be such a clear edict about protecting the trees).

My own study placed its focus on Jesus and in particular his self-designation as the Son of Man. I know that libraries are filled with studies about the meaning of this title. Is it simply a circumlocution for saying “I” or “me”? Does it have resonances of the Old Testament and, if so, is it Daniel or Ezekiel or the Psalms or even Genesis where we need to dig to find the root of its meaning? My own focus is on the etymological derivation and the rendering of Son of Man as Son of Adam or literally “Son of the One hewn from the earth”. Immediately the question “Did Jesus have anything to say about the earth?” takes on a new significance when you realise that the title that he uses exclusively about himself is derived from the word ‘earth’, in Hebrew (Adamah). When I became aware of this root meaning a question immediately presented itself: “Are there any occasions when Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man (Son of the one hewn from the earth?) and in the same breath or context refers also to the earth?”

There are at least seven occasions. It seems to me that this collection of Son of Man/Earth Sayings merits serious theological reflection. For this presentation let me take only one of them. In Matthew 12:40 Jesus said “For just as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.” Here is Jesus conscious that his destiny will involve him being placed in the earth. The Jonah motif is one of judgement. Is this therefore Jesus aware of taking upon himself the sins of the world and following in the footsteps on the first Adam who on account of his disobedience returns to the earth (Genesis 3 v18)? Whatever is in Jesus’ mind when he says this the fact is that when the Son of Man is laid in the heart of the earth the earth quakes (Matthew 27 v54) and when on the third day the Son of Man is raised from the heart of the earth the earth quakes again (Matthew 28 v2). The earth is more eloquent than the temple curtain which tore only once from top to bottom whereas the earth quaked twice when the Son of Man was laid in it and raised from it. Clearly the evangelist is making a point that there is a connection between Jesus and the earth.

St. Paul not only saw a connection between Jesus and Adam but also believed unequivocally that the whole of creation came into being through and for Christ. Never has so much theology hung upon two such small words the prepositions “through” and “for”. This is indeed the ecumenical basis for our concern for everything that happens to creation. All those who are committed to Christ and baptised in his name are consecrated to the one through whom and for whom all things have been created (Colossians 1 v16). There is a notion of stewardship that all things came into being for us and that somehow we are the apex of God’s creation. Environmental stewardship is understood by some people to be a mandate for humanity to see itself apart from the rest of creation which is there for us to enjoy and even indulge ourselves and in some cases to exploit. Such a notion of stewardship is profoundly unbiblical. To say that creation is there for us to take advantage of is in the end to dethrone Christ for it is “through him and for him all things came into being”. Putting ourselves in the place of Christ is a blasphemy and leads to the desecration of creation itself. This is indeed what we are witnessing through the ravages of climate change. Destroying the planet through the destabilising of the climate is not just bad stewardship, is not just a crime against humanity, it is to undo God’s creative and sustaining work in and through Christ. That is a blasphemy.

The fact that many Christians do not as yet see the biblical, theological and moral imperative of caring for creation reveals a myopic view of Christ that reduces him from his cosmic greatness to pocket-size-individualism. The ecumenical challenge that lies before us is to enable all Christians who follow Jesus to have a deeper understanding of his relationship with the earth and with the whole of creation. We have yet to understand fully the Lord’s Prayer when we ask for God’s will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven. This is a prayer for the earthing of heaven. It is a prayer that sees Christ not only as the Lamb upon the throne at the centre of heaven’s worship but as the Son of Man who brings heaven down to earth.

The failure of Christianity to appreciate fully these dimensions of Christ’s person, ministry and mission need to be acknowledged and corrected. There are many reasons and we have to acknowledge with humility and repentance that the prophetic voice about the future of the earth has with a few notable exceptions come often from outside the walls of the ecumenical Christian community. Indeed some have actually accused Christianity of contributing to the exploitation of the earth and the crisis facing us through climate change. They point to our reckless exposition of the concept of dominion found in Genesis Chapter One. It is true that an unqualified adherence to the concept of dominion could lead us down a dangerous path. What many of us have failed to realise is that scripture itself immediately qualifies the use of dominion in Chapter One with the reference in Chapter Two to God putting Adam in the Garden of Eden “to till it and keep it”. This is a weak translation for the Hebrew word suggests something much stronger namely “to serve and preserve it”. Adam’s relationship to the earth is to be that of a Servant Lord. This conjures up an image of humanity as part of the created order rather than a part from it. The dominion is to have a servant character. Interestingly this phrase “to till and to keep or to serve and preserve” is used in only one other context in the whole Bible. It is used in the Book of Numbers to describe the ministry of the Levitical Priests in the Temple. Just as the temple was the place of God’s dwelling so the earth was to be the place where God was to be found and where his people exercise servant lordship under his authority.

Climate change brings to the fore two other issues of particular concern to Christians. The future of the planet and the needs of the poor. On this latter point it is the tragedy of the present situation that those who are most affected by climate change are least able to do anything about it and those of us who have the power have as yet to feel the full force and impact of what we are doing to the planet. For those with a sensitive conscience, for people of goodwill and people of faith and particularly those of Christian faith the needs of the poor should weigh seriously with us.

To this end during Lent this year I called the parishes to adopt a Carbon Fast. Instead of giving up chocolate or alcohol or some other indulgence I encouraged parishioners to do something positive and reduce their carbon footprint for the sake of Christ and for the sake of the poor in whom we are to meet him.

Sir Nicholas Stern in his influential review of the impact of climate change shows how the poor are already suffering from our profligate behaviour. The science on which his review is based may be summarised by 3 short questions (i) is CO2 a greenhouse gas? Yes. (ii) Does more CO2 in the atmosphere make it warmer? Yes. (iii) Are we producing more CO2 than ever before? Yes. He shows how already environmental refugees are numbered in their millions and projects that degree by degree of temperature-change what the impact will be upon the poorest countries with rising sea levels, flooding and devastation. I myself have witnessed the failing harvests in Africa and the flooding in India. There is no point helping Africa with aid, trade and debt relief and economic development with one hand if with the other we change the climate and ruin their harvests and starve them.

A particularly Christian insight which should challenge and motivate all Christians is that Jesus said that in as much as we do it to the least of his brothers and sisters we do it to him. Therefore, if our extravagant lifestyle is causing devastation to other parts of the earth then not only is this a blasphemy along the lines that I have already suggested but it is doubly so because in destroying those already impoverished we are destroying Christ who is to be found in the least, the last and the lost.

When we come to the future of the planet we find there are mixed messages within the worldwide Christian community. Division of opinion centres on the interpretation of certain biblical passages. The debate may be summarised in one question: “Will the earth be destroyed or transformed?” The Bible has both the language of continuity and the language of discontinuity. Does the Bible support a theology of renewal or a theology of obliteration. If it is the latter you can understand why some people say that if the world is going to end up in a ball of flames we might as well milk the earth for all it is worth while we have time. It leads to an indifference towards issues like climate change preferring to concentrate on personal faith rather than personal faith and social action.

If on the other hand you subscribe to a theology of renewal and transformation you will recognise that God is in Christ reconciling to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven. This sees the praying for the earthing of heaven as referring to God’s activity both in the present and in the future.

The earth is good, “the earth is the Lord’s”, and all Christians should take seriously the warning from the Book of Revelation that the judgement of God is starkly portrayed as “destroying those who destroy the earth”. (Revelation 11 v18)

I have set out very briefly and rather inadequately a few biblical, theological and moral principles that inform or at least should inform a Christian’s attitude to the earth and to climate change. But faith without works is dead.

I would now like to tell you briefly about two ecumenical projects that we are engaged in that attempt to take these global issues and apply them locally. The first is a school called the Academy of St. Francis of Assisi in Liverpool. It is one of a number of new City Academies which are intended to break the mould and offer inner city young people a radically new form of education. Our Academy is the first to take the environment as its specialism. It has an explicitly Christian ethos and is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool. It educates 900 local children between the ages of 11 and 16. It has been purpose-built and has solar atrium, solar panels and rainwater harvesting. As the young people sit in their cyber café they see digitally recorded the amount of energy and water that is being harvested through the systems. Furthermore, each class of 11 year olds has their own garden so that these inner city children have hands on experience of the earth. This school is already transforming the lives of its students – and its teachers! It has been open now for just under two years and its academic results have been remarkable. I wish I had time to tell you the many stories of transformation that have taken place as these young people have begun to learn in an atmosphere that is truly connected with its local environment. It should not surprise us but a community that learns in a place connected with the earth and with light is bound to be a place where people flourish better than in a shabby building poorly designed and badly lit that cuts people off from the natural world. The environment is the expression of its Christian ethos and runs through every subject on the curriculum. I should add that this is a state-funded school. Sponsors need to raise in the region of £2 million where upon the Government provides £18 million to build a state of the art school which is then funded by the State but controlled by the sponsors, and in our case, the Church.

Operation EDEN is an ecumenical and interfaith project based on Merseyside where 45% of our parishes are urban areas of multiple deprivation. This is a project in which the faith communities (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu) are engaged to work for the holistic transformation of the local environment. In the North West of England the faith communities are strongest in areas of greatest deprivation. Using leaders and buildings of local faith communities we are engaging local people in raising environmental awareness and in changing lifestyles that take seriously the challenges of climate change. Projects range from energy audits to turning neglected green spaces into allotments and gardens where food can be grown. The Regional Development Agency of the North West of England has a policy on climate change and has provided the principal funding for engaging the faith communities in this public agenda.

Over the last few months I have been teaching at Liverpool Hope University which is a joint Anglican/Roman Catholic Institute of Higher Education in Liverpool. I have taught an MA Course on Theology and the Environment. It has students from different faith backgrounds as well as no faith. I have been struck by the discussions that we have had especially about the relationship between Islam and Christianity. I have noted that in Islam the concepts of vice-regency, balance, proportionality and justice resonate very much with the principles to be found within the Judaeo-Christian tradition. I do not have time now to elaborate on these except to say that such correspondence must surely provide us with the grounds for hope as together we address the issues of climate change that affect the whole earth.

In my own study I have become particularly conscious of God’s grace in creation as well as in salvation. If on the face of this earth we cannot find the unity of humanity in our different understanding of the doctrines of salvation perhaps we can find some common ground of unity in our understanding of the doctrine of creation.

I end following the example of Jesus with a parable:

Imagine that somebody invites you for an-all-expenses paid cruise of a lifetime. You come to the Pier Head in Liverpool and your host says to you “Just a couple of conditions; this is all on me but you are never to ask where we are going or when we are going to get there”.

“Sounds fine by me” you say. You board this ship and it’s luxurious; you are shown to your suite on A deck and you cannot believe it. Within a few hours you are sailing in the sun and you think “If there’s a heaven, it must be like this!”. After six weeks of sailing around on this ship you think to yourself “I wonder where we’re going” but, after all, you’ve made a promise and being British – stiff upper lip! – you keep the question to yourself and you carry on enjoying yourself.

After six months you cannot hold the question any longer. You grab your host one day and say “Listen, I don’t want to appear ungrateful but please, could you just tell me where are we going and when are we going to get there?” He says “Is there a problem? Is the suite not comfortable? Is the food not to your liking? “No, no” you say “It is all wonderful. I’m having the time of my life but I just wondered where and when”. He says dismissively “Eat, drink, be merry”. So you do your best.

After ten years of sailing around on this wretched ocean liner the dream has become a nightmare. You scream at him “Please, please tell me where and when”. Ridiculous? No. We are on this planet like a ship cruising through space and every now and again the question pops into the mind of every single traveller at some stage: where and when? – These are questions of purpose and meaning.

Imagine you recover your composure and you say to your host “Well tell me, how many on this ship?” He says to you “Guess”. Well, you’re not in the mood for guessing games and you say “Two hundred”? “Wrong – a thousand!” You say “a thousand people? You’re kidding me; it feels like only two hundred”. “Yes” he says “That is what it feels like to you because here on A deck there are only 200 people. But for the last ten years in the hold of this ship there have been 800 people and they are all on bread and water”.

Ridiculous? No. On this ship, planet Earth, 20% of us are on A deck and 80% are in the hold of the ship. I have seen it in Africa and India and not so far away and the water is not even pure. I cannot believe that such a situation is a matter of indifference to the one “through whom and for whom all things came into being”.