Articles by Dean Ohlman on the biblical view
of nature and creation stewardship
View PDF: the-lion-the-curse-and-the-evangelical
The Lion, the Curse, and the Evangelical
We find in the term “evangelical” the implied priority of everyone who claims the name. It defines one who believes, shares, and lives by the evangel, the Greek word for “good news.” This good news, of course, is that the chosen one of God—the Messiah—came to restore the Kingdom of God and through the Holy Spirit is preparing us to be Kingdom people.
C. S. Lewis wrote of this allegorically in his Narnia chronicles: “Aslan is on the move!” The loving intent of the not-tame lion, Aslan, (”the good lion by whose blood all Narnia was saved.” The Last Battle ch.3), was to defeat the dormancy and death of perpetual winter and bring back the verdancy and life of perpetual spring. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the noble lion willingly gave up his life, like a sacrificial lamb, in order to do two things: remove the curse on the natural order and reestablish people as rulers and stewards of the kingdom of Narnia (”Narnia was never right except when a Son of Adam was King.” Prince Caspian, ch.5). Aslan then arose from the dead in order to accomplish this—using all of creation to assist him in defeating the evil witch who had held the land in her icy grip. This same picture is used in a more sophisticated manner by Lewis in his novel That Hideous Strength. Read More >>
Conversion of the Birdslayer
Before it finally wore out, my 1952 model Daisy BB gun had one hundred and ten notches on it. That was a record. Never before - or after, for that matter - did so many sparrows and starlings fall to my copper-clads.
In our little Western Michigan agricultural community near the end of the Korean War, the freedom to roam the streets with my Daisy was almost complete. Except for occasional motherly reminders from a few front doors about not mistaking purple martins for starlings, most of the town folk showed little concern. They were glad to see the pesky starlings and sparrows exterminated.
In fact, in the spirit of the legendary two-cents-a-head bounty on sparrows, I often complemented my gun kill by dashing a few nestlings to the road: my own contribution to a silent spring.
By the time I was thirteen, I had graduated to a 22. Not my own - I couldn’t afford one - but my neighbor’s. Knowing my penchant for bird shooting, he invited me across the fence one day, gave me brief instructions on his rusty old single-shot rifle, stuffed a handful of crimped birdshot cartridges into my jeans pocket, and directed me to his three cherry trees that were sounding a lot like the center of an overpopulated aviary. Read More >>
God’s Two Books: Nature and the Bible
Defining Both Books
Theologians have historically categorized the Bible and nature as “two books,” which when read side by side combine to reveal the God of creation. The first book, comprised of the inspired Scriptures of the Jewish and Christian faith, is called “special revelation.” Its combined influence extends all over the world and stands at the heart of Western culture, making the Bible the most widely translated, circulated, and studied book in history. The Scriptures are considered special, in part, because if God had not chosen human writers who were inspired by the Spirit of truth to disclose this unique and specific knowledge, we would not be aware of it… Read More >>
Questions Christians Ask About
Environmental Issues
1. Why should we care about the earth since this world is not our home?
It’s unfortunate that a line from an old church song has created a view that somehow we need to escape the earth: “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.” The reality the song was referring to was that we should indeed not feel at home in the godless world system that surrounds us. The material earth, however, is not the problem. One of the thrilling promises given to us by Paul is that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Php. 3:20-21, NIV). This passage speaks of the future when Jesus Christ returns and establishes His Kingdom, which, according to many evangelical theologians, will be on this present earth. We will return to earth in our resurrected bodies, but the godless will be gone… Read More >>
Caring For Creation or
Presenting the Gospel?
A believer is an evangelist primarily by who he is and how he lives–not
by what he says. What he says is important;
but unless his speaking tallies with
what he is and does, he had
better keep quiet.
[Joseph Sittler, 1973]
Evangelical Christians often resist the efforts of environmental activists to move them toward more effective and responsible behavior regarding the environmental health of the natural world-what we call “the creation.” We do this in part because of our perception that most vocal environmental activists are either New Agers, amoral celebrities, or secular humanists. We typically think of these individuals as nature worshippers who believe everything is God, sentimental animal lovers who see no fundamental difference between people and their pets, or atheists whose only god is naturalistic evolution. Evangelicals are reluctant to become fellow travelers with those who appear to have such unbiblical views about the nature of the earth-even if there is no biblical reason for us to oppose the responsibility of caring for the creation. We hesitate to work shoulder to shoulder with individuals whose connections and motivations are non-Christian-often for fear that our churches, friends, and families will think we’ve been duped by eco-pagans, eco-socialists, pop idols, or godless scientists. Further, we have been trained to believe that our primary responsibility is to share the gospel with them-to tell them the good news about Jesus, not share a stream-bank clean-up with them. We ask, “Isn’t evangelism more important than caring for the creation?” And to that we typically answer, “of course.” Read More >>
The Good Earth
One of the sad misconceptions of many within the conservative evangelical church has been the understanding that we are “aliens and strangers” on the earth. In truth we are to be aliens and strangers, but to the world-to the ungodly and rebellious world system ruled over by Satan. The Scripture informs us that this world system is going to be destroyed and its diabolical ruler vanquished for eternity. And as a long and glorious celebration of our Savior’s victory, we are going to reign with Him on this very earth which so many of us now abuse and malign. When we attain our final and complete adoption as children of God, we will embrace a good earth healed from the curse where thorns no longer “infest the ground.” Read More >>
On Fishin’ and Meditation
There’s something therapeutic about fishing. I’ve tried to figure out what, but I’m not sure if I can put my finger on it yet. Bill Gaither must think the same way because his little chorus “God Loves to Talk to Boys When They’re Fishin’” revealed he feels it too. I suppose when I have it all figured out, I ought to write a book with a title like The Therapy of Angling. Considering all the interest in natural healing, it could become a best-seller!
Some believe that this phenomenon isn’t unique to fishing. My wife says she gets it when she goes shopping. What a sacrilege-to think that shopping and fishing are in any way on the same level! I believe that the curative nature of the altered state one enters when fishing must have something to do with where your thoughts go when you have a baited line in the water. Because there is expectation that something exciting is about to happen around your fishhook down in the murky deep, this little bit of anticipation keeps all distracting thoughts from your mind. How can you worry about the stock market when a record bass is about to take your bait? (”Or when a pair of Ralph Lauren jeans for $5 is waiting in the next sale table, right?” “Wrong, Marge!”) When you finally reel in and close your tackle box, fish or no fish, you feel refreshed-rejuvenated. Read More >>
Listening To the Right Voices
“Why have we never heard this before?”
That question, edged with irritation, came from a young woman probably in her early thirties. It came near the end of a lecture I’d been giving in a Christian college adult continuing education class. She was asking why she had never heard anything like the biblical principles of creation stewardship I’d been outlining.
Her question, in fact, reminded me again of the disappointment and dismay I had first felt when I came to understand that one of the major Genesis mandates–one of the future realities of life in God’s kingdom-had been virtually ignored by the churches I grew up in and served in for much of my life as a follower of Jesus. Read More >>
The Trouble with Trees
A tree is a lot like a shmoo. You have to be over fifty to recall the origin of the shmoo — in Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner.” Shmoos were fanciful creatures shaped like hefty Virginia hams with chubby legs and no arms. They were colorless and guileless. Unless you refused to let them sacrifice themselves for you, they wore a permanent smile. A shmoo lived for the day it could jump into your skillet and become any food you desired. They were butter and eggs, bacon and beans — whatever you wanted them to be. While they were happy to see you enjoy them alive, they were happiest when they were being consumed — servants eager to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Read More >>