Caring for Creation: The Evangelical’s Guide… by Mitch Hescox and Paul Douglas

Image courtesy of bakerpublishinggroup.com

Leader of the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), Mitch Hescox and respected meteorologist, Paul Douglas team up to bring an evangelical guide to creation care. Caring for Creation: The Evangelical’s Guide to Climate Change and a Healthy Environment looks honestly at the problem of climate change and argues that it is evangelical beliefs and conservative ethics which should inspire evangelical Christians to take action to be a better steward of the earth.

They begin by outlining what climate change is exactly and where it impacts our daily lives and lives of others around the world. They strike down the idea that the science that defends climate change is political. Thermometers, erratic weather, and other signs of a changing climate have no agenda liberal or conservative. They look back to the history of the conservative and republican movement in the US and find that it is deeply rooted in and aligned in conservative ideology to work against the effects of climate change. Statements from heroes in the Republican party, for example Ronald Reagan, who call for care for the environment remind readers of the history of support within the Republican party. The authors defend the development and use of renewable energy; they point to ways in which solar, wind, and other renewable energy forms are the future and provide economic growth.

Contextualizing the tradition of conservative and evangelical care for the environment, Hescox and Douglas give readers a background and examples of actions they can take to be better stewards of God’s creation. They point out that it is our children and future generations who will have to pay if we do not restore the earth; because of this reality, they call for action against climate change as a pro-life issue.

For any conservative evangelicals who feel alienated by creation care conversations in which they are not given space to reconcile their ideology with the movement, this book will be a breath of fresh air.

Caring for Creation: The Evangelical’s Guide to Climate Change and a Healthy Environment can be found on Amazon, through major book retailers, and your favorite independent bookstore.

Profile: Calvin DeWitt

Image courtesy of Nelson Institute

Calvin DeWitt is a scientist, speaker, activist, and author of books like Earthwise: A Guide to Hopeful Creation Care (2011) and Song of a Scientists: The Harmony of a God-Soaked Creation (2012) in addition to countless articles. He is interested especially in the intersection of faith and action on the environmental crisis. With publications dating back to the 1960s, for decades DeWitt has been a force in creation care. He is also a founder of the Evangelical Environmental Network.

For more information on DeWitt’s publications and activism click here to be taken to his page at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Science at the University of Wisconsin.

Evangelical Environmental Network: Resource Page

One book recommended by EEN. Image courtesy of creationcare.org.

The online resource page for the  Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) offers many helpful resources for clergy and lay persons looking to engage their faith with care of the environment.

This page gives introductory resources for those entering the conversation as well as practical implementation of creation care. Sermon starters and devotionals provide links for personal or community consideration of scripture and environment.  It also links to books recommended by the EEN in Creation Care, Food and Food Policy, National Parks and Public Lands, Sustainable Business, and Children’s books. This section of the page may be especially useful for those looking to do a book study in creation care.

Click here to be directed to the EEN’s resource page.