Written by: Joel Zantingh on November 7, 2025

Jeff Myers’ Chapter 11 in Understanding the Culture affirms that creation matters because God called in good. [1] The call to be good stewards is neither passive preservation, nor exploitation, but active cultivation. Myers points out two important dynamics about the current state of the planet. One is that the consequences of poor stewardship are all around us [2] citing both human and cosmic effects in that “Sin affects creation, as well as our dominion and stewardship of it.” [3] But another dynamic, that ‘it’s all going to burn anyway,’ Myers rebukes as bad theology. He argues that “Creation groans, but it isn’t a groan of death. It’s a groan of birth. Christ doesn’t annihilate creation; he brings it to fruition.” [4] This aligns with the Lausanne Movement’s call to action, stating that “creation care is integral to the gospel.” [5] In Lausanne’s vision, Christ followers must challenge apathy from misguided eschatology, and affirm Jesus’ cosmic reconciliation of creation spoken of in Colossians 1:15-20. Christ’s redemption includes the earth, all creatures, and not just souls.

Rather than agreement, there is debate on whether to centre a theology of stewardship and invite Christians to integrate creation care to their understanding of the gospel.  Part of the pushback is that the main voices to speak to environmental concern and climate action are secular humanist, anti-christian, and sometimes anti-human ones.  On this point, Myers calls for Christians to reorient to God’s call to engage in creation care.

There are radicals who care about the environment for the wrong reasons, but that doesn’t mean Christians shouldn’t care about the environment for the right ones. So what are those right reasons? To find out, we need to travel all the way back through history to the very beginning of creation, as described in the book of Genesis. [6]

Tom Holland’s Dominion shows how Christian ethics shaped Western moral imagination, including care for the environment. Yet, Holland also indicates that Christian influence has been co-opted by empire and industry, requiring a re-alignment. [7] Myers agrees that we need to shift from dominion as domination, but offers a Christian alternative that keeps humans in a God-ordained role within creation: dominion as stewardship and care, managing creation on behalf of its Creator, not for selfish gain, as exemplified by this framing of care for animals: “One of our responsibilities as image bearers of God is to care for animals. Biblical teachings about this are reasonable, clear, sustainable, and humane.” [8] But beyond the pushback from secular humanists, there is an ideological battle over climate change itself that needs to be considered.

There are many in our world who are climate change deniers. And in the Christian community, this fuels a mistrust of the scientific and academic community, and adds to the apathy about the state of the planet. Dunlap and Jacques expose how the denial volumes grew from 1 in 1982, adding another 19 in the 1990s, and then, what Dunlap and Jacques refer to as a “vertical explosion” of 54 more from 2007 to 2009, and another 15 in 2010. This flood, they indicate, was largely funded by Conservative Think Tanks through private not peer-reviewed publishing channels, but it achieved what it had hoped; the “manufacturing of doubt to protect economic interests.” [9] Myers warns that Christians must not be duped or misinformed and ignore the needs of planet and people. Instead, he offers a connection point to the care for people’s freedoms, helping them to grow wealth and see them lift themselves out of poverty, and helping to reduce damage to the environment. [10] In essence we can do this hand in hand, to the glory of God. Climate Justice is a matter of levelling, how to care as much for people in contexts where climate affect is now exacerbating food insecurity and famine, along with other factors like war. Katherine Hayhoe and ecotheologians like Jorgenson and Deane-Drummond argue for resilient, science-informed theology. [11] Leaders must equip congregations to discern truth, engage policy, and resist misinformation.

In this spirit, Christians who care about climate action as a gospel issue will gather this week in Belém, Brazil for the UN COP30 Consultation, where the previous goals of containing global warming to a 1.5 degree Celsius increase are no longer seen as achievable, and the continued efforts to promote green energy, renewal energy sources, and other innovative solutions will be part of the ongoing journey. [12]

Certainly, there is a need for hopeful and courageous Christian leadership to represent the vision of a New Heaven and New Earth joined together, experiencing the state of all things being renewed (Revelation 21:5). Christian leaders must reject passive, escapist eschatology and embrace the call for the church to be engaged in active renewal, recognizing creation as a sacred trust and a part of God’s reconciling mission. And not because it’s simply about saving the planet, but because it’s part of living the good news of Jesus to the full.

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[1] Jeff Myers. Understanding the Culture: A Survey of Social Engagement, (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook), 2017, 417.

[2] Understanding, 415.

[3] Understanding, 425.

[4] Understanding, 428.

[5] ‘Lausanne Global Consultation on Creation Care and the Gospel: Call to Action’ (St Ann, Jamaica: Lausanne Movement, 2012), accessed 5 Nov 2025, http://www.lausanne.org/content/statement/creation-care-call-to-action.

[6] Understanding, 420.

[7] Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, (London: Little, Brown), 2019, .

[8] Understanding, 436.

[9] R.E. Dunlap and PJ. Jacques, Climate Change Denial Books and Conservative Think Tanks: Exploring the Connection, Am Behav Sci. 2013 Jun;57(6):699-731. doi: 10.1177/0002764213477096. PMID: 24098056; PMCID: PMC3787818.

[10] Understanding, 444.

[11] Katharine Hayhoe and Anne M. K. Stoner, Looking Ahead: The Utility and Application of Climate Projections for Resiliency Planning. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32811-5_111-1, 2021. and Celia E. Deane-Drummond, Sigurd Bergmann, and Markus Vogt, eds., Religion in the Anthropocene. (Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers), 2017.

[12] “UN Climate Change Conference – Belém, November 2025 | UNFCCC.” n.d. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://unfccc.int/cop30.

About the Author

Joel Zantingh

Joel Zantingh is a catalyst for peacemaking and intercultural teams, speaker, theologian and consultant. He is the Canadian Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance's Peace and Reconciliation Network, and the Director of Engagement with Lausanne Movement Canada. He has served in local and national roles within the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, and led their global mission arm. He has experience teaching in formal and informal settings with Bible college students and leaders from various cultures and generations. Joel and Christie are parents to adult children, as well as grandparents. They reside in Guelph, Ont., situated on the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and home to many past, present and future First Nations peoples, including the Anishinnabe and Hodinöhsö:ni'.

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