Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation

Trees are used in the Bible as symbols of life, stability, fruitfulness and integrity. There are passages which depict trees as embodiments of religious value (reflecting the sacred view); others reflect trees as conveyors of ulterior meaning (reflecting the symbolic view); some passages reflect trees as commodities (reflecting a utilitarian view).

At times trees are the subject of law, such as the command not to cut down trees during times fo war. Trees are even seen as the subjects of religious discourse, such as the passages concerning Solomon’s wisdom and his commentaries on plants and trees.

From the first book of the Bible to the last, trees are a continual element in the biblical message. The following are passages which represent some of the many and varied ways in which trees and forests are characterized in the Bible.

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart... And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. ...

And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spoke also of animals, and of birds, and of reptiles and fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law does he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.

They make a graven image,... he cuts down forests for his greed which is his god.... They have not known or understood, they have shut their eyes and their hearts.

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; Shout O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O forest, and every tree in it!

THE BIBLE provides principles for the proper care and keeping of all creation for earthkeeping, i.e., the practice of environmental stewardship. The following ten principles provide access points through which scriptural teachings on stewardship can be discovered. These provide a beginning outline of principles which inform ecological theology and an ethics of forest action.

“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens... and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you” (Nehemiah. 9:6; see also I Chronicles 29:11.

GOD IS CREATOR of the whole universe, of Earth and all its creatures (Genesis 1:1). And while this is richly taught by the Bible, it also is taught by creation itself, " For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse " (Romans 1:20).

The whole Creation speaks eloquently of the Creator: " The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge " (Psalm 19:1-2).

It is God who, through Christ, creates all things. " For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth... all things were created by him and through him " (Colossians 1:16).

“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you" (Psalm 119:89-91).

All Creation is governed by the Creator through laws and ordinances. It is highly ordered. "Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and thrush observe the time of their migration " (Jeremiah 8:7a).

The law is overwhelmingly comprehensive and beautiful. Our Creator is also awesome and powerful, inspiring not only respect but even fear. "Should you not fear me_ " declares the Lord. " Should you not tremble in my presence_ I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it " (Jeremiah 5:22).

But people often neglect and violate God's law. " These people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away " (Jeremiah 5:22-23). " They do not know the requirements of the Lord " (Jeremiah 8:7).

Our proper response is to honor our Creator, to respect and uphold the creation, to respect and abide by Creation's ordinances. "Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always " (Deuteronomy 11:1) and receive the grace of God, for " Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart " (Psalm 119:1).

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

The Lord blesses us and keeps us. And we in turn are expected to keep the Earth. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it" (RSV Genesis 2:15). We join our Creator in keeping creation.

When giving land to the stewardship of God's people, our Creator says, “It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12); it is a land that "drinks rain from heaven " by which the Earth is satisfied (Psalm 104:13).

The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant " (Isaiah 24:4-5).

Those who destroy the Earth, themselves are destroyed. "... the time has come... " declares the Book of Revelation regarding the time of Judgement, "for destroying those who destroy the earth " (Revelation 11:18).

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please... then you will find joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land... (Isaiah 58:103).

As human beings and animals are to be given their times of Sabbath rest, their times for enjoying the fruits of God's creation, so also must the land be given its Sabbath rests.

People, the land, and all of its creatures are not to be relentlessly pressed. " For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it lie fallow.... Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed " (Exodus 23:10-12).

“He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts...; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among its branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work” (Psalm 194:10-13).

God provides for the creatures, and, reflecting God's image, so should we. We are responsible for the food, water and comfort of animals under our care. And when God's creatures are threatened with extinction, time, expense and reputation should not be spared in saving them, not only those of economic value, but all creatures, beetles, snails and lizards included. In the face of a deluge, God commanded Noah: " You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you " (Genesis 6:19).

But deluges need not only be of the watery kind; they can also be floods of people sprawling over the land and displacing God's creatures and limiting their potential to obey God's command, "Be fruitful and increase in number " (Genesis 1:23a). To those who would expand across the land at the expense of all other creatures, the prophet warns: " Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no space is left.. ..” (Isaiah 5:8).

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (I Timothy 6:6-9).

Our first parents and their succeeding generations were not satisfied with the fruitfulness and grace of the Garden and the gifts of creation (Genesis 3:11). Even though God promised not to forsake them nor leave them, they chose to go their own way grhtmling more and ever more from the creation for selfish advancement. The result is an overexploitation of creation, a pressing of the creation to produce ever more, without limit. But this is not right in the eyes of our Creator, who wants us to pray: " Turn my heart to your statutes and not toward selfish gain " (Psalm 119:36).

The Apostle Paul, who has " learned the secret of being content in any and every situation" (Philippians 4:11) writes to Timothy, "...godliness with contentment is great gain... If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that " (I Timothy 6:6,8).

We are told by scripture: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have," because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you " (Hebrews 13:5).

And God said, "Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth" (Genesis 1:20-22).

The abundant gifts and fruitfulness of God's creation often is not enough for us; we want even more. In pressing the creation for more and yet more some even are willing to destroy creation's fruitfulness.

Our Sovereign Lord says, " Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture_ Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet_ Is it not enough for you to drink clear water_ Must you also muddy the rest with your feet_ Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet_ " (Ezekiel 34:18-19).

The fruitfulness of living creatures consists in their ability to reproduce themselves; with this fruitfulness we are not to interfere. Thus scripture teaches: "If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young " (Deuteronomy 22:6).

Similarly, the fruitfulness of trees must not be destroyed. “ When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down " (Deuteronomy 20:19a).

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grhtmled, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..." (Ephesians 2:1-3, 6).

We are the children of Adam, through whom we have gained the reward of death for choosing to go our own way. But, the scriptures tell us, " Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive " (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

Those who follow the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, can help redeem the Creation, can help make all things new. " For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross " (Colossians 1:19-20).

The Last Adam, described in Romans 5, undoes the damage of the first Adam. What is degraded by the first Adam and followers is restored by the Last Adam and His followers. And Christ's work necessarily is as broad and deep as the destruction brought to creation by the First Adam. Adam brings death and degradation; Christ brings life and restoration. All that the First Adam wrecks, the Last Adam restores.

As followers of the Last Adam we strive to be the children of God, Christ's servant-stewards for whom the whole creation is eagerly looking: "...the created order awaits with eager longing, with neck outstretched, for the full manifestation of the children of God. The futility or emptiness to which the created order is now subject is not something intrinsic to it... for the creation itself has something to look forward to namely, to be freed from its present enslavement to disintegration. The creation itself is to share in the freedom, in the glorious and undying goodness, of the children of God..." (Romans 8:18-25, trans. by Paulos Mar Gregorios).

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:9-13).

It is tempting to follow the example of those who accumulate great gain, to creation's detriment. But the scriptures assure us: " Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong... Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart " (Psalm 37:1-4).

Christ affirms the inheritance of those who do not arrogantly press their neighbors and the Creation for all they are worth: " Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth " (Matthew 5:5); " seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well " (Matthew 6:33). Joy is a by-product of stewardship. Fulfillment is a consequence of seeking the kingdom.

"This day I call heaven and earth as witness against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land... " (Deuteronomy 30:19-20a).

Listen then to what the parable of the sower means... the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown" (Matthew 13:18,23).

Knowing what are God's requirements for stewardship is not sufficient; they must be put into practice, or they do absolutely no good. Hearing God's message, discussing God's message, singing God's message, contemplating God's message is not the same as applying it to real-life situations.

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say_ I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck the house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete " (Luke 6:46-49; also Ezekiel 33:30-32).

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means... The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful " (Matthew 13:18,22).

Environmental stewardship is practicing the stewardship principles we preach and teach. Stewardship evaluates the consequences of human activity for the household of life; exemplifies Christ's Lordship; is exercised only by human beings; involves accountability to God; is an inescapable condition of human existence; requires freedom to exercise it over a fair share of creation; is the exercise of delegated dominion in the service of creation; implies responsibility and points us to a correct knowledge of our place in things; informs the issues surrounding forest conservation; and is foundational for economics.

Copies of the full text are available from the Au Sable Institute, Outreach Office, 731 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 for $3.00.

Dr. Calvin DeWitt is professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and the director of the Au Sable Institute, Mancelona, Michigan.