Welcome to Jesus and the Orangutan! (J.O)
This blog is birthed out of my thesis on why Christians should support sustainable agriculture. J.O. also covers environmental ethics, religion and the environment, and environmental news. As a Protestant Christian, I am ultimately concerned with convincing Christians that there is a Biblical and ethical basis for environmental stewardship. In other words, our faith should compel us to advocate ‘green’ industry and agriculture.
So far, Christianity as a whole has been too painfully slow to adopt an eco-conscious mindset, though there is a small but growing faction with it. Some Christians are outright opposed to ‘green’ principles, such as some fundamental Evangelicals, which you can read more about in my Megachurch Evangelicals blog post. It seems that the cause of this cleave is a lack or misunderstanding of scientific study, and a lack of solid grounding in the Bible. J.O. attempts to address both these issues to show both the scientific and Biblical impetuses to expanding our eco-conscience.
Other faiths have pockets of eco-conscience as well. Judaism, in particular, has had a great minds working on the cause. The current Pope has been greening the Vatican and also advocating a stronger stance on the environment, to the point of even adding pollution to the list of sins. You can see some information about other religions and the environment by scrolling through the categories list. I will be adding more information to these over the coming months. You can also post and ask a question or request a topic and I will respond.
Thanks for visiting! Let me know what you think.
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Yep, there’s a slow movement happening. I’m speaking on the environment at our church tomorrow. Its one of the trickier messages I’ve ever had to prepare. I agree with your point that we fear the term ‘dominion’ because of bad experiences with authority.
So glad I came across your site! I am getting way more serious about building solid thinking, respectful of God and creation, that can be lived-out with others. What I have seen here has been helpful, I will be back regularly to keep developing my reflections. By getting started on the article from your friend Craig Iffland, I saw an important approach to issues rooted in the history of ideas, and solid biblical perspective among other things.
While I am not looking to withdraw from society, I am eager to identify Christ followers deeply committed to a more biblical lifestyle in respect of God and creation. I am hoping that your blog may point to collaboration possibilities at some point.
Most of all, thanks for your blog.
May God be your source and light,
Ron
I love your site. Keep it up !