The following essay provides an overview of the environment and how people may help to protect it. It also examines Catholic teaching on the environment and Jesus’ teaching on the environment, with pertinent references from the Bible.
The term “environment” refers to the natural surroundings and areas where people reside. However, human activities endanger the environment. Human actions play a significant role in causing these threats. These human acts have almost certainly had a profound impact on the ecology. Above all, this devastation jeopardizes the survival of all living things on Earth. As a result, there is an urgent need to protect the environment.
Tree planting is one answer to the threat to the environment. Trees benefit the environment by creating oxygen required for human and animal respiration (Holl et al., 2020). However, countless trees have been harmed as a result of construction. It has resulted in a decrease in oxygen on the Earth and a high death rate. To address the issue, people have increased the number of trees planted each year. People can help save trees by participating in forest conservation. Forests have an essential function in the environment. Soil conservation is another important method of environmental protection.
Deforestation, on the other side, has reduced worldwide forest acreage. It is the responsibility of the world’s governments to increase their efforts in forest conservation (Austin et al., 2019). The government has made forest destruction a punishable offense. Also, waste management policies have greatly enhanced environmental protection. Waste is now being disposed of appropriately in regions and municipalities worldwide. In addition, the government is now in charge of cleaning up the streets and other contaminated sections of land. Toilets have been placed in a large number of homes. The government has launched a campaign to expand the number of public bathrooms.
Many religions have taught environmental stewardship because of the worldwide concern for the environment. The Catholic faith is one of them. A scriptural verse guides catholic teaching in Psalm 24:1, which indicates that the Lord owns the Earth and everything on it. Catholics believe that Christians are called not only to worship God but also to revere God’s creation in response to God’s beautiful gift of clean air, life-sustaining water, the fruits of the land’s crops, and even sea replenishment (Poole & K, 2020).
They contend that climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, and it is undoubtedly not about partisan politics or pleasing special interest groups on both sides of the issue. Climate change, they feel, is linked to their obligation as God’s children and people of faith to care for one another and future generations by caring for God’s beautiful Earth. They think that if people honor their relationship with God and God’s creation, climate change will be a blessing for Christians. Spiritual, ethical, and moral concerns preoccupy Catholics. According to Pope John Paul II, individuals cannot interfere with one part of the environment without contemplating the repercussions for other areas and future generations’ well-being.
According to the teaching in the USCCB’s Renewing the Earth proclamation, people are called to act as stewards of the world (Schaefer & J, 2021). According to the bishops, as trustees, people must attempt to understand the connections between human care and environmental respect, and natural and social ecology. It is necessary to rediscover spiritual values respectful of God’s creation (Poole & K, 2020). Citizens in economically developed countries are encouraged to think about ethics while they make judicious use of God’s wealth. According to the teaching, the Earth’s resources belong to humanity and God, and as such, they must be appropriately valued and exploited.
According to the doctrine, people who refer to themselves as God’s children and brothers and sisters to one another must be more careful with God’s resources to fully share God’s creation’s bounty with the poor and disadvantaged. According to Pope Benedict 16, if people want true peace, they must separate, if not oppose, environmental and human life protection. According to Catholic doctrine, human involvement in climate change is one of the most obvious illustrations of how human activity can be harmful.
God commands humanity to love him, care for one another, and care for God’s creation, according to the Bible’s Versus (Bryndin $ E2020). Humans angered God primarily by incorrectly or excessively utilizing God’s Earth’s fruit, but they also jeopardized the livelihood of God’s disadvantaged and oppressed siblings, who rely on God’s creation the most. As a result, the personal choice has taken on a moral dimension, as the poor and disenfranchised bear the brunt of the repercussions despite having contributed nothing to climate change. According to Catholic social teaching, people should consider how their acts and policies affect society’s weakest and most vulnerable citizens.
According to Jesus’ teachings, the environment was essential to God because the first commandment to people required caring for the planet and animals. It means a lot to him, and it should mean a lot to everyone else (Bryndin $ E2020). People show their love for God by taking care of his creation since they love what he loves. Although Jesus preached in cities and towns, he also taught people in mountains, hillsides, fields, beaches, and the desert. As a nature lover, Jesus sought solitude and prayer in remote settings (Alexander & I, 2018). He knows and understands his planet, and he encourages others multiple times to read and interpret the Earth and then read their own time and society in the same way.
One way that I, as a Christian, will contribute to environmental stewardship is by taking care of the trees, soil, and people around me. As a Christian, it is my job to appreciate society’s less venerable members and participate in activities that promote environmental improvement.
In conclusion, the environment has existed for many years since God created the Earth. It is the responsibility of Christians to care for the environment by caring for one another. Religions, such as Catholics, have also made significant contributions to disseminating the good news about the benefits of environmental stewardship, as described in the preceding essay.
References
Alexander, I. (2018). Modeling our teaching on the Jesus of the gospels. In Reimagining Christian Education (pp. 111-121). Springer, Singapore.
Austin, K. G., Schwantes, A., Gu, Y., & Kasibhatla, P. S. (2019). What causes deforestation in Indonesia?. Environmental Research Letters, 14(2), 024007.
Bryndin, E. (2020). Human Evangeliyezation and Diaconic Service of Believers to Neighbors in Unity of Liberty According Law of Love. International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies, 7 (4), 1-8.
Holl, K. D., & Brancalion, P. H. (2020). Tree planting is not a simple solution. Science, 368(6491), 580-581.
Poole, K. (2020). Christianity in a Time of Climate Change: To Give a Future with Hope. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Schaefer, J. (2021). Report of the CTSA Designee to the Workshop of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine with the Learned Societies–”Keeping Scientifically Informed: A Duty for Theologians and the Church Magisterium.” Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 75, 178-184.
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