What would Jesus drive?

As I've worked my way through the No Impact project, I've forged connections with "conservatives" and orthodox religious types in whose company a "secular liberal" like me might not normally be welcome. But what has interested me is that, when we drop the labels, we find we share so many values in common.

I've written many times that, at least in my own life, "stuff"--more material positions--is just a consolation prize for closer connection to community and to family. As we let go of consumption as part of the project, we found that what we really wanted was to just, well, hang out.

Similarly, although I do believe in a regulatory approach to climate change, I also believe in my own personal responsibility and that the way I live my life should attempt to reflect a stewardship for the environment. I should try to take from the planet only that which it can sustainably offer me--not just what I want.

Suddenly, I find myself thinking about human values in a way that is not unlike what you hear from the "other side." Except that, in things relating to human health, security and happiness as it relates to the well-being of our planetary habitat, there is no "other side." There is only one big our side--everybody's side.

How can we all live happily and safely together?

It's in that spirit that I wanted to highlight the Evangelical Climate Initiative, "a group of more than 85 evangelical leaders who—as a result of their commitment to Jesus Christ and concern for His Creation—have signed the statement entitled Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action." Here are some extracts from their Call to Action statement:

• "...many of us have required considerable convincing before becoming persuaded that climate change is a real problem and that it ought to matter to us as Christians. But now we have seen and heard enough to offer the following moral argument related to the matter of human-induced climate change. We commend the four simple but urgent claims offered in this document to all who will listen, beginning with our brothers and sisters in the Christian community, and urge all to take the appropriate actions that follow from them."
• "Claim 1: Human-induced climate change is real."
• "Claim 2: The consequences of climate change will be significant, and will hit the poor the hardest."
• "Claim 3: Christian moral convictions demand our response to the climate change problem."
• "Claim 4: The need to act now is urgent. Governments, businesses, churches and individuals all have a role to play in addressing climate change."

PS You can find the Evengelical Environment Network's "What would Jesus drive?" campaign, which calls for more walking, biking and public transportation and less driving, here.
PPS On an altogether different note, MTV is looking for young people between the ages of 16-27 who have adopted an "off the grid" lifestyle to feature in an upcoming show. Contact Danielle[AT]Gigantic[DOT]tv.

Comments

[Jay, writer Memberspeed.com]

It's interesting how these titles and questions are phrased. Certainly, they have a huge impact on those who believe in Jesus. But it makes me wonder what do people of different beliefs feel when they come across What would Jesus type of questions... And how do they exactly address the issue of climate change?

[erin :: the olive notes]

Thanks for posting this. I'm familiar with this group and being a follower of Jesus, think that one of the main qualities we should be mirroring is love, care, and concern for all of creation

[gerry rosser]

There have been a lot of rhetorical "What would Jesus . . . .?" questions floated lately (who would he vote for, what candy bar would he eat, what kind of dog he'd have, etc., etc.). This is part and parcel of a degrading of dialog I perceive which I'll call "Why 'Say' Anything When A Rhetorical Question Will Do?" News media are especially guilty of this. Since no person can "read the mind" of Jesus, why not be a bit more straightforward, and less marketing-oriented, and ask what should a good person do, or, to be less secular, what should a good Christian (Hindu, Muslim, Jew) do?

I don't mean the above to sound like semantic quibbling. I just prefer straight talk.

[dms]

no doubt in my mind, he would drive a conversion van from the 80's

[dura mater]

He'd ride a bike, an old one.

[Student Doctor Green]

Wait you want fundamentalists to suddenly acknowledge the validity of science?

How are you going to convince them, "Claim 1: Human-induced climate change is real?" All your subsequent claims hinge on the acceptance of the first one. Ironically, you would think you could get a group of people who take so much on faith and not evidence to believe in something with so much evidence, but it there's nothing rational about religion or how it's followers behave.

I think you could motivate people to act if they acknowledged that climate change is a moral problem (which I'm not so sure it is).

Maybe if you could tie climate change into being a current manifestation of apocalyptic prophecies in Revelation or something...

HOWEVER, People who are taught to reject their own senses and instincts and replace them with a spoon fed belief structure are not interested in real scientific evidence that might conflict with their beliefs. (The same science that tells them climate change is real also says the earth is older than 6000 years so why trust it?)

I'm going to completely pull a 180 here and say that as even a former practitioner of Christianity I would be deeply offended if anyone tried to "hijack" my holy and sacred religious beliefs for their current purposes. I get super suspicious when people claim to know what God wants or thinks. That's completely ridiculous and blasphemous. What, did God charge you with a holy climate change cause, by speaking to you through your organic burrito? ;-)

I said it a few days ago but are we just trying to provoke conversation here or are these suggestions actually meant to be taken seriously because the idea of convincing the religious right, climate change is occurring is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S and a waste of time. You cannot reason with emotion.

[Ryan Young]

In his latest and last book, "The Human, The Orchid and The Octopus", Jacques Cousteau devotes an entire chapter to religion's role in environmental stewardship. His main point is: How can someone claim to be a devout worshiper of god(s) if they don't respect all of its/their creations? A previous poster mentions that climate change is not a moral problem. Cousteau argues in this chapter that it is. He references biblical passages which specifically call for Christians to act with respect towards the planet and all its creatures. So Cousteau's argument is that religion actually demands that we respect our environment.

[Jo AKA Concrete Gardener]

It's really exciting to see transformation in the evangelical movement. As a Christian I'm greatly encouraged by a movement away from the fatalism (Jesus will return before the world is destroyed) towards a sense of responsibility (we are stewards responsible for our impact on this planet; the here and now really matters). For Christians, it allows our decisions around environmental responsibility to actually be a part of living out our beliefs.

It's also wonderful that they're getting publicity while doing this-- being an example of bringing together our "spiritual" and "material" existence.

Thanks so much for the post. I'll keep following the movement.

[Evan]

It is good to see the environment coming on to the evangelical agenda - I grew up an evangelical so can be quite critical of it on occasion.

I do think you are right about getting on with those we disagree with (something about evangelicals and love of enemies occurs to me).

I'm often regarded as being so far to the left as having fallen off the twig (utopian, unrealistice etc ad nauseam), until I ask people what kind of world they want for their kids. All of a sudden the utopian is well and truly on the agenda. I think there are ways, in my experience, to connect across the usual 'barriers'.

[jeff]

@student doctor green - just making sure that you understand the claims have been published by the Evangelical Climate Initiative. They are not just conversation points posed by Colin.

@all - I think it's useful to remember that there are fundamentalist and evangelical and fundamentalist evangelical Christians. See _God and Caesar in America_ by Gary Hart for one man's account and a reminder that not all people who identify with one of these categories are politically right, science rejecting, apocalyptic Christians. He understands himself as an evangelical Christian and the political world understands him to be left of center.

It's also important to to know that these three categories don't even come close to covering the variety of belief in protestant Christianity, not to mention the Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, etc., etc. varieties of Christian belief.

No one should imagine that any subset of Christianity can serve as a "spokesman" for all of Christianity on many, many topics. Do not assume that human-induced climate change will not play with Christians or even with evangelical Christians.

I wonder if similar movements exist within other traditions? I am aware of Earth traditions in the West. I'm thinking of strands of other Abrahamic and the major Asian traditions.

[Rob Johnson]

LOL I have always thought Jesus would drive a honda- it says in the bible "Jesus and his disciples were in one Accord"

One of my favorate bad jokes. Sorry I had to say it!

[I'm trying]

While this post focussed largely on the Christian evangelicals, the most important sentence was actually "when we drop the labels, we find we share so many values in common". We so often align ourselves with a particular religion or worse, a sub-set of that religion. Let's drop labels, whether it's religious, gender or nationality so as not to get lost and lose our focus.

[Susan Och]

You might be interested in Faiths United for Sustainable Energy. They see that energy issues are at the heart of our world's moral challenges:

Human rights abuses, global conflict, environmental crises, and illness on a global scale are linked by one common fact: our dependence on petroleum, fossil fuels, and other non-renewable natural resources.

In the past, faith communities have joined together to address global challenges, such as helping bring an end to apartheid in South Africa, marching for civil rights in the United States, and raising awareness of the genocide occurring in Darfur.

On a local level, faith groups have joined together to help feed the hungry, educate the underprivileged, and fight against discrimination. As part of a global community where the effects of our actions and lifestyles transcend geographic boundaries, faith communities must recognize and act on their potential and capacity to address the harmful effects of our dependence on petroleum and fossil fuels.

The issues of human rights, global conflict, environmental crisis and illness are universal concerns across all faiths and must be addressed collectively by faith communities through an organized campaign of education and action by communities around the world.

[Mark]

Given the fact that I live in Israel,and I am a member of the Green Party, Jesus would be best off driving a tank. Israeli drivers are some of the worst in the world.

[Karen]

There's a strong history of intelligent Christian activism in America; Unitarians, Quakers, etc. It's only since Reagan's America that Christianity has become equated with fundamentalist rhetoric steeped in fear, hate, homophobia, anti-science, and dispensationalist (end times)doggerel that's had a profoundly terrifying effect on America's foreign policy and left us all less safe. Among Christians who embrace the spirit and not just the literal Letter filtered through pop culture talk radio & televangelizing zealots, there are quiet pockets of anti-consumerism & progressive environmental thought. "What would Jesus..." questions are only hollow if left at the level of catch phrase; there are many Christians out there truly trying to be Christ-like in their daily lives, eschewing huge houses and soul-killing mortgages, buying little, giving away what they dont need, kicking the chemicals out of their houses, volunteering, understanding that to have dominion over means to care for and protect, not to destroy for profit. See Walk Slowly Live Wildly (blog) as just one example).

[Cristina]

It is also interesting that pollution was added as one of the mortal sins by the church.

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7287071.stm

(Not that I´m a Catholic or even a Christian, I just respect their concern.)

[My 2 cents]

I haven't been following your blog long enough to know if you are calling yourself a "secular liberal" or that is the label you would guess the far right might put on you...either way, I'm assuming you are "left" leaning. As a person that pretty strongly leans to the right, and happens to be a Christian, I really enjoyed this post.

It has been interesting for me how my faith has brought me to the point of looking at evironmental and sustainabilty issues as a moral obligation. As I believe all things are a gift of my creator I cannot turn a blind eye to how I treat what I've (we've) been given...regardless of if it immediately affects me or not. Taking more than I need might work for me financially or otherwise, but to do so is just not right as it negatively affects other people or the world around me that we all enjoy/need.

That said, I enjoyed reading your perspective that your concern for the environment and such has maybe caused you to think of bigger picture items as well. I see a lot of that happening from both "sides" and it seems to me that these issues might really be bringing people to a common ground...which isn't all that common. (I hope I'm not making too much of a jump there as I don't want to make it sound like that's what you are doing if in fact you are not)

I'm glad we're both on the "same side" to deal with what I personally believe is an extrememly important earthly issue.

Again, I thoroughly enjoy your blog!

[Lisa Bellomy]

As a communications director for an order of women religious, nuns if you will, I can vouch for them that they have had the reverence for what simply is for as long as they have been in community. caring for creation is their natural instinct.
check out an detailed story about their work at www.sistersunitednews.org

[DL]

At the end of the day (better yet, at the end of your LIFE), after all of your "good works" are done here on Earth, you will meet that Jesus face to face--the One, who by the way, created the Heavens and the EARTH which you are trying to save. And if you did not live a life in obedience to Him (not his ideas/teachings, but to Him), none of your good works or great ideas will really matter.

And regarding another post that stated people are mostly good: that is not true.

No one on Earth was born "good". That's why Jesus had to die. He alone is without sin, without spot, without blemish. Our own righteousness (i.e. whatever you may think is "good" and worthy) is actually filthy compared to a Holy God.

Be careful not to think of yourself or anyone else more highly than you ought. Jesus alone deserves our worship, adoration, and any service we render should be done out of a pure, undivided love for Him.

So, what Jesus would drive is totally irrelevant in light of eternity.

[Darx]

I think Jesus would walk or take the bus. As a non-practicing pagan, I'm thrilled to hear of Evangelical Christians (or any other religious group, for that matter) getting active with regard to climate change. Let their zeal give momentum to the cause, it can only be a good thing.

[John]

Carpenters drive vans or pickup trucks. Being born into commonness means using common means. Only in fantasies can a carpenter carry tools and lumber on a bicycle or in a Prius.(maybe in the near future). While it is winter in New York City, and local "green" produce cannot sustain a city building let alone an entire city, fuel is being burned somewhere else to keep New Yorkers from eating rats.

[John]

maybe i should have specified ungrateful new york city journalists. Jesus knows what I mean.