Biodiversity, Creation Care, And What We Can Learn From Noah
I opened this year’s column with a bold call to preserve and protect natural spaces. This month, I go deeper into the story of the Great Flood in Genesis 6-8 and discuss its implications for creation care.
In Genesis 7, God gives specific and direct instructions to Noah to preserve pairs of each animal species and shelter them in the ark when they are threatened with extinction from the Great Flood. Noah faithfully follows God’s instructions and it saves his family’s life as well as the animals in their care. While this story has been taught many times, the creation care aspects of Noah’s actions are seldom examined. Noah’s actions preserve the biodiversity of creation and enable their flourishing after the Great Flood.
The NRSV Green Bible commentary on Genesis 7 states, “In our time, floods of people in many places sprawl across the land, often displacing other creatures, limiting their potential to fulfill their blessing and God’s command to be fruitful.” (NRSV Green Bible). The 2019 Protected Planet report shows that only 15% of the Earth’s land areas and only 7.5% of the Earth’s marine and ocean areas are protected. These low numbers show that human settlement and activities have caused other creatures to be displaced and to be driven out of their homes, which undermines their ability to flourish. Ecology teaches us that the loss of “keystone species” in an ecosystem has negative and reverberating effects throughout the whole ecosystem, even affecting humans. The Bible also states that “The Earth is the Lord’s,” (Psalms 24:1). Therefore, our choices, activities, and impact with respect to creation must reflect reverence for God, who is the true owner of the Earth.
The declining trend of wildlife is serious, and climate change impacts are exacerbating this downward trend. For example, the Australian climate fires of 2019 and 2020 have led to over 18 million hectares being destroyed and 3 billion animals dying, in addition to displacing human communities.
Renowned naturalists, E.O. Wilson and David Attenborough, along with Indigenous peoples, civil society and environmental organizations have called for governments, companies, and society to work together and protect up to 50% of the Earth’s lands and waters. Protecting natural areas preserves biodiversity and valuable ecosystem functions such as air and water filtration, and sequestering carbon in the soil and in the waters. Protecting these areas now can shape the trajectory of life on Earth for the next few centuries. It would also be consistent with God’s commandments in Genesis 2 to preserve the integrity of creation and enable creation to be fruitful and to bring glory to God.
Christians can contribute to this important work of biodiversity protection. A Rocha International, a Christian conservation organization, works in countries across North and South America, Europe, Africa in preserving unique nature spaces and working with local communities on conservation. A Rocha International has contributed to protecting endangered birds, animals, and plants and their habitats. A Rocha communities conduct conservation science research and educate students, youth, adults, and churches about the importance of creation care through immersive educational experiences in nature and through practical activities such as tree planting and habitat restoration.
Noah and his family did not have the prominence or fame of modern celebrities or a large organization. However, their faithfulness to God’s instructions and the actions they took to preserve animal species had impacts in the centuries following their lifetime. The birds and animals that they protected during the Great Flood then flourished in the world after the Flood, fulfilling God’s commandment to “be fruitful, and multiply”.
The stories of Noah and of A Rocha International are examples of how faithfulness in creation care can make a difference. The actions we take now can and will have an impact on the natural world and in creation for the next few centuries.
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Go Deeper:
Register for the free online course “God, Country, and Global Warming” at Houghton College. The course will cover the causes and impacts of climate change, solutions, and why Christians should pay attention to climate change.
Pray:
Lord, you have given us this beautiful world, yet in our greed we are robbing future generations, poisoning your world and destroying many of your creatures. Help us, Lord, to come to our senses, to realise that we interfere with your world at our peril, for it is your hand, not ours, that rules the world, for you created the universe and we are here as your caretakers.
Take Action:
Visit A Rocha International’s website and sign up for their newsletters to learn more about their projects, prayer requests, and opportunities to give.
Find your country’s progress on protected areas (https://www.protectedplanet.net/en), sign a petition or write to your local representative, urging them to take action so your country can meet their Aichi Biodiversity Targets
Choose locally grown and fresh foods with minimal processing. The production of palm oil, which appears in many processed food products, increases deforestation in Southeast Asia as existing rainforests are burned to plant palm trees for their palm oil.
