In East Africa, we see excellent examples of the interconnectedness of our Earth’s geological and biological systems. But, like everywhere else on Earth, the reality of evil in this fallen and sinful world and the vestiges of its past are ever present. We can look forward to the day when all natural systems will again be in harmony.
Why creation care matters for Bible believers
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans shows rapid adaptation to post-catastrophic environments through epigenetic changes, like DNA methylation, and transposable elements (transposons). These mechanisms alter gene expression and genomic structure, enabling quick phenotypic changes heritable across generations. Transposons, 12% of the genome, respond to stresses like temperature, regulated by epigenetic mechanisms and RNA interference. This precise adaptability, filling ecological niches after disasters, suggests intelligent design, supporting a creationist view over gradual evolution, as implied in Genesis.
The Bible describes a loving God who designed creation with care, contrasting with evolution’s view of life arising from natural selection’s struggle. Prosocial behaviors in animals like dolphins, elephants, and chimpanzees—cooperating, consoling, and showing empathy—reveal emotional awareness. Studies confirm these traits, challenging natural selection’s ability to explain altruistic acts like caring for the disabled or cross-species adoption. These behaviors align with a biblical view of a God who embedded empathy in creation, suggesting intelligent design over evolutionary processes.
In Eden, humans were tasked with caring for a rich and interconnected creation where plants, animals, and microbes worked together to sustain life and recycle resources. Photosynthetic organisms served by providing food and gases, often ceasing to exist in the process—an example of humble, servant-like roles built into creation. Pain, carnivory, and death came only after the Fall, disrupting God’s design and bringing dysfunction to all creation. Yet mutual relationships in ecosystems still reflect God’s principle of giving and receiving, pointing both to His original plan and to Christian service.
Tropical squids have daily statolith growth rings that reveal lifespans under 200 days, not five years as once thought. Their rapid growth stems from fast digestion, protein-based metabolism, continuous muscle growth, and efficient oxygen use. Unlike fish, they prioritize growth over storage, adapting to environmental changes. During 1997–1998 El Niño/La Niña events, Loligo opalescens grew larger and faster in nutrient-rich La Niña conditions. This adaptability, reflecting squid as “ecosystem recorders,” suggests divine design in their complex biology, aligning with belief in a Creator God.
Most nature documentaries include some language that refers to an underlying naturalistic understanding of origins. However, the recently released nature documentary “The Riot and the Dance” breaks this common pattern in a refreshing way.
The creation of God was designed to exist in goodness and harmony. To keep this harmony, God entrusts human beings with the duty to take care of the earth. The message of Scripture encourages us to foster ethical behavior towards the creation, centered on caring and stewarding, for at least seven main reasons.
One person’s cultural background can bias their view about people from other cultures… even before they have ever met. Could people also have a bias about how they think about other creatures? It may even be possible that scientific culture could prejudice the way researchers see creature-environmental relations with the potential to bias whole research programs.
A very common reaction to the thought of “microbes” is a compelling desire to slather up in hand sanitizer! However, it is seldom realized that the greatest majority of microorganisms are at the very least not harmful, and at the most necessary for human life! Many aspects of microbial interaction with our environment allow it to be so perfect for humans. Some of these aspects include oxygen generation,…
The world must have seemed like a big place to Helga Estby, a Norwegian woman who walked across America in the year 1896. Helga immigrated to the United States with her parents in 1871 at the age of 11. On May 5, 1896, at the age of nearly 36, Helga and her 18 year old daughter Clara set out to walk across the United States. They started from Mica Creek, in far eastern Washington state, and walked…
The number of different kinds of living organisms is one measure of biological diversity, or what has become known as “biodiversity.” Our world’s oceans have the highest known biodiversity, second only to the number of species found in the tropical rainforest.
Have you ever snorkeled or scuba dove in a coral reef? If you have, and I asked you to describe the experience in less than five words, I bet your answer would be an explosion of color. Well, maybe you would express it slightly differently, but I am sure that you would include the word color in your description. Coral reefs are one of the most colorful spectacles of nature; electric blues, vivid yellows,…
During 1833, Arthur Henry Hallam died suddenly and unexpectedly. This would be one of those sad but unremarkable facts of history were it not for his close friendship with Alfred Lord Tennyson. Tennyson spent the next 17 years struggling with the death of his friend. During this time, Tennyson composed “In Memoriam,” a long poem that wrestles with the shock, sadness and despair he experienced and his…
Among those who reject the Biblical record of God’s action in creating everything, including all living things, the process of chemical evolution from atoms to the first cell is usually explained something like this: elements reacted with each other spontaneously forming simple molecules. These simple molecules continued to react forming larger and more complex molecules such as the nucleotide building…
As Christians, we believe that God created the Earth and us, and has entrusted us to care for the planet and each other. What are some practical things that we can do at home to care for the Earth’s environment?
Creation and Sabbath provide key rationale for the continued necessity of earth care. In the biblical theology of conservation, we cannot dismiss care for animals and care for the environment by reasoning that the earth will eventually be “burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10). All living creatures are co-inhabitants on the earth, and as they also depend on its ecosystems for survival, the Bible holds humankind responsible for the preservation of the earth and the care of all living creatures.
From the trillions, yes trillions, of non-human cells that live in our bodies cooperating with us in various ways that keep us healthy and happy, down to the molecular machines that keep each cell running all the way up to the cooperation between plants and animals that keep the animals fed, the plants pollinated and any number of other cooperative relationships between organisms, the real question is, “Who designed the marvelous plans we see brought to life all around us?”
In a "land of plenty" it is not easy to be motivated about being fugal with the earth's abundant treasures. Yet, when God brought the children of Israel to the "Promised Land," He carefully instructed them on good ecology.
Environmental ethics now defends the inclusion of large communities of animals, plants, rivers, lakes, mountains, and valleys, referred to as ecosystems, “biomes,” or “the natural environment.”
