HOPE IN AN AGE OF DESPAIR
The Gospel and the Future of Life on Earth
By Jonathan Moo & Robert White
IVP. 224 pages. £11.99
ISBN 978 1 844 748 778
When it comes to Christians, climate change and other environmental issues, there are several possible positions.
There are those who deny the scientific evidence compiled by bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and academies of science around the world. Often they opt instead for comforting pseudo-science. (No need to think about climate change – it’s all a big hoax.) Science is denied. The Bible is twisted to support pseudo-scientific nonsense, real scientists groan and militant atheists love it.
Then there are those ‘sensible’, progressive Christians who support the environmental movement, but do not mention anything contentious like judgment or the Second Coming. The church’s respectability is maintained, good causes are championed and the essential truth of the gospel is ignored.
Scientific honesty
This book avoids these two unbiblical alternatives. The authors grapple honestly with the scientific evidence about the state of our planet. There are some very grim facts about climate change, population growth, species extinction, water shortages and land use. The authors do not shy away from these, or from our responsibility as Christians to care for God’s creation here and now. They also point us to the Bible’s teaching about God’s new creation.
Not afraid
Not everyone will agree with the authors’ view of evolution but the call to serve God in the current crisis is relevant to us all. This is a great book for Christians who are not afraid to face reality, but want to do so with the certainty of Christian hope.
