8/29/25

Part 2: Beyond Hope — The Obstacles to a Christian Environmental Ethic

The conversation turns from what's been accomplished to what's still missing. Walter Kim argues that evangelicalism has a robust theology for personal ethics and salvation but lacks an equally developed, normalized theology of creation care — pointing to overlooked biblical mandates like Sabbath rest for land and animals and the Jubilee cycle. He and John Grim also probe the harder tensions: how much environmental responsibility belongs to government versus the individual, and whether "sacredness" of the natural world remains a stumbling block within evangelical theology, drawing on indigenous frameworks of interdependence. The discussion closes on the sacred, difficult call to love one's neighbor — including neighbors not yet born — and the shared future all communities depend on.

Previous

Part 1: Stewards of Creation — Faith, Story, and a Movement Taking Shape

Next

Part 3: Knowledge and Wonder: Bridging Science, Faith, and a Shared Future