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The Microsoft Encarta defines Christians as believer in Jesus Christ as savior:somebody whose religion is Christianity. It further described them as being kind andunselfish: showing qualities such as kindness, helpfulness, and concern for others.[1]Thus Christian is one who lives according to the teachings of Jesus, one who professesbelief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

Christian and the Environment

In her book, "Caring for Creation", Rowthorn decries the state of our planet and reproaches us asChristians for our "lack of appreciation for the connectedness of all life." Nothing in God's world issecular, she asserts; everything created is holy and to be revered. Christians, says Rowthorn,have for too long failed to realize this, and have acted as if the holy and sacred are to be foundonly in places of worship or within cloistered walls. The Church's most urgent need in today'sworld, argues Rowthorn, is to embrace a theology of creation that will ignite in all Christians afervent love and sense of responsibility for all God's creation.[2]

It is obvious that Christian have formed into different groups called denominations and each

denomination further structured her believes in the teaching of Christ and other rules that couldhelp their day to day living which is called doctrine.

Denominational Declarations on Environment

For the purpose of this paper, the researcher will review only five (5) denominational declarationson environment and are as follows:

Baptist

Excerpted from The American Baptist Policy Statement on Ecology, in Our Only Home:Planet Earth.

The study of ecology has become a religious, social, and political concern because every areaof life is affected by careless use of our environment. The creation is in crisis. We believe thatecology and justice, stewardship of creation, and redemption are interdependent. Our task is toproclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ until the coming of the Kingdom on Earth. All Godspeople must be guided by the balance of reverence, the acknowledgment of ourinterdependence, the integrity of divine wholeness and the need for empowerment by the HolySpirit to image God by our dominion over creation (Mark 10:43-45). If we image God we will

reflect in our dominion the love and the care that God has for the whole creation, for God soloved the world... (John 3:16, Romans 8:21-22, Matthew 5:43-48).[3]

Church of the Brethren

Excerpted from Creation: Called to Care, Statement of the Church of the Brethren 1991Annual Conference.

Why should Christians care about the environment? Simply because we learn in Genesis thatGod has promised to fulfill all of creation, not just humanity, and has made humans the stewardsof it. More importantly, God sent Christ into the very midst of creation to be God with us and to

fulfill the promise to save humankind andnature. Gods redemption makes the creation whole;the place where Gods will is being done on earth as it is in heaven.

"Gods promises are not mere pledges. They are covenants. And covenants are agreementsbetween people and between people and God. The covenants with Noah and Abraham and the

http://brethren/http://brethren/

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New Covenant mean that people of faith are responsible for their part in renewing and sustainingthe creation.

This statement helps us to see the degradation of the earth as sin, our sin. We, the people whohave accepted the redeeming love of God, have broken the covenant to care for creation. Thechallenge in [this] paper is to confess our sin, to take seriously our role as stewards of the earth,and to work for the renewal of creation.

Episcopal

Excerpted from 70th General Conventions Resolution entitled:Affirm EnvironmentalResponsibility and Establish an Environmental Stewardship Team, 1991-a195. Resolved,the House of Bishops concurring, that the 70th General Convention of the EpiscopalChurch, affirming our responsibility for the earth in trust for this and future generations:

Declares that Christian Stewardship of Gods created environment, in harmony with our respectfor human dignity, requires response from the Church of the highest urgency;

Calls on all citizens of the world, and Episcopalians in particular, to live their lives as good

stewards with responsible concern for the sustainability of the environment and with appreciationfor the global interdependence of human life and the natural worlds; and

Urges all Episcopalians to reflect on their personal and corporate habits in the use of Godscreation; to share with one another ideas for new responses; and to act as individuals,congregations, dioceses, and provinces of the Episcopal Church in ways that protect and heal al linterdependent parts of creation. Such action should include prayerful theological discernmentand factual knowledge. It should also consider global and local links and the balance ofenvironmental integrity with economic sufficiency for human living; and be it further Resolved,That the Episcopal Church, acknowledging the sovereignty of God and Gods call to us in theservanthood of Christ, continue to engage environmental issues, passionately caring for the earth

and striving to live into the promises and mandates which are ours as stewards of creation; andbe it further

Resolved,That this Convention calls upon the Presiding Bishop and the President of the Houseof Deputies to appoint an interdisciplinary, multicultural Environmental Stewardship Team, 14members, representing each Province and a broad spectrum of Church membership, whose giftsand expertise are suitable to the task. The mission of the Environmental Stewardship Team is toeducate, motivate and facilitate congregations, dioceses and provinces toward local and regionalplans, advocacy and action. The Team will work with other environmental groups of commoninterest

Evangelical

Because the term Evangelical covers a wide variety of Christian denominations andnon-denominational churches, there is not one Evangelical statement,per se, on creation.Below, you will find an exemplary statement, excerpted from the EENs publication:AnEvangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation.

As followers of Jesus Christ, committed to the full authority of the Scriptures, and aware of theways we have degraded creation, we believe that biblical faith is essential to the solution of ourecological problems.

...We and our children face a growing crisis in the health of the creation in which we areembedded, and through which, by Gods grace, we are sustained. Yet we continue to degradethat creation. ...Thus we call on all those who are committed to the truth of the Gospel of JesusChrist to affirm the following principles of biblical faith [e.g., a transcendent, yet immanent, lovingCreator God created and cares for creation; humans, created in the image of God, are called to

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care for creation], and to seek ways of living out these principles in our personal lives, ourchurches, and society. ...We believe that in Christ there is hope, not only for men, women andchildren, but also for the rest of creation which is suffering from the consequences of human sin.

[1] Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

[2] www.careforcreation.org

[3] http://www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/ecology.htm