ABSTRACT

The definition of sustainable development, first offered in Our Common Future, is “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Christianity founded on fundamental tenets to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) and to “treat people the same way you want them to treat you” (Matthew 7:12) would seem to be an obvious resource in establishing moral and ethical warrant for considering future generations as our “neighbors,” and giving attention and concern to their rights and welfare. Sustainable development is founded on the principle of identifying and meeting real human needs, while simultaneously prescribing and submitting to self-imposed limits on resource consumption and the use of technologies that harm the environment. In these goals, Christianity shares a view of human beings as a species uniquely created and valued by God, made “in His image” as his personal representative to creation (Genesis 1:26), at the same time prescribing an attitude to material possessions and resource consumption marked by restraint, frugality, and contentment with what one has (I Timothy 6:6–11), supported by the hope of a transgenerational future community living under the rule of God (I Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 21:1–7). The major tenets of Christian belief speak to fundamental questions of sustainable development and conservation. Christian belief and behavior arise from four normative sources: the Bible, theology, historical Christian tradition, and the church. These compartments are not absolute, and their boundaries are semipermeable. To examine the relationship between Christian belief and environmental stewardship one has to consider all four.