Pollution and The Death of Man is an ominous-sounding title for a Christian book. But stewarding the environment is something Christians need to think about, as these concepts are clearly addressed in the Scripture (see Genesis 1:28, 2:15, 3:17; Romans 8:20-22; Revelation 11:18).
I’m thankful that Francis Schaeffer, the late respected theologian and author, took the time to thoughtfully explore this topic from a biblical worldview. While many of the examples and cultural movements he describes in this short book are now dated, the principles he draws out ring as true in 2024 as they would have in 1970, when the book was first published. In fact, Crossway just recently re-published it with a new cover.
Theologian and author Francis Schaeffer (1912–1984) is considered one of the most influential evangelicals of the twentieth century.
In chapters 1-3, Schaeffer points out the problem—the way sin destroys God’s good creation—then gives a few examples of the world’s failed attempts to respond to the problem. Chapter 4 lays out why the Christian worldview of creation offers the best lens for stewarding the earth as well as understanding and responding to environmental issues.
Chapters 5-6 describe what obedience to God’s command to have dominion and steward the earth ought to look like: Our relationship to nature ought to be personal because our relationship with its Creator is personal.
“If I don’t love what the Lover has made—in the area of man, in the area of nature— and really love it because He made it, do I really love the Lover?”
We regularly talk about stewarding our finances and caring for one another, but we rarely talk about caring for the natural resources God has blessed us with. We talk about how sin affects our souls, ruins relationships, corrupts governments, and degrades society, but we don’t see how our sin affects the natural world around us. Schaeffer’s book fills a much-needed role in helping us consider these issues with biblical truth.
Seth is the Communications Director at Faith Bible Church and loves anything to do with design, video, audio and tech. He and his wife Kaitlyn have four children.
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