A Holiday Gift Idea for Those on the Other Side of the Great Divide
Review by Bruce Boydston
Posted December 15, 2006

	Inspiring Progress: Religions’ Contributions to Sustainable Development by Gary T. Gardner (W. W. Norton & Co., 2006; 256 pp; Paperback, $14.95)
	The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth by Edward O. Wilson (W. W. Norton & Co., 2006; 160 pp; Hardcover, $21.95)

If you are dismayed by the stark divisions in our society, you can gain some satisfaction in the growing unity between some conservative Christians and the environmental movement for the purpose of saving the planet from humanity's unholy actions. More and more, religious leaders are discussing Christians' responsibility to protect "the creation," arguing that our stewardship of the earth is a biblical imperative.

Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life; Richard Cizik, lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals; and journalist Bill Moyers, who has completed the PBS documentary "Is God Green?" are among those leaders, while old guards Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, and Richard Roberts (president of Oral Roberts University) argue that there is enough uncertainty on climate questions to suggest that evangelicals should stay out of the debate. (On the basis of this year's hot summer, Robertson did state that global warming is for real, which shows his lack of knowledge regarding the long-term evidence supporting global warming). More broadly, the National Council of Churches supports the Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign which states: "In Genesis, God places Adam in the Garden of Eden to serve and protect. Humans are called to be the serving and protecting inhabitants of God's creation."

Some Christians now go so far as to openly criticize the administration of George W. Bush for favoring big business to the detriment of the environment and the average citizen. This trend is likely to continue with the recent disclosure by former White House aide David Kuo that evangelical leaders were often ridiculed by the president's staffers. For their part, environmentalists are excited about the prospect of well-organized, highly-motivated, and well-financed religious groups joining the movement.

Two books are now available that document and support this trend: Inspiring Progress: Religions' Contributions to Sustainable Development by Gary T. Gardner and The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth by Edward O. Wilson, both published by W. W. Norton and both full of revealing information.

With Inspiring Progress, Gardner, who is the director of research at the Worldwatch Institute in Washington DC, has written a scholarly treatise complete with footnotes, appendix, and index. The appendix, listing organizations combining religion and environmentalism, will open anyone's eyes to the ecumenical nature of this trend. Some of the websites listed are: christiansandclimate.org (evangelical), islamset.org, conservation.catholic.org, khalsaenvironmentproject.org (Sikh), sgi.org (Buddhist), noahproject.org (Jewish), and creationcare.org (evangelical). There is a group listed called Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) that encourages energy conservation, the use of renewable energy, and advocacy for green energy to counteract climate change. IPL was formed in 1997 and now has nineteen state chapters with more than thirty denominations and religions represented. In addition to citing EPA estimates that the 307,000 houses of worship in the United States could save half a billion dollars per year by implementing environmental changes, Gardner points out that substantially more savings can be achieved by congregants inspired to pursue green energy at home. In short, this isn't the type of book you would read for entertainment. It is an important item to have on your reference shelf.

Humanist and Harvard entomologist Wilson is a writer well known for his ability to make science both understandable and interesting to the layperson. (His Pulitzer Prizes for On Human Nature and The Ants are sufficient qualifications.) In this vein The Creation is a book that can be read for entertainment value as well as justification for saving the environment. He uses a clever form introduced in the first chapter, "Letter to a Southern Baptist Pastor." Even though Wilson-an evolutionary biologist-and the imaginary pastor-a creationist-have opposing views on how humanity arrived at the present juncture, they both share a common goal to salvage the planet's biodiversity. Wilson eloquently appeals to the two mindsets in expounding upon the glory of nature and the ways humans can save it. "The depth and complexity of living Nature," he writes, "still exceeds human imagination."

Wilson declaims on the scientific method thusly: "The invention of this remarkable engine of testable learning was the one advance in recorded human history that can be called a true quantum leap." Unfortunately, he goes no further in describing the method, assuming that we are all familiar with it. Yet creationists who might read the book would benefit from an explanation of its steps: a problem is identified, relevant data gathered, a hypothesis formulated from the data, the hypothesis empirically tested, and results published, reviewed, and duplicated by peers. Who wouldn't be impressed by the results of such a rigorous process?

Inspiring Progress and The Creation are the perfect holiday gifts for your friends and relatives on the other side of the great divide. You can also consider Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, now available on DVD, for the less bookish. Whether you call it nature or the creation, protecting the planet is a movement everyone can join.

Bruce Boydston is a hike leader with the Sierra Club and Inner City Outings in Orange County, California.

© 2006, the American Humanist Association