CSI encourages eco-friendly habits

Christians are urged to be more environmentally conscious.

Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalms 8:6-8 talk about the idea that God created humans to have dominion over the earth. A group of people at Indiana Wesleyan University is taking the idea of Christian stewardship to heart.

The Creation Stewardship Initiative is a group of six individuals who share the same passion for sustainability and creation care issues. This task force is currently in the process of raising awareness to students at IWU. Brendan Bowen, Vice President for Operations and Facilities Planning, is one of the members of this group. He desires to see IWU students take seriously the Biblical mandate of stewardship.

“It’s essential for students to take a personal assessment of their lifestyle and to critically look at their level of consumption,” said Bowen.

Those who do not see the Bible as mandating that stewardship is necessary can look to other factors, as Bowen believes there are other arguments for sustainability and stewardship besides the Biblical one.

“Human Beings, whether Christian or not, share the same world,” said Bowen. “It’s immoral even from a humanist perspective to exploit nature to our own advances. That creates an indebtedness to future generations who are depending on us to pave the way for them.”

Dr. Grace Miller, associate professor of biology, believes there are many small and practical steps IWU students can take to help the cause. Taking shorter showers, turning off the lights when leaving a room and recycling are among those steps.

She also stresses the importance of “living simply so that others may simply live.” She challenges people who have been given an abundance of wealth to cut back on our consumption in order to help those who are less fortunate.

Bowen echoes that challenge and hopes that the Creation Stewardship Initiative will challenge students to live more simply. He encourages students to get involved in the discussion and they can do so by visiting http://creationstewardship.blogspot.com.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Frontpage.
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