Tending God's Garden
- Krista Bontrager
- May 9
- 5 min read
Join Monique for a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Cal Beisner, founder of the Cornwall Alliance, as they tackle climate change, biblical stewardship, and environmental justice from a Christian worldview. Discover why Dr. Beisner is skeptical of mainstream environmentalism, debunking myths like Amazon deforestation, acid rain, and the catastrophic narrative of global warming. Learn how increased CO2 can boost plant growth and food security, and explore the hidden motives behind climate alarmism, including ties to global governance and socialism. With a focus on Genesis 1:28, this episode unpacks how Christians can steward the earth responsibly while advocating for affordable energy to lift the poor out of poverty. Don’t miss practical tips for biblical stewardship and a hopeful vision rooted in God’s sovereignty.
In this episode, we brought back our friend, Dr. Cal Beisner, founder and spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. Together, he and Monique, discussed biblical environmental stewardship, contrasting it with modern environmentalism. This episode is packed with helpful information! Please see the highlights below.
Q. What is the Cornwall Alliance?
The Cornwall Alliance is a network of about 70 evangelical Christian scholars, including scientists, economists, and theologians, focused on three core areas: biblical earth stewardship, economic development for the poor, and promoting a biblical worldview centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Biblical stewardship is rooted in Genesis 1:28, where God commands humanity to be fruitful, multiply, fill, subdue, and have dominion over the earth. This involves enhancing the earth’s fruitfulness, beauty, and safety for God’s glory and human benefit. Economic development emphasizes conditions like private property rights, entrepreneurship, free trade, limited government, and access to affordable energy to lift societies out of poverty. The gospel reconciles sinners to God, enabling them to fulfill the dominion mandate.
Q. How would you define biblical environmental stewardship?
Biblical environmental stewardship is derived from Genesis 1:28, where God instructs humanity to exercise dominion over creation. This dominion mirrors God’s own creative work in Genesis 1:1-27, bringing order, light, and life from chaos. It involves men and women working together to enhance the earth’s fruitfulness, beauty, and safety for God’s glory and human flourishing, aligning with the commandments to love God and neighbor. Fulfilling this mandate requires reconciliation with God through faith in Christ, linking it to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
Q. How does biblical stewardship differ from modern environmentalism?
Biblical stewardship is grounded in a creator-creature distinction, prioritizing human beings made in God’s image while caring for creation. Modern environmentalism often stems from unbiblical worldviews: secular humanism (materialist, denying God) or pantheism/animism (equating God with nature or ascribing spirits to natural elements). These worldviews reject the biblical hierarchy of life, equating humans with animals or nature, as seen in a PETA leader’s comparison of human abortions to chicken slaughter. Environmental justice often mirrors socialist equity, demanding equal outcomes rather than biblical justice, which emphasizes impartiality and proportionality based on God’s moral law.
Q. What are some myths or exaggerated claims in environmentalism?
Beisner highlights two historical myths:
(1) the 1970s-80s claim that the Amazon rainforest would disappear due to deforestation, which ignored reforestation and exaggerated loss rates (global forest cover has increased over the past century)
(2) the claim that sulfur dioxide from coal plants caused acid rain killing forests, debunked by the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, which found natural soil acidification from mature forests was the cause.
These exaggerations often lead to harmful economic policies. Environmental justice’s focus on equal outcomes (e.g., placing landfills equally near wealthy and poor neighborhoods) ignores cost-benefit realities, disproportionately harming the poor.
Q. How should Christians consider climate change through a biblical worldview?
The claim that human CO2 emissions cause catastrophic global warming is questioned from a biblical perspective, as Genesis 1:31 declares God’s creation “very good,” implying a robust climate system not easily destabilized by minor changes (e.g., CO2 rising from 280 to 420 parts per million). Scientific analysis by Cornwall Alliance scholars like Dr. Roy Spencer and Dr. David Legates confirms modest warming (1-1.2°C since 1850), primarily at poles and in winter, reducing cold-related mortality (20 times higher than heat-related). CO2 also boosts plant growth by 35% per doubling, enhancing food production and reducing extinction pressures. Beisner disputes the “97% consensus” as overstated, noting it only confirms warming, not catastrophe.
Q. Why is there a disconnect in the climate alarmism narrative, and why is it pushed?
The climate alarmism narrative stems from multiple motives. Some sincerely believe in catastrophic warming, though Beisner argues they’re mistaken. Others, like renewable energy businesses, benefit financially from promoting climate fears. Historically, the narrative ties to the population control movement, rooted in Malthusian fears of overpopulation (from Thomas Malthus’ 1798 essay), which influenced eugenics and anti-fossil fuel campaigns. Fossil fuels were first blamed for global cooling (1940s-70s), then warming, to limit population growth. Globalist agendas, like those expressed at the Kyoto Protocol (1998), Cancun Summit (2010), and Paris Summit (2015), aim to use climate policies for wealth redistribution and global governance, promoting socialism.
Q. How do environmental regulations affect the poor?
Environmental regulations, particularly those targeting fossil fuels (which provide 83-85% of global energy), increase energy costs, disproportionately harming the poor. In the U.S., the bottom fifth of income earners spend over 30% of income on energy, compared to 10% for the middle fifth and less for the wealthy. Raising energy costs (e.g., by 20% via wind/solar reliance) crowds out essentials like food and rent for the poor. Globally, fossil fuel restrictions hinder economic development in impoverished nations, where extreme poverty (under $2/day) threatens health more than climate. Over the past century, wealth from fossil fuel use has reduced weather-related deaths by 98%, underscoring the need for affordable energy.
Q. Are there areas where environmentalism aligns with biblical values?
Some environmentalist goals align with biblical values, particularly where they address real harm, like unsafe mining conditions for rare earth minerals (used in solar panels, wind turbines, and EV batteries) in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and China, where slave and child labor are common. Christians should support regulations protecting workers and local ecologies, as these align with loving one’s neighbor. However, replacing fossil fuels with renewables often causes more ecological damage due to mining impacts.
Q. How can Christians biblically steward the earth while advocating for affordable, abundant, reliable energy?
Christians should start with personal stewardship, avoiding waste of energy, water, or food, which aligns with biblical frugality and cost-saving. Decisions should balance benefits and costs, recognizing life’s tradeoffs. Christians should avoid legalistic environmental rules that substitute human traditions for God’s commands (Colossians 2). The Cornwall Alliance encourages policies that maintain access to affordable energy, crucial for human flourishing, while caring for creation without imposing burdensome regulations.
Q. What gives you hope in this area?
Beisner’s hope rests in God’s sovereignty, ensuring His will prevails. Historically, environmental exaggerations (e.g., deforestation, acid rain) have been debunked over time, and he believes climate alarmism will follow. Truth will prevail, guided by Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life.” As Christians study scripture, they better understand and steward creation, advancing God’s kingdom and human well-being.
Resources:
Dr. Beisner's books:
Prospects for Growth: A Biblical View of Population, Resources, and the Future: https://cornwallalliance.org/product/prospects-for-growth-a-biblical-view-of-population-resources-and-the-future/
Where Garden Meets Wilderness: Evangelical Entry into the Environmental Debate: https://cornwallalliance.org/product/where-garden-meets-wilderness-evangelical-entry-into-the-environmental-debate/
Social Justice vs. Biblical Justice: How Good Intentions Undermine Justice and Gospel: https://cornwallalliance.org/product/social-justice-how-good-intentions-undermine-justice-and-gospel/
Climate and Energy: The Case for Realism: https://cornwallalliance.org/product/climate-and-energy-a-case-for-realism/
Other books mentioned:
Cobalt Red: https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Red-Blood-Congo-Powers/dp/1250322154/ref=monarch_sidesheet_image
Mines, Minerals, and “Green” Energy: A Reality Check: https://cornwallalliance.org/product/mines-minerals-and-green-energy-a-reality-check/
Connect with the Guest:
Check out the incredible work Dr. Beisner and his colleagues are doing at the Cornwall Alliance: https://cornwallalliance.org/
Podcast: Search "Created to Reign" on your favorite podcast player
Social Media:
X: @CornwallSteward.
Sponsor:
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