Back to Fundamentals

by Dr. Courtney Ray

CREATION - FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF #6: God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity. He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation the Lord made “the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” and rested on the seventh day.

Thus He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days that together with the Sabbath constituted the same unit of time that we call a week today.

The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with the responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished it was “very good,” declaring the glory of God.

(Gen. 1-2; 5; 11; Exod. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1–6; 33:6, 9; 104; Isa. 45:12, 18; Acts 17:24; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2; 11:3; Rev. 10:6; 14:7.)

STEWARDSHIP - FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF #21: We are God’s stewards, entrusted by Him with time, opportunities, possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible to Him for their proper use.

We acknowledge God’s ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow human beings, and by returning tithe and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church.

Stewardship is a privilege given to us by God for nurture in love and the victory over selfishness and covetousness. Stewards rejoice in the blessings that come to others as a result of their faithfulness.

(Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron. 29:14; Haggai 1:3-11; Mal. 3:8-12; Matt. 23:23; Rom. 15:26, 27; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; 9:7.)

Both fundamental beliefs #6 and #21 have been long-standing pillars among Adventist beliefs. While the latest iteration of our foundational statements has been in existence since 2005 (which is already 20 years) our statements on Creation and Stewardship in their present form have been firmly embedded in our ethos for almost half a century. While it is absolutely essential to remember, as our pioneers continually emphasized, that ‌‌"we have no articles of faith, creed, or discipline aside from the Bible,‌‌" it is also important to note that our church selects these points derived from careful Bible study and prayer to represent concepts that are representative of ubiquitously held beliefs among our worldwide church. And these two beliefs are deeply rooted in Scripture. That’s why it’s so terribly disappointing when leaders undermine these teachings.

As I’ve pointed out, the idea that God has given us the earth to care for is indisputable. It’s among the first interactions recorded in Genesis between God and humanity. We have been given a sacred trust of finite resources to tend responsibly. Unfortunately, it is also indisputable that we haven’t exactly done the best job. No one can possibly think we have when you consider the Great Pacific Garbage Patch floating in the middle of the ocean; recognize the increasing respiratory diseases associated with exhaust, fumes and emissions; witness the impact of extreme deforestation; observe the proliferation of microplastics in the water, in our soil, and even lodged in the organs of both animals and people; are aware of the landfills consuming more and more of our space; or even see how debris from decommissioned satellites and other space junk diminishes our view of the beautiful night sky.  Literally, all one has to do is just look up at our previously pristine God-given skyscape to see what we have done. Unless we believe water bottles and styrofoam cups grow from seeds, we cannot deny that we are to blame for the proliferation of waste across the Earth. This pollution would not exist except for us. And we can not pretend as though all we’ve done has not had (and continues to have) real effects on nature.

These effects are not easily remedied. Countless resources have been poured into research and development for methods to clean the water, land, and air. But even with near-unlimited funding and significant brainpower, humanity has not figured out how to completely reverse these impacts. Worse yet, we haven’t stopped doing the things we know have caused them. In fact, there are some who adamantly oppose taking action to fix our current state. Just because we look forward to an Earth made new doesn’t mean we are absolved from caring for our current one. God cannot be pleased with this path and perspective.

This is not political in any sense. This is biblical. These are facts: (1) God gave us Creation to steward. (2) We have been derelict in our duties. (3) We ought to seek ways to rectify our actions. Yet, there are certain factions who have politicized these truths—and worse yet—have dragged the church into it! There are groups that are trying to act as if our decades-old beliefs are somehow the product of a modern agenda. They are not. What is part of an agenda is when non-Adventist partisans seek to use our church as a battleground for their divisive discourse.

Environmental stewardship is nothing new. It has been a part of our Christian fabric since the beginning. Why is this a debate? Has new light been found that contradicts what was previously revealed? Has earnest Bible study revealed that God has reversed the previous Divine mandate to care for Creation? Has recent scholarship discovered that our interpretation of these texts was in error? If so, by all means, come let us reason together! Let us be like the Bereans and study the Scripture to see if these things are so. I am always willing to exchange ideas based on sincere and diligent research. But from what I’ve seen, the objections stem purely from a (fairly recently formed) line in the sand on this topic dividing different partisan camps.

I fully understand that we have members and leaders who represent a wide range of political viewpoints. But seeing something purple and calling it ”yellow” just because “the team” you don’t like has called it “purple” is just being contrarian for contrary’s sake. The fact that humans are currently harming our shared world is as true as the earth is round. But just like with that fact, there will always be those who put up opposition against reality and seek to turn that opposition into a movement for their own benefit. I have been disappointed by those who have not only allowed, but have invited this rhetoric.

I am not naive enough to pretend that we don’t have disagreements amongst us. However, our beliefs in creation and stewardship should be unifying principles we all can get behind. It should not matter what side of the political spectrum you have an affinity for: our first and highest commitment is to God. And because we have been tasked by God with a responsibility for that which we have been entrusted, I implore all of us to put our hands to the plow and stay focused on fulfilling it. Do not allow external forces with their own motivations to drive a wedge in our church or to detract us from our shared goal to do as God has instructed us.

Courtney Ray, Ph.D., M.Div., is an ordained minister, clinical neuropsychologist, and owner of Array Psychological Assessments.