Osler's Razor

Is conservation a Christian ethic?

I often hear Christians urge us to use less and live more cleanly as custodians of God's Earth, and I agree with their message. Jesus and the apostles certainly lived simply, even by the standards of their own day, and when Jesus sends out the 70 he commanded them to take nothing with them-- the simplest living possible. Some might say this is more a critique of materialism than anything environmental, but what's the difference? It seems like the major way out of our environmental problems is going to involve a decrease in materialism-- fewer cars, less packaging, less stuff. In other words, in the long term it probably won't be gadgets like the Prius that save us, but some fundamental change in our lives and values towards an ethic of simplicity. (I acknowledge that I am a LONG way from that shift in my own life, and know that it is an area I need to work on).

That change towards simplicity, whether it is chosen or forced upon us through environmental decay, may well provide spiritual benefits that could transform us into more whole and Christ-like creatures.