INTERVIEW: Ian Bradley.

Ian Bradley, Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews, discusses the newly revised and updated edition of his 1990 classic, God Is Green, as well as climate change and Christianity …

 

The first edition of God is Green was published in 1990, this substantially revised new edition appears exactly 3 decades on. How has the attitude of Christians and indeed the general public toward climate change developed since then?

There has been a much greater realization of the frightening reality of climate change and the extreme urgency of the necessity of changing our lifestyles and economic systems to mitigate it and save the environment. The churches are much more aware of the issue and have produced much valuable material on it as well as engaging in campaigning and seeking to reduce their own carbon footstep. One might question whether yet another book on the subject is needed but we are not still not hearing enough about it in sermons, services and in the pews and the approach of God is Green is, I believe, distinctive and highly relevant at the present time.

Are governments and global corporations doing more to promote stewardship and an ecologically sound and sustainable way of living? Is it enough?

The picture is patchy – some governments and major corporations, including some oil companies and car manufacturers, are getting to grips with setting targets and planning in new directions to avert or at least mitigate climate change and create a more sustainable environment but others are not and they include some of the worst offenders. Full international agreement and coordinated action is badly needed but is very difficult to achieve in the current state of world politics, rivalry and suspicion.

With the cost of renewable energy coming down to be on a par with energy derived from fossil fuels, are you hopeful meaningful change can be made to reverse global warming?

We have the technology and, as you say, the economic case for green energy is becoming much stronger and this is, of course, the key to large companies, investors and others deciding to back it. But once again, the picture is mixed. Whereas most of Europe is moving rapidly in this direction, other parts of the world are not.

Do you think the pause to global movement and production as a consequence of coronavirus will have long term effects on the habits of individuals and of businesses vis a vis their carbon footprint?

I think the coronavirus pandemic has acted as a wake-up call to the world. There is little doubt that the transference of viruses from animals to humans, of which Covid-19 is just the latest and sadly unlikely to be the last of many examples, has been greatly exacerbated by the degradation of natural habitats, the crowding together of wild animals and humans and the scourge of over-population. The lockdown occasioned by the virus brought dramatic reductions in pollution levels and has made many people appreciate a simpler and healthier lifestyle. I think that it could well have long-term benefits in encouraging new habits on the part of individuals and businesses. Let’s hope so!

Why should issues around global warming and climate change be so pertinent to Christians? How can the Church lead the way in addressing the issues in society at local and national level?

My argument in God is Green is that Christianity is intrinsically a green faith, deeply concerned about the environment and our part in creation. The problem is that it has not always be understood as such and, indeed, the churches have rightly in the past been blamed for helping to create the conditions for environmental exploitation and climate change by emphasizing human dominion over nature, the fallen state of the natural world and God’s distance from it. In fact, these are perversions of what the Bible says. Christians have a very important role to play in proclaiming the Bible’s message of God’s concern for all creation, the interdependence of humans and other creatures and Christ’s interaction with the natural world. My book has specific practical suggestions as to how churches can lead the way in this area, through worship, through pilgrimage, through active stewardship and through doing something as simple as planting a tree.

Which Bible passages best enshrine the obligation of Christians to look after planet earth?

The Genesis creation accounts, especially the second one (which is actually earlier than the first), the Psalms, passages from Job, Isaiah and Jeremiah, the stories in the Gospels which describe Jesus interacting with the natural physical world (walking on the water, stilling the storm and being with the wild beasts when he is tempted in the desert) and of course Paul’s invocation of the Cosmic Christ in Colossians and his majestic passage about the whole of creation groaning in travail in Romans 8.

If, in 30 years time, there was another new edition of God is Green, can you envisage the state of the planet and indeed Christianity?

I am not sure that I can – I fear it may be a great deal hotter, more crowded and more unpleasant to live in but perhaps we will be able to reverse the engines in time and create a better environment for ourselves and all the other species who share God’s wonderful, beautiful but fragile world with us. It is in our hands.

Ian Bradley is Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews.

God Is Green: Christianity and the Environment by Ian Bradley is available for download as an eBook here. The paperback will be released on September 24^th.