New Creation Ecology
By Tom Horvat
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About this ebook
New Creation Ecology is a heart appeal to fellow Christians to consider environmental stewardship as a vital part of their relationship to their Creator, Jesus Christ. The new birth is the vital link to knowing his presence spiritually as well as by asking the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the earth, and the fish of the sea where he enjoys the expression of his own nature and desires to share in the wonder of it all with the crown of his creation-man. Recommendation: I think New Creation Ecology is a worthy contribution to an otherwise neglected subject. I like the perspective of personal and passionate advocacy from a biblical perspective. May the Lord use it to stir Christians to a more mindful and conscientious stewardship of God's beautiful garden! Pastor Craig Harris, Grace Baptist Church, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Tom's work sets the Christian on a course for a God-honoring care of nature, for love of its Creator, and a desire for His glory through biblical stewardship. I commend Tom's work, and all his efforts, to call all of us to a biblical stewardship of our Father's world. Jeff Garner, Administrator, Providence Christian Academy, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. I highly recommend Tom's book, New Creation Ecology, which is a study of the Christian witness to God's creation. Tom's autobiographical approach makes this book personal as well as biblical and theological. His stories and descriptions of the natural world invite the reader into the forests, streams and mountains that he explores. His passion for stewardship of God's world is evident throughout. As an avid lover of God's creation, I will be giving this book to my children and grandchildren to further inspire their love of God the Creator. C. Kenneth Shannon, Ph.D.
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New Creation Ecology - Tom Horvat
New Creation Ecology
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
—Revelation 21:5
Tom Horvat
ISBN 978-1-64670-334-0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-64670-335-7 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-64670-336-4 (Digital)
Copyright © 2020 Tom Horvat
All rights reserved
First Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.
Covenant Books, Inc.
11661 Hwy 707
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
www.covenantbooks.com
Table of Contents
Introduction
My Journey
Misplaced vs. Properly Directed Love
The Earth as Our Home
The Earth as a Gift
Future Earth
Endnotes
About the Author
This book is devoted to the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and dedicated to the love of my life, Bambi, and the seven great arrows in my quiver, Misty, Toni, Caleb, Angie, Bethany, Isaac and Melody.
Introduction
IMG_0028It occurred to me I had heard the dream of the toad that most men do not notice…
—Henry David Thoreau
Ecology, by definition, is the branch of biology concerned with relationships between living organisms and their environment. The thesis of this book hopes to affirm that the Christian worldview is logically consistent with active stewardship of the resources of the earth and contributes significantly to man’s aesthetic nature. Therefore, Christians, of all people, have a solid reason for acting responsibly while using the resources of this fair planet and can find great joy in creation research and outdoor recreation. Thus, I am interested in use-ability, enjoy-ability as well as sustainability without any one aspect being a detriment to the other. The Christian faith is a vital faith that embraces life in its fullness and does not confine belief in God to a category called religion. I submit the following verse as the scriptural theme for our view of ecology: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17). A Christian has a comprehensive worldview that considers his or her relationship to everything, excluding sin, in light of the transforming relationship established by new birth between himself and the Lord.
The lack of significant articles or books published by Christians on the subject of environmental stewardship is possible evidence that the church has lost the most profound reason for ecology. Here I would challenge those in the church who teach or preach in any capacity to young or old: when was the last time you gave a lesson or preached a sermon on our responsibility as Christians to care for the earth? Do you, as a teacher and leader in the church, know where ecology finds its place in a Christian world view?
Lawrence Slobodkin wrote a book entitled A Citizen’s Guide to Ecology, where in the introduction he gives reasons for the interest in the environment in modern times. Ecology arose out of an amalgamation of two streams of thought, one concerned with humans and the other with the rest of nature.¹ If we as Christians only think along the lines of these two streams, then we have fallen far short of the biblical worldview that provides not only a third stream of thought, but also the main stream, which in comparison to the other two are mere tributaries. I speak here of the care of nature out of love to its Creator, and with a desire to glorify him through proper stewardship. Since ecology is concerned with the relationships between living things and their environment, the biblical account begins with the relationship between God and nature. Each day of creation is an act of the Eternal and Living God creating space, sky, earth, and seas and then filling them with residents fitted for their prepared place. Then, in sheer enjoyment over what he had completed it says…And God saw that it was good (Gen. 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25). It is important to see from this that God expressed appreciation of his own handiwork and the fullness and diversity of living things filling sea, earth and sky before the creation of man. God loves the creatures and enjoys them; they have great value to God in themselves, apart from their relationship to humanity. Jesus expresses