1. Running head: [STEWARDSHIP IS SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING
STANDARDS WORLDWIDE] 1
Stewardship is Synergistic with Improving Living Standards Worldwide
Bethany Barr
ENVR 330-D01
December 10, 2015
Professor Breuner

2. [STEWARDSHIP SYNERGISTIC WITH IMPROVING LIVING STANDARDS] 2
Introduction
One only needs to look around the world today to see that there is a need for better
stewardship of the world’s natural resources. The lack of equal distribution of the world’s
resources causes many places to have extreme poverty and other places to have resources in
abundance. As a result poverty is rampant all around the world today and many people die daily
from malnutrition, dirty water, and preventable diseases. This is in part due to the degradation of
the environment caused by humans’ actions. There are numerous issues and challenges; disposal
of hazardous wastes, worries of overpopulation, climate change, and species loss, to name a few.
When one sees and assesses these problems all over the world, there is an evident and necessary
burden that humans - and especially Christians - have to responsibly look after the world where
they live in order to leave the future generations with in inhabitable world. There are, however,
many differing beliefs as to the solutions to these problems, and how Christians should best
follow God’s commands to be stewards of His creation. Some believe that some of the problems
mentioned above are theoretical and some believe they are all valid problems that we are
currently facing. Therefore not only do people come up against the issue of what best way to
steward the earth but also what aspects require stewardship. The Cornwall Alliance and the
Evangelical Environmental Network, two Christian Organizations, both believe that as Christians
we have a responsibility to care for the earth according to Scripture; however, they disagree on
what certain actions should be taken.
Points of Similarity
These two organizations are similar in several aspects: they are both committed to
making the world a better place and bring glory to God the creator of it, through recognizing
their responsibilities as humans to care for all creation. In addition to this, both organizations put

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people and their well-being at the center of their mission as they aim to improve the living
standards of all people around the world.
Both of these organizations base their objectives and mission on Biblical principles. The
Evangelical Environment Network states this in their “Evangelical Declaration on the Care of
Creation” page saying that “As followers of Jesus Christ, committed to the full authority of the
Scriptures, and aware of the ways we have degraded creation, we believe that biblical faith is
essential to the solution of our ecological problems” (“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). Likewise
The Cornwell Alliance states on its page “The Cornwall Declaration on Environmental
Stewardship”, “Out of shared reverence for God and His creation and love for our neighbors,
we...unite in this declaration of our common concerns, beliefs, and aspirations” (“The Cornwell
Declaration”, 2000). Clearly both of these organizations base their principles, objectives, and
claims on God and His Holy Word. Throughout their declarations on stewardship they keep
referring back to Biblical principles and Bible passages.
Both organizations aim to improve the world they are living in order to give God the
glory, “Our God-given, stewardly talents have often been warped from their intended
purpose...that we nourish civilization in love, creativity and obedience to God; and that we offer
creation and civilization back in praise to the Creator” (“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). They
also both recognize that humans’ lifestyle and actions negatively affect the earth and the creation
living in it in some form or another. This is stated by Stuart F. Chapin III et. al., authors of
“Earth Stewardship: science for action to sustain the human-earth system” where it states,
“Human activities have altered Earth's life support systems so profoundly as to modify, and often
threaten, the ecological services that are essential to society” (Chapin III et. al., 2011, ). This fact
cannot be denied. Both of these organizations, therefore, also recognize that it is humans’

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responsibility to obey God’s commands and care for His creation in order to reverse some of
these negative impacts caused by humans.
Points of Contrast
However, these two organizations are also different in regards to their beliefs as they are
different in their approach to stewardship. Firstly, the Cornwell Alliance believes that human life
is of utmost importance and must be allowed to thrive and that environmental stewardship should
allow for this. They also believe that some environmental concerns are unfounded including
“fears of destructive manmade global warming, overpopulation, and rampant species loss” (“The
Cornwell Declaration”, 2000). Whereas, the Evangelical Environment Network believes that
human life is important and allowing them to thrive is important as long as it doesn’t degrade the
environment as “God’s purpose in Christ is to heal and bring to wholeness not only persons but
the entire created order” quoting Colossians 1:19-20 (“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). In
addition to this the Evangelical Environment Network does believe in large-scale environmental
concerns such as species extinction and the alteration of atmosphere. Therefore it is these two
areas where they differ most; in what they view as issues, and what is most important, humans or
the earth; therefore, this causes their approaches to stewardship to be very different.
As shown by these two organizations, what stewardship should encompass has no
straightforward answer. The Cornwell Alliance believes that if one focuses on combating the
larger risks such as global climate change then human life will not be improved and the
environment will not improve either. Therefore, they believe that stewardship’s main focus
should be on humans caring “wisely and humbly for all creatures, first and foremost for their
fellow human beings, recognizing their proper place in the created order” (“The Cornwell
Declaration”, 2000). In contrast, the Evangelical Environmental Network believes that humans

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are to “resist the allure of wastefulness and overconsumption by making personal lifestyle
choices that express humility, forbearance, self-restraint and frugality” and it places the care of
the environment on a par, equal with the living conditions of humans being improved
(“Evangelical Declaration”, 2015). This organization aims to find compromises in situations
where the two come into conflict and where both objectives can be achieved. An organization, A
Rocha, does likewise and works in areas where biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation
come into conflict. They aim to find a compromise and do not place one as more important than
the other. The article “Christians, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: a potential
synergy?” states that “The Christian worldview provides one in which both people and the
environment are considered to be of intrinsic value” and when talking about A Rocha it states
that “At the core...is a commitment to view biodiversity and poverty alleviation from a Christian
perspective” (Sluka et. al., 2011, p. 108-113). Like A Rocha, the Evangelical Environmental
Network believes that “Christianity, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation are
synergistic” (Sluka et. al., 2011, p. 115). Therefore they do not aim to only achieve one aspect as
the Cornwell Alliance does, meaning that their approaches and techniques are different.
Personal Response
Both of these organizations are vitally important and do a great work to enhance
stewardship here on earth because as Luke 10:2 states “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers
are few” and in the case of caring for the earth and its inhabitants, this is very true. Lifestyle, and
a generally apathetic mindset towards sustainability and stewardship, has contributed to
increasing amounts of unnecessary waste and climate shift. As individuals and communities it is
important that people partner with organizations like these in order to become better stewards as
we are called to do in Genesis 1:28. However, the Cornwell Alliance makes a valid argument

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that human life is of utmost importance and must be allowed to thrive, and we as Christians are
called to love each other and it says in Matthew 25:40 what one does for those around them
reflects what one does for Christ. Christians should, therefore, be trying to improve the standard
of living for those in poverty - who are often worst affected by acute changes in the environment.
It is also very true, however, that biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation are
synergistic and so a choice does not have to be made between one and the other as to which
should be achieved, yet, it does require compromises and discussions, and a viable solution for
all issues of stewardship. It is not simply a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution.
Finally, it is important that stewardship includes the macro-issues such as climate change
and species loss, as the data clearly illustrates that this is occurring. In “Air pollution, greenhouse
gases and climate change: Global and regional perspectives”, V. Ramanathan and Y. Feng states
that, “the CO2 blanket, traps the long wave radiation given off by the planet...As CO2 is
increasing with time, the infrared blanket is becoming thicker, and the planet is accumulating this
excess energy” (Ramanathan and Feng, 2009, p. 38-39). This illustrates how the climate will be
altered as humans’ production of Carbon Dioxide increases. Therefore, these big issues need to
be considered as they are happening today with the current consumption of fossil fuels.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both of these organizations are making an impact in their community and
it is important that one realizes the need to be a steward of the environment around them. Many
organizations take different approaches to caring for the environment and have different missions
and principles in place to do this. The Cornwell Alliance and the Evangelical Environmental
Network both have similarities and differences in the way that they are stewards for the
environment around them.

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References
Chapin, F., Power, M., Pickett, S., Freitag, A., Reynolds, J., Jackson, R., Lodge, D., Duke, C.,
Collins, S., Power, A., Bartuska, A. (2011). Earth Stewardship: Science for action to
sustain the human-earth system. Ecosphere, 2(8).
Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation. (2015, April 29). Retrieved December 11,
2015, from http://creationcare.org/creation-care-resources/evangelical-declaration-on-the-
care-of-creation/
NIV Bible. (2007). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Ramanathan, V., & Feng, Y. (2009). Air pollution, greenhouse gases and climate change: Global
and regional perspectives. Atmospheric Environment, 43(1), 37-50.
Sluka, R., Kaonga, M., Weatherley, J., Anand, V., Bosu, D., & Jackson, C. (2011). Christians,
biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: A potential synergy? Biodiversity,
12(2), 108-115.
The Cornwall Declaration On Environmental Stewardship. (2000, May 1). Retrieved December
11, 2015, from http://www.cornwallalliance.org/2000/05/01/the-cornwall-declaration-on-
environmental-stewardship/