It came up recently in a conversation with a friend that it seems everyone is jumping on the environmental bandwagon these days. While as recently as a few years ago things like organic gardening, energy conservation, and sustainable living were relegated to the fringes of society, today they have gone mainstream. This is true not only in secular culture, but also within the Christian community.
Serve God, Save the Planet is written by J. Matthew Sleeth, a former emergency room doctor, ER director, and chief of medical staff. He writes primarily out of his experience in evangelical Christianity, which is reflected by many of the theological assertions in the book. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of the theology he espouses, I do think that his core tenets of tying the care of creation with our love and service of God and fellow humans and are sound.
Though it’s not an incredibly long book (~250 pages total) it does cover a lot of ground. There are 16 chapters in all, so rather than summarize each one I’ll simply hit some of the book’s high and low points and provide some general reflections:
High Points
Style & Format - Sleeth writes in a very readable style, making this a book that can definitely be enjoyed by anyone who has a basic background in Christianity. As I mentioned there are 16 chapters, only 10-15 pages each, and 5 helpful appendices including a workbook, an energy audit, and an environmental to-do list. I could definitely see this book being used as the basis of an ongoing discussion group using the included workbook questions as a starting point.
Global emphasis - An important consideration when talking about the environment is that many of those who suffer the greatest from the damage that is done to the earth live in poorer countries around the world. Sleeth provides global insight into the problems of pollution and overconsumption through both facts and figures as well as personal anecdotes from medical misisons trips.
Practical - This book definitely appeals to my practical side. Even though many of the examples Sleeth shares from his own life are far more drastic than most people will be ready to undertake initially, he does provide other, smaller suggestions that are more easily incorporated into every day living. So while his story of living in a house that is the size of his previous garage may seem like an unattainable goal for some (depending on the size of their garages), his suggestions to use compact flourescent light bulbs, plant vegetable gardens, and hang laundry outside to dry are all more easily incorporated.
Inclusive - I think that too often we focus simply on the actions that are beneficial or detrimental to the environment instead of focusing on the attitudes behind those actions. Sleeth addresses this by grounding creation care in love of God and love of neighbor. He discusses how our attitudes about child-rearing, population control, and even our modern, western fixation on fitness and medical wellbeing can have a large impact on the natural world.
A call to simpler living - I have a theological and spiritual appreciation for simple living. The Church of the Brethren, the denomination I am a part of, has historically emphasized simple living in community as how we are called to live out our faith as Christians. As I read this book, much of what Sleeth said resonated with me not only because of my interest in the environment, but also because I value the quest to seek out a simpler way of life in the midst of modern busyness. What he says about rampant consumerism, our sense of entitlement, and our ignorance of how disproportionately wealthy we are compared to the rest of the world is not new. However, it is something we need to be reminded of often since our commercial-driven media is constantly trying to make us forget.
Low Points
Theological & biblical issues - As I mentioned earlier the theology of the book is more on the evangelical side, and I found my theological hacklesraised by some of the assumptions he puts forth as facts (like some issues of biblical authorship) and some of his choices regarding biblical translations. He uses the King James Version, which in my opinion is based on outdated scholarship and is often contextually irrelevant in the 21st century, and the New Living Translation, which is more of a paraphrase, for many of his scriptural quotations. While I had no trouble reading around these issues and didn’t see them as affronts to my own beliefs, others who have less familiarity or are less comfortable with the diversity of Christian belief may find it more difficult to do so.
Too broad? - I know that just moments ago I praised how inclusive Sleeth is when dealing with the issue of environmental care, yet I wonder if he’s possibly a bit too broad in his approach. Let me explain. Many of the things he writes about do have an impact on the environment, yet some are much more tangential than others. For example, he has entire chapters on his thoughts about television, work patterns and sabbath rest, family dynamics and child rearing, and even a chapter on childhood misconceptions and Santa Claus! While there are no doubt some environmental implications to each of these, the way he writes about them sometimes seems to lack the emphasis I might have hoped for.
Anecdotes - While Sleeth is a very readable writer and a pretty good storyteller, I sometimes found his anecdotes to be a bit much. Almost every chapter seemed to have at least one story from his experiences as an emergency room doctor, a medical missions trip, or his family life. While these stories often serve to prove a point, other times they are a bit graphic and shocking. Maybe that’s what he was going for, turning our stomachs to turn our thought patterns. I’m sure others may appreciate these stories more than I did, so this one I might just chalk up to personal preference.
To Read or Not To Read
Over all I found this to be a very enjoyable and thought-provoking book. I would suggest it to anyone who has an interest in learning how care for the environment can be a natural outgrowth of Christian belief. I also think this would be an excellent read for Christians who might be having a hard time figuring out why so many other Christians are jumping on the environmental bandwagon. They may even find themselves jumping on too!
Those who are already theologically-grounded Christian environmentalists may enjoy reading about Sleeth’s personal lifestyle changes in light of his conviction for creation care. Though I can’t recommend all of his theological nuances, I think his overall reasoning is very sound and I found myself greatly appreciating how he portrays saving the planet to be a natural outgrowth of serving God.
Leave a Reply