A Different Shade of Green: A Biblical Approach to Environmentalism and the Dominion Mandate

by Gordon Wilson, N.D. Wilson (Foreword)

We have been shockingly bad at using our Bibles and our brains when it comes to conservation and the environment. Unhinged environmentalism is not the answer, but neither are ignorance and apathy. It's time for something different.
Christian responsibility for the natural world goes back to the very beginning, when God commanded us to "fill the earth and subdue it." This Dominion Mandate is an authoritative alternative to both environmental activists and to those who think "conservation" is a word progressives made up.

So what does "dominion" mean for us, living in a world of constant reports about impending global meltdown; of oils spills, pollution, and strip-mining; of extinction threats both real and imagined? A Different Shade of Green contains a compelling Christian approach to biodiversity, life cycles, and the environment, offering solutions and correcting errors while teaching us how to give thanks for and rule over all of creation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theology, Christian, Christian Living, Science, Cultural, Christianity

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2019

About the author

Dr. Gordon Wilson is a Senior Fellow of Natural History at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, and the author of The Riot and the Dance, a biology textbook. He writes regularly for Answers in Genesis and has also taught biology at Liberty University and Lynchburg College. He and his wife Meredith have four children and a growing number of grandchildren.

Reviews

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was much more engaging and inspiring than I expected for a topic that didn't already engage and inspire me. There's not a whole lot I can go out and apply, but it makes me at least want to open my eyes more, whether outdoors or on YouTube. (I see fewer home improvement shows and more elephant videos in my future.) Mostly the book just encouraged me to know that there's somebody out there who has thought through environmental issues with technical knowledge, biblical wisdom, intellectual honesty, and moral courage that isn't blown about by the whims of popularity.

Another example in support of my belief that the author is almost always going to be the best narrator...not because he's the most skilled orator, but because no one else can possibly read his words with the same depth of comprehension.

[Rachael Marsceau · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOU GUYS.

I can't even begin to express how wonderful this was. I know it's early yet, but I'm pretty sure this will be one of the best nonfiction reads of the year for me.

He's not trying to bash anyone. He's not trying to give solutions for everything. He just encourages us all to do what all Christians should do when motivated by a love for the Creator and His creation: do all things in love, both for God and our neighbor.

The book is $15 on Amazon. If you can, I recommend getting it immediately. I personally loved his writing style, and how he didn't polarize either side but rather showed how different worldviews will drastically affect how we go about changing problems we see.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Pre-millennial Dispensationalism is wrong, and it is, then we can’t treat our world in such a way that it is unfit for our children and grandchildren. It is like, as one wise person once said, tossing your dead cat into your neighbor’s yard for him to bury. And if atheism is wrong, and it is, then there is a reason and a purpose for our planet and creation. Wilson works through what I would call a proper and Biblical view of environmentalism, what that looks like practically, how we can be involved without being tree-huggers or PhD ecologists, and why good Christians are good stewards. Good all the way around.

[William Schrecengost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good balanced view on a biblical view of the environment

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the whole conversation. I’m so thankful there is a sane and wise way of looking at the creation and beholding the world and reclaiming care for this world without government overreach. Loved all the encouragement to get involved and continuing to make a difference in this arena, especially as a Christian.

I’m really looking forward to getting into the other books he mentioned for further reading. And further episodes of the documentary The Riot and the Dance.

[Elijah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilson's analysis of land curses for sin is a refreshing theology in part III.
His level-headed, non-alarmist evaluation really drew out important things to consider regarding responsible dominion as christians as well as ditches to be wary of in our approach.

[Shaina Herrmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually finished this weeks ago but forgot to update. I listened to it via the Canon Press app. What a fantastic book! He made some points in this book that I hadn’t heard elsewhere.

[Grace Kaetterhenry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I think this book makes a good starting point for conversations about Christianity and nature. I think Wilson does a good job avoiding the two ditches of rapid eco-activism and environmental apathy. Some parts were somewhat repetitive, and stayed at a fairly high level. I'd love to read something from Gordin Wilson that gets into more of the nitty-gritty details about the natural sciences.

[Allyson Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent analysis of an issue that seems to go untouched among Christian circles. So many people are diagnosing the world with environmental issues, offering ungodly and unscientific solutions to an issue that belongs to Christians by birthright. Our God made this world and orders it a certain way and according to the dominion mandate, we are the ones called to steward it. Wilson offers very helpful and simplistic explanations of the major environmental crises of our day and challenges the Christian to respond to them in a biblical way. I wish more work like his would be done on the subject. Very fruitful.

[Chloe Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather thorough. Adding his own perspective on energy alternatives at the end seemed to contradict his multiple earlier statements that his book was not intended to guide policy opinions (especially as some of his data is either already outdated as technology has changed or just America-specific. Wind technology in country in which I live is ideal, as wind is plentiful and consistent — we love to complain about this, but it also makes our electrical bill cheap. And a government subsidy does not a good argument make — hopefully the author realizes that electricity has also been subsidized, and so has/is fossil fuels in America, etc. So, that was disappointing to read in a book that had more or less successfully stated above the fray or telling someone what to think about specific political policies until then). As always, books by Christian authors are held to a higher standard. Because of the public policy advice chapter, I would hesitate to recommend it to someone who is figuring out what Christianity ‘is’. In other words, someone who might read and think “oh, if I was interested in Christianity, I must also dislike wind turbines”. This would be an understandable conclusion based on his tone, which marrs an otherwise mostly solid explanation of biblical environmentalism. I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to discussing the many sections I underlined with my friends.

[Maggie Bowman · Rating 2 out of 5]

So there were some good, thoughtful remarks sprinkled throughout this book that bear further consideration, but I have to say I was ultimately disappointed with Wilson's book. I don't think his points were off-base scripturally, he just needed a better content editor and someone to say, "citations, citations, citations." If you are looking for a comprehensive thesis of Christian environmental ethics, look elsewhere. Perhaps in some of the other books he references. I really think that this book could be shortened to about six chapters, crammed full of scripture references, and we would all be much better persuaded that, as Wilson says, (paraphrasing here) "God declared creation 'very good' and that's that. We don't get to decide what parts of creation we like or dislike, God made it all and he mandated that we steward it."

[eb.weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read. I didn't want it to end! It tackles both deep and daily topics. (Aka: I won't look at an ant or a snake the same again.) I'll be chewing on this for a long time and would love to discuss it with my dad who lives these principles out.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a stronger start than finish and would benefit from better editing. But it is much needed, and my fellow Christians would do well to ponder many of the ideas Wilson discusses.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the content itself.
4 stars for the writing quality (often repetitive).
2 stars for the printing quality. (Really, truly, why are Canon Press books printed so poorly?)

[Noel Hume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!! I never really thought about environmentalism from Wilson's point of view. Specifically that the root of all of these problems (pollution, habitat destruction, deliberate slaughter/overharvesting) is sin.
Also thought it was super interesting that all the efforts that people are making to "reduce our carbon footprint" are actually more harmful than helpful. Wind farms use a TON of our taxpayer money, take up a bunch of space, are dangerous to flying creatures, do not provide a lot of energy at all (and if they produced more we would have to store it in enormous batteries, and the process of making those is not healthy for the environment) and they are a source of sound pollution. Same with solar farms- not cost effective, hardly make a profit (if ever), hazardous chemicals are mined and must be handled extremely carefully so they do not cause harm to people and the environment, they take up a lot of space, and birds and insects are killed when they fly through the concentrated sunlight that is emitted from the solar towers.
Wilson's point is that when everyone takes dominion and does God's will as He has commanded us to, our environment will be a beautiful thriving one. Our nation is not a godly, Christian nation, and I'm sure that many of the problems with our environment are due to our faithlessness and laziness. God curses the people that sin against him, and one of the ways he does so is by cursing the land.

[Devin Geiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don’t think you need to read this book, then you probably do need to read it. Wilson outlines many different ways people view the environment, but two are the most prevalent: the Anti-green Andy who views the earth as something to be raped for its resources or the Green Greta who worships Gaia and tracks every step of her carbon footprint. Both are unbiblical, and it opens up the door for a more biblical approach: loving nature as God intended us to use it.
A couple aspects I particularly like about this book: Wilson discusses some of earth’s natural processes as they relate to hot-button environmental issues, with the mindset of “How can we live in harmony with these processes for the benefit of both nature and ourselves?” He also discusses current “pro-environmental” initiatives and offers his critiques, but not to the point where he neglects the underlying problems the initiatives are seeking to rectify. The genuineness with which Wilson writes shows that he simply loves God’s creation and hopes others will do the same.

[Sarah Hyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This book is written to teachable Christians who want to understand their dominion responsibilities better” - It was just so encouraging & rare to read a book about my major but from a Christian persepctive! Gonna be referring back to this one until I die probably.
on overpopulation: "The problem with city densities is that when you concentrate people, you concentrate sin... We blame the high density of people as the problem rather than the high density of sin." + that stuck with me more than any other topic in this book.
Yay Biblical science!!! God is SO creative.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I have been waiting for this book my whole life. Wilson presented a balanced, biblical view of how we as Christians should think about the earth and I was both challenged and motivated throughout the book to be a better and more informed steward of God's creation.

[Kayla Dorminy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed my view

This is a great introduction to seeing the environment from a biblical stance. Wilson gives theological, scientific, and practical stances for why we should care about conservation, nature, and caring for our neighbors.

[Colby Benedict · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book if you are interested In how we should think about the environment but don’t want to turn to secular voices. Dr. Wilson writes balanced and level headed as he critiques both radical environmentalism and the all too often radical conservative reactionary swing in the other direction

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book on audio, but would like to come back to it in text one day. A lot of nuances are left unexplored, but I appreciate the author’s encouragement to take the dominion mandate seriously by considering how we steward the natural resources God has given us.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

He had some excellent points. Mostly arguing that Christians should be at the forefront of preserving the environment, for the glory of God. We should bot throw out what the secularists do right, just because they aren't Christians. Not everything should be turned into a garden city; the wild is meant to be wild.

I may listen to this again at some point, I didn't devote my whole attention to this while I listened.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been a good long-form essay. The book applies biblical principles and verses to stewardship of creation- great, fully agree. But it doesn’t go much deeper theologically, so it got repetitive pretty quickly and I wouldn’t say I learned anything. I skimmed a good bit toward the end.

[Miska Wilhelmsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Very helpful book on the subject.

[Grant Steiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very good

[Katie W · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this brief, yet insightful book, Gordon Wilson, an environmental scientist and Christian, lays out some fundamental principles of Christian conservation. He offers a strong critique of flawed secular environmentalism while also rebuking the kind of apathy we often see in conservative Christian circles. Instead, he suggests a more holistic approach that is more broad-sweeping. We are to love our neighbor, and preserving shared natural resources is one way to do so. Most importantly, we are to value Creation simply because God declared it to be good. Quoting Francis Schaeffer, "If I love the Lover, I love what the Lover has made." He rightly places an emphasis on biodiversity conservation and presents a brief response the environmental problems that get the most media attention.

As an environmental biology student, I found this book enlightening, and a good dose of common sense on the topic was a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed that Wilson addressed root problems (sin, fallen human hearts), as opposed to merely treating symptoms.

[Andrew Ruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great call to action. Christians should be leading the charge to protect God's creation. However it should be in fruitful ways that maintain biodiversity and habitats. We should be wary of alarmist rabbit trails.
God says after creating everything, 'It is very good.' When it's said by the God of the universe, it's worth cherishing.

[Laurabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful for the big picture.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really interested to see this book, but the further I read the more disappointed I became. The author’s foundational claim - that Christians have a responsibility to creation and to steward the earth well - is a great premise. I love this concept and am pleased to see this discourse. However, there are some major problems in the text.

First, the author criticizes what he calls “eco-zealots,” “secularists,” and others in the “them” camp for making unsupported sweeping generalizations and unfounded claims. He then proceeds to make sweeping generalizations and unsupported claims throughout most of the book. As a fellow Professor, I expected his writing to be well-informed and supported with rich sources. Instead, he offers a handful of cherry-picked sources that support his views while ignoring entire bodies of literature that run counter to his claims. Rather than the well-researched and strongly defended text I was hoping for, the author has presented a series of straw man fallacies and unsupported assertions.

Second, the author asserts that he’s presenting an apolitical text to encourage Christians “not with what to think, but with how to think.” However, in the span of ~160 pages he takes multiple political stances that are only thinly veiled, disparaging folks who may disagree with the specific positions he has presented. The author describes what he calls stereotypical views on the environment, and paints four absurdist caricatures of how people think about environmentalism.

Finally, I’ll note that many of the issues here would be easily addressed if this book (or others from the press) went out for peer review, but that does not seem to be the case. The author runs the press that publishes his books, so at no point does there seem to be an informed, critical eye assessing the texts they produce.

I cannot recommend this book. I would avoid books from this publisher.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been eagerly awaiting a book like this. The environmental “green” crowd tend to be the sort that will agonize over saving a baby whale, but will also celebrate the killing of an unborn human baby, so they don’t have my ear. Yet, as a Christian I am also aware that this whole world has been made for us and given to us by God and that we’ve not always done our part well in caring for it. I appreciate Dr. Wilson’s balanced and scriptural approach to environmentalism and the dominion mandate. His love for the Creator and for creation shines through every page. In the end, speaking of the dominion mandate he says, “We have, in the main, made a hash of it. We need to take a hard look at what we have done, and we need to strengthen what we’ve done right and learn from what we’ve done badly, even when God-denying earth-worshippers point it out to us.” And “The ultimate problem that threatens the welfare of this wonderful creation is the collective sinfulness of mankind. The ultimate solution is our Savior and Creator, Jesus Christ.” Amen!