A Christian Approach to Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change
Featuring Douglas Wiens and
Rev. Dr. Charles Arand
Presentation Summary
Christians have a wide variety of views on our responsibility for nurturing and preserving God’s creation. In recent years, climate change—and humanity’s response to it —has become an especially controversial topic. Yet there is a strong scriptural and theological basis for environmental stewardship, going back to the book of Genesis, and reinforced through centuries of Christian thought. In this presentation I will briefly examine the scientific evidence that human activity is strongly influencing Earth’s climate, as well as the implications of these changes for our children and grandchildren. I will then explore how the Christian community can respond in ways that faithfully reflect Christ’s teachings and our calling to be stewards of God’s creation.
There is no cost to attend, but please let us know that you’re planning on coming.
About the Presenters
Doug Wiens
Douglas Wiens is the Robert S. Brookings Distinguished Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, where he teaches a popular undergraduate course on natural disasters. He earned a B.A. in Physics from Wheaton College, and a PhD in Geophysics from Northwestern University, where he studied earthquakes beneath the oceans.
Doug has remained on the faculty at Washington University throughout his career, except for visiting appointments in Australia, Japan, and Washington DC. His research has taken him around the globe, including eight scientific expeditions to Antarctica, where he deployed geophysical instruments across the continent to investigate its geological history and the dynamics of the ice sheet. He is currently investigating the loss of Antarctic glacial ice, as well as the likely response of the continent to future ice loss expected over the coming decades and centuries.
Beyond polar research, Doug has also led oceanographic expeditions that deployed instruments on the seafloor near the Mariana, Tonga, and Alaska trenches along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Doug is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the leading professional organization in his field. In 2014, he received the Cody Award in Ocean Sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in recognition of his pioneering research on the structure of the earth beneath the seafloor. Doug has been married to Debra for 44 years, and they enjoy spending time with their two children and three grandchildren.
Rev. Dr. Charles Arand
Dr. Charles P. Arand is the Eugene E. and Nell S. Fincke Graduate Professor of Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. A faculty member since 1989, Arand is professor of Systematic Theology and director of the Center for the Care of Creation. He previously occupied the Waldemar A. and June Schuette Endowed Chair in Systematic Theology (2003-15).
His areas of interest and expertise include the Lutheran Confessions and theology of creation.
He received his Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) and Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) from Concordia Seminary (1984, 1987, 1989). He also received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Concordia College in Milwaukee (now Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon) (1980).
His research interests include the theology of creation to which end he served as the primary drafter for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) document “Together with All Creatures: Caring for God’s Living Earth.”
He and his wife, Betty, have two children, Becky and Benjamin; and one daughter-in-law, Bethany. He is a whooping crane enthusiast and a self-described “craniac.”