Christian Comment with Revd Dr Simon Topping, Methodist Minister for the Stroud area Methodist Churches

AS WE approach the height of summer it is hard not to be awe-inspired by the richness and beauty of the natural world around us here in Stroud.

Christians recognise the creativity of God at work in the natural beauty around us but we have sometimes struggled to affirm that God is actually present in the physical world.

Perhaps, in part, this is because we are a strongly monotheistic faith.

As the Nicene Creed says: “we believe in one God … maker of heaven and earth”.

The focus on God’s oneness and unity leads to a suspicion, for some Christians, of world views which claim that God is present in nature – in trees, rivers, animals, mountains etc.

This feels like a move away from monotheism and towards pantheism, a world view in which nature is a god, or filled with many gods.

But is there a danger in making too great a separation between God and the natural world?

Might this encourage us to devalue the wellbeing of the physical world around us?

If we focus purely on the “otherness” of God do we neglect the needs of this physical world?

Does this make us less motivated to protect the earth and promote environmental good practice?

I think the word “sacred” can help us overcome this tension between the otherness of God and the preciousness of planet earth.

To say that something is sacred is not to say that it is a god or, in some way, divine.

It is to say that it is imbued or permeated with God’s presence.

As Christians we believe that all things were created by God and so everything bears the mark of the Creator.

When we affirm the sacredness of human life we are saying that within everyone, saint or sinner, God is mysteriously present and so every single human life is of immense value.

When we affirm the sacredness of the earth, this does not turn the earth into an object of worship itself but rather encourages to recognise that, having been created by God, the earth is instilled with God’s Word, Wisdom and Spirit and therefore should be treated with reverence and care by us.