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News: Christian environmentalist visits Calvin
When considering communication as a study or major, perhaps the image that comes to mind is a busy city, racing Internet connections, pop music, and flashy colors. Not so. Communication is not limited to the popular cultures of our modern society. And as Peter Illyn, director of the environmental stewardship organization Restoring Eden, will tell you, it takes our modern world to preserve the ancient forests and God’s natural creations.

Visiting the Calvin community from the Pacific Northwest, Illyn claims that Christians don’t like his message because it is too environmental, and many environmentalists don’t like his message because it is too Christian. But his message is important to our bustling society, which furiously consumes resources at an alarming rate. He stresses that we must take our calling as stewards of this earth seriously. No longer can we destroy the precious earth the Lord has put us in command of, but we must nurture and protect it from each human’s selfish needs.

Proclaim a message difficult for many Christians to understand, Illyn points out that while many Christians identify with the scriptural reference to our dominion over the earth (Genesis chapter one), many fail to acknowledge the scriptural truth at the end of the Bible (Revelations 11:8, “The time has come for judging the dead…and destroying those who destroy the earth.”). As Christians, we are called to tend to the earth. Care for the salmon, caribou, monarch butterflies, creatures of the water, and birds of the air. No facet of nature escapes our dominion, but because of our responsibility, we must care for the earth as a holy act of worship.

For many, “saving the earth” has become a cliché, a meaningless phrase, but for others it has become a passion. Illyn hopes that through his program, a support group can be formed. From direct lectures to internet message boards, his goal is to create conversation and confirmation that as Christians we can care for the earth. “I’m trying to help reconnect people back to something so transcendent,” he explains. “It’s the promise of walking with God.”

And slowly, these goals are being achieved. Although Restoring Eden is an infant project at this point, many soft voices are speaking up. Illyn hopes to give these people the tools - newsletters, e-mails, and a developing website – in order to help this “small but committed group stand up and speak clearly, romantically, passionately, about how God made a good earth” in order to allow for an openness to loving creation.

Proverbs 31:8 says “Speak up for those who can not speak for themselves.” This message rings true for our Christian community at Calvin, but Illyn challenges us to take it into the wilderness. Urging Christians to “get their hands dirty,” Illyn hopes that we will take God’s commandment to care for His earth seriously, while also communicating the message to others. It may be a difficult task, but through intentional dialogue, a revolution can occur.

Peter Illyn is Executive Director of Restoring Eden. He graduated from Rhema Bible College as an evangelical minister and has earned a MBA in Marketing.

—Kaitlyn Bohlin