It is, said nature photographer Galen Rowell, “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.” The image by astronaut Bill Anders was taken from Apollo 8 on Christmas, 1968. Often called “Earthrise,” that image gave us a new perspective on our planet when we really realized earth’s fragility and beauty, that bright blue orb in the darkness of space, our home.
Wednesday was the 45th observance of Earth Day, begun just under two years after “Earthrise.” We have hundreds of other striking images of earth from space from human space missions and from satellites since which have given us far greater clarity about our home planet, but that Christmas globe remains the most emotionally powerful. Astronaut Gene Cernan later remarked that from space none of the human boundaries were visible, just the natural features. Recent images from the International Space Station have documented floods, volcanoes, ice changes, wildfires, and seasons, but also oil slicks, shrinking reservoirs and rainforests, pollution, oil rig fires, and devastation of war. This planet is fragile.
Above all, “Earthrise” gave us a new perspective of Earth, not just spatially but conceptually and socially. It got us out of our usual short distance, short-term view. Some people said it was the first time we all got to see a “God’s eye” view of Earth. It has, of course, radically changed our theology of our stewardship of our environment. Although theologians from fourth century patristic writers and Martin Luther have frequently made a point of God’s presence encountered in nature, and there are scores of references in the Hebrew Bible and Psalms and the New Testament, many quite beautiful, the environment as a topic of theological reflection is new, new since photographs from space gave us a cosmic perspective.
An interesting comparison: at the dawn of “the space age” there was actually a conference about the Christian response to encountering beings from other planets. Should we be evangelizing them? Does “for God so loved the world” apply to other worlds? What might it mean if there are other creatures to consider in the phrase “God created them in God’s image?” If we now know that Earth is a planet suspended in space, how do we deal with passages speaking of a “three-story universe” of Earth, with Hell below and Heaven above? It was a serious set of questions raised by serious Christian thinkers. What happens if we meet other creatures? How do we respond? What does space exploration mean for other planets.
You may have noticed that line of theology disappeared pretty much without a trace. What did happen was the rise of environmental stewardship theology. The urgent question was what does space exploration mean for us, here on Earth? Apollo 8’s “God’s eye view” changed our humans’ eyes view forever. Just as Earth Day affected political and societal decisions, bringing environmental calculations into play, so it has affected stewardship and environmental theology. The Hebrew words in Genesis once translated as “to have dominion” over in the King James Version are now translated as humans having “management over” or “stewardship of” the earth, much closer to the original meaning. God is sovereign over the planet, and we only have temporary management and use of it, and thoughtless exploitation of resources is now visible as a problem, as sin. And so you have most mainline denominations working very hard on environmental initiatives and theology, both practically, in congregations cleaning up vacant lots or trashed streams or, like the UCC, encouraging divestment from fossil fuels and support of renewable energy sources, and teaching stewardship of the environment in seminaries and Sunday School curricula. That striking image really changed our perspective on this Earth.
Incidentally, many call this “the iconic image of ‘Earthrise.’” At the risk of sounding pedantic, an “icon” is a representation of holy person intended to inspire devotion or meditation. It stands in for a thing or person. This Apollo 8 image is not a representation of Earth; it is Earth. It is the real thing. It is not an icon. It is an image not for us to meditate upon. It calls us to good stewarding of this fragile blue orb and our neighbors upon it. It calls us to action.
May God’s perspective be the source of our faithfulness.
In Christ,
David
Texts For Sunday Worship:
From the Hebrew Bible Psalm 23
From the Acts of the Apostles Acts 4:5-12
From the Gospels John 10:11-18
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