Rewild the Church is asking the Church Commissioners to rewild 30% of their land by 2030. The Church Commissioners manage the investments of the Church of England, a portfolio of over £11 billion and over 100,000 acres of land. As a church, naturally the Commissioners look for theological grounding for their choices, as well as practical and ethical reasoning. So, I asked the question what would a theology of rewilding look like? What does the Bible say that might help us make a case for nature protection?

Let’s go back to the beginning, where we read in Genesis 1, the first book of the Bible, that God created the world (however you interpret this, whether metaphorical or actual). This creation included land and sea, sky and water, animals, plants and eventually humans. God then looked at creation and saw that it was ‘very good’. Humans were told to care for creation, and there has been much debate over the language used in Genesis 1 and 2, but it is widely accepted within contemporary theology that humanity’s role is to steward creation well. In Genesis 2, looking at the original words in Hebrew, we see that God put Adam in the Garden of Eden, and asked him to serve and preserve the land, land that also grew food for his sustenance (2:9-17). So firstly, we see that the creation is very good in God’s sight, that it was created with flora and fauna, and with provision for food and sustenance. We might argue then that farming land for food production sits alongside nature protection, within God’s original plan.

We also read in the Bible that creation displays God’s glory and worships God. The Psalms are a great place to look for this. For example, the words of Psalm 96:11-12 read rather beautifully, ‘Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy’. Nature is, rather poetically, full of the ability to reflect the glory of God. Psalm 104 is another that particularly highlights the majesty of God’s creation and God’s provision for it. A few verses from this Psalm paint another scenic picture, ‘You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches…’ (vs 10-13). But again we can read that this sits alongside human needs (vs 14-15) ‘You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart…’ The Psalmist highlights God’s provision for humanity within the glory of nature, the two are entwined and work alongside each other. 

We might, however, find ourselves asking now, where is God’s glory in an empty hedgerow? or where is God’s majesty in a creation calling for food where there is none? Where is the earth’s satisfaction with a dry spring or riverbed, in our nature depleted country? Contemporary nature protection seeks to find this same balance we see in Psalm 104, it is likewise entwined with sustainable farming and land management, offering us the ability to be partners in restoring God’s glory to those parts of creation where it is lacking.

The Bible also reminds us that Jesus himself is embedded within creation and the creative process. According to Colossians 1 he is the one in whom ‘all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together’ (1:16-17). We might also reflect then, that in working with nature, we are seeking to work with Christ, and when we work against it, we work against him.

One of the things Christians believe about Jesus is that he brings redemption from wrong doing – from sin. Surely anything that damages this God-given world must be seen as sinful? Romans 1 challenges those reading that there is no excuse for sinful behaviour in ignorance or suppression of the truth, because creation itself reveals who God is (1:19-20). How pertinent! There can be no excuse for the sin of damaging God’s creation because it inherently shows us who God is. This sense of sin and damaged land echoes throughout the Old Testament in themes of the land mourning. For example, Jeremiah asks, ‘How long will the land mourn, and the grass of every field wither?’ (12:4) and Joel 1:10 reads, ‘The fields are devastated, the ground mourns…’. We might question then whether we can still see the nature of God within creation in its damaged state? Perhaps we might also ask ourselves how we can enable nature to once again reveal who God is? Protecting nature might be one such solution.

Christians also believe that there is a future hope, where all creation will be redeemed, not just humans (Revelation 21:1-5). This is not simply, as sometimes claimed, a new creation and therefore we need not worry about creation. Instead, this is a call to live responsibly now! Several Old Testament prophets use visions of this future salvation showing humanity and the natural world in harmony. Isaiah gives a peaceful picture in 11:6-9 of wild animals living alongside humans; and later in 32:15-20 of a land rejuvenated by the Spirit, where justice and righteousness dwell in the wilderness and fruitful field. Biblical prophecy is not just about painting a picture of the future, but it is also a challenge to live and act faithfully in the present, according to the hopeful future reality it reveals. In this way surely, we can say that protecting nature can be seen as part of our prophetic role in revealing God’s hope for the world.

Rewilding then sits very comfortably alongside Biblical principles. It gives us an opportunity to help nature to sing once again with the glory of God. It offers us a way to honour God within nature, taking positive actions to undo the sin of ecological damage. And it enables us to be part of God’s future promise for all creation.

A Prayer for Rewilding

Oh God of leaf and branch, wing and petal, hoof and claw.
May your land be filled once again with the glory of nature's song,
and the oceans with rippling kelp, shoals of silver and rainbows of coral.
May ancient oaks display your glory, as choirs of birds sing from every branch,
and tiny insect wings beat out hymns of honour and praise.
May I wonder at seeds drifting like angels on gentle breezes,
from seas of wild-sown blooms and grasses, in every spectrum of shade.
May I see you in every unfurling leaf and bursting bud, in each moonrise and sunset,
offering a sure hope of new life, in this beautiful world and in the unknown to come.

Amen.