hope at the end of the world

Whatever one believes about man’s purpose, it is clear that human activity plays a central role in shaping the composition, atmosphere, and inhabitants of our planet. Accordingly, ‘Anthropocene’ is a term used to describe the present geological epoch: one that is characterised by significant human impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the combined mass of all manmade objects, buildings and infrastructure totalled around 3% of the Earth’s biomass, or that of all plants, animals, and humans combined. According to one estimate, the beginning of this year saw the former exceed the latter. 1

Considering the exponential rise in the global population over the past few centuries, this shouldn’t be surprising: the early 1800s saw humanity surpass one billion, increasing almost eightfold as of the time of writing. 2 Incremental developments in medicine, transportation, and technology have enabled people to live, on average, longer and healthier lives.

However, these same developments have also given us greater power for destruction. 1896 saw the discovery of radioactivity; 1945 saw the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the hands of nuclear weapons. Hypothetically, the actions of only a handful of people could, at any point, bring about the deaths of millions and mass disruption to currents systems of agricultural production.3

Even if nuclear weapons were to disappear tomorrow, we still face the reality of mass extinction, extreme weather events, and, of course, global pandemics. A recent report discovered that only 3% of the world’s terrestrial surface remains ecologically intact.4 Other studies have shown that animal species are presently going extinct at a faster rate than at any other point in history. 5

We are, furthermore, already experiencing the impact of a rapidly changing climate. As I write these words, the United Kingdom has been hit by a heatwave, just as Germany is experiencing great flooding; North America is shrouded in smoke from an outbreak of wildfires, as China sees its worst rainfall for over a thousand years.6,78,9 Many people have died and gone missing, or else lost their homes and livelihoods, but the effect on animal populations is even more drastic: the Australian bushfires of 2019 saw the death of over one billion animals across the nation.10

Whether or not humanity will pull together and change our lives, priorities, and habits – and I pray with sincerity that we will – the suffering we have already caused is almost unquantifiable. It is hard, for many, not to be overwhelmed by the prospect of a dim future.

A World Worth Saving

In all the literature I have read on environmental ethics and aesthetics, there has been rarely much time given to justifying the value of a flourishing world. If the future might possibly contain unquantifiable amount of suffering, would it not be better to end all life within the next generation? Why should we persist if extinction is inevitable?

The Biblical answer, however, is that God loves the world.11 In ordering the cosmos in such a way that a great diversity of life has emerged from chaos – and in declaring this creation twob (‘pleasant’, ‘good’)12 – He has enshrined the value of our mutual flourishing with the seal of Divine authority. We have a duty, therefore, to venerate life with the dignity it deserves, precisely because God has decided that a world with life is better than one without.

Humanity has an important role to play in the order of Creation, serving as representatives of God’s life-giving power. In the Ancient world, it was common for kings to erect statues to declare their authority over the lands they had conquered.13 This is what the writer of Genesis is probably referring to in claiming that humans are created in the tselem (‘image’, ‘idol’) of God:14 that all of humanity participates in God’s Divine order through maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with the Earth and its inhabitants.

Needless to say, this is not the world we daily see in the news. The response to the horror that surround us, first and foremost, should be humility and compassion; for the Christian faith rests on the recognition that we have failed to live up to our calling as stewards of creation, foolishly rejecting God’s wisdom.

Thankfully, however, our failure is not the end of the story.

Hope and the Resurrection

The Old Testament writings await the coming of a King that will liberate God’s people from slavery in exile; the New Testament writings claim that this hope is fulfilled in the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.

According to the early Church, if Christ did not raise from the dead, then our entire faith is futile.15 Caesar would still be king and all hope would rest on his rule (or that of contemporary politicians and conglomerate board rooms). If, however, Christ’s tomb is empty, then destruction is not the end of the story. For our hope is not predicated on the trajectory of human history, but on the revelation of God’s self-giving love, offering eternal life for all who acknowledge their need for a saviour.

When Jesus appears to the disciples after the Resurrection, his first words are “Peace be with you”.16 This kind of peace is not the mere absence of conflict or interruptions, but the presence of wholeness; everything as it ought to be. In Hebrew, this is captured by the word shalom, and in Greek, eirene. Throughout the Bible, sha-

lom refers to the final state of completion wherein all the diverse elements that make up our lives and the world are working in perfect alignment. When used as a verb, ‘to make shalom’ means ‘to make complete’ or ‘restore’ whatever is preventing this state of unity: it’s the joy of reconciliation, when broken relationships are made right.

In this encounter with the risen Christ, the disciples’ fear turns to joy. As they saw his wounds, they recognised not only that Jesus was Lord, but that mankind had been reconciled to the God they had dishonoured and abandoned.

The Resurrection of Jesus is not just a singular historical event, however, but a sign of things to come; the first fruits of a New Creation. As one of Jesus’s disciples wrote, this is a world without suffering or injustice, pain or death:

‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’

The Resurrection is a declaration that God is bringing restoration to the broken world through Christ. Man has rejected God and violated His creation, but God does not destroy us: the risen Jesus greets us with the promise of Shalom.

Living and Dying in the Anthropocene

How, then, shall we live?

While we live today in the Kingdom of Man - the Anthropocene - we live for the coming Kingdom of God. We must not be naïve, however, to suggest that God will always spare us from the consequences of a broken world; after all, the early followers of Christ faced persecution and torture in His name. Rather, we should live in the knowledge that the worst we can experience will never surpass God’s goodness. Our hope that creation will be redeemed should not produce apathy towards its protection, but our persistent and faithful compassion for those who are presently suffering under its destruction. We have the freedom to rejoice in making personal sacrifices without the value of our actions being contingent on the difference we can actually make. We might choose to avoid factory-farmed food and flights, or else devote ourselves to protecting those most impacted by evolving diseases and changing climates, not because we believe that our actions alone will save the world, but because we have a God who delights in seeing His people share in His abundant love.

Above all, whether we find ourselves in a position of significant influence or otherwise, we must always be humble to give up the joys of this life, empowered by the eternal joy of things to come. Just as we must learn to die to ourselves to be remade in the image of Christ, so too must we embrace the end of civilisation as we await its rebirth.19

As we endure the consequences of our changing climate in the coming years and decades, we can thank God that not even the end of the world will abate His redemptive love:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.20

Jonny has recently graduated from an MSt in Film Aesthetics with Corpus Christi, and is working as a freelance video editor and journalist. He regularly writes about the environment & human rights for Tru., international cinema for Wasteland, and comic books for Screen Rant.