A self-proclaimed “Christian environmental evangelist,” Illyn questions the dominant Evanelical Christian culture’s “manifest destiny” approach to natural resources and the subordination of indigenous peoples. Illyn believes that Christians need to rediscover the “bellybutton Christianity” of his indigenous Papua New Guinean friends, recognizing our vital connection to, and responsibility for, the earth that God has given us. Illyn sees the problem as based in the false presupposition that European Christians have been blessed by God to use the earth for their own material benefit; in turn, exiling indigenous populations to its cultural and geographic fringes. The western utilitarian ethic views man (specifically white Christian men) as the pinnacle of an ordered hierarchy of being—with everything below intended to serve those above. Illyn believes that the utilitarian-hierarchical ethic informs Evangelical Christians’ indifferent (and even hostile) attitudes towards environmental ethics. Illyn calls for an Evangelical environmental ethic better informed by “bellybutton Christianity,” which he sees as being closer to the biblical teachings on man’s intended relationship with the rest of creation.
The Institute for Cultural Engagement, an official program of Multnomah University and Biblical Seminary