Martin Luther & the Environment

Martin Luther had many positive things to say about the natural world and what it tells us about God and our relationship to God. However, he cannot properly be called an "environmentalist". First, this would be an anachronistic and inappropriate category for a sixteenth-century thinker--it would make as little sense to apply this term to Luther as it would make to call him a democrat or a republican. Regardless of which we think he might have resembled more, all of these terms came about later in history, and we cannot say how Luther might have identified himself had such labels been available to him. Second, when Luther did speak about the natural world, it was generally in the context of a broader discussion about the nature of God or human salvation; he was not particularly concerned about the environment as a category in and of itself. However, he does display the same kind of wonder at and appreciation for beauty in nature that we might expect to find in someone who considers him- or herself to be an "environmentalist."

Luther tended to think of the natural world in terms of what it told us about God or humankind’s relationship to God. For example, the natural world before the Fall was a place of harmony between humankind and other creatures, but the unpleasant or frightening aspects of nature are a result of the Fall, a reminder of God’s wrath at our sin, a punishment for that sin, and a prompt to remind us that we are in need of God’s grace. The beautiful and marvelous aspects of the natural world are reminders of God’s power, presence, and majesty. God is present everywhere in creation and is constantly involved in sustaining that creation. Our redemption through Christ renews not only our relationship with God, but also our relationship with the natural world, which we become better able to appreciate and which will be redeemed with us in the end times.