What is Earth Day, and, as Christians, is it okay for us to commemorate it?
Earth Day began in 1970 by a Wisconsin United States Senator, Gaylord Nelson, affectionately referred to by some as “The Father of Earth Day,” who organized a national demonstration to raise awareness concerning environmental issues.
It began with rallies across our nation and, by 1990, spread to 140 countries around the globe. It was a catalyst that helped to motivate the United States government to create the Environmental Protection Agency.
Currently, Earth Day is heavily associated with the explosive topic of climate change, which is dividing individuals and countries around the world, leaving many Christians unsure if it’s okay to celebrate it.
Initially, when Earth Day was first introduced, it was objective and supported scientific evidence, evident in the toxins of arsenic, lead, pesticides, etc., found in water and pollutants and the pollutants of lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, etc., present in the air, which has been measured at levels proven dangerous to our health.
However, over the last two decades, the primary focus of Earth Day has shifted to carbon dioxide levels, which are controversial due to their speculative nature.
Despite present-day controversies associated with Earth Day, Christians have more reasons to celebrate God’s wonderful creation.
Like Genesis 1:1 describes, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
As well, “But God made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding” (Jeremiah 10:12).
In 1988, Tom DeRosa founded the Creation Studies Institute (CSI) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which has now joined forces with Coral Ridge Ministries. As a former evolutionist and atheist who came to Christ through the ministry of Dr. D. James Kennedy, he explains why Christians have reason to celebrate: “Celebrating Earth Day can be turned around with an emphasis on looking at the earth as a gift from God, specially designed to support life. Mankind needs to be diligent in taking care of the planet environmentally because God has given man a dominion mandate in Genesis 1:26, where man is responsible for managing living things on the earth.”
“Most importantly,” explains DeRosa, “God commanded man to multiply and fill the earth so that many managers could care for the planet, including studying everything in it and around it (Cosmos). So much knowledge of God’s creation has been revealed; imagine what awaits the future and the countless blessings man will receive if we continue to glorify and honor Him for all He did for us.”
With this Genesis 1:26 mandate also comes responsibility: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”
Furthermore, Genesis 1:28 revisits the mandate, making it even more inclusive: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”
DeRose explains, “The phrase ‘subdue it’ has been incorporated into the mandate. It should be understood as humanity’s responsibility to diligently pursue knowledge and understanding of what God has given us in His Creation. The more knowledge we gain about this planet, its contents, the living things on it, and everything around it, the more we will witness the Creator’s handiwork, giving Him honor and glory.”
Likewise, continues DeRosa, “As we have seen by following this mandate, the significant scientific discoveries we have made have propelled technological advancements to levels once thought unattainable, which is undoubtedly the prophetic blessing of God. This is reflected in the first four words of Genesis 1:28, ‘And God blessed them’.”
DeRosa knows well, too, how seeing God’s hand in the creation of the earth draws individuals to faith in Jesus Christ, adding that “CSI’s ultimate mission is to win the lost to their Creator and help Christians grow stronger in their faith.”
Attending Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 1978, merely days after he professed faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, DeRosa recalls, “Sitting on a wooden pew in a packed sanctuary, I heard Dr. D. James Kennedy preach on creation. I was blown away to hear the biblical and scientific case for creation. And I wanted to learn more.”
Spending the next decade studying creation science, along with teaching chemistry from a creation perspective at K-12 Westminster Academy, with Dr. Kennedy’s support and blessing, DeRosa says, “I founded Creation Studies Institute, which God has used to educate thousands of people of all ages across Florida and beyond about creation truth.”
Today, CSI offers opportunities for individuals to experience God’s earth through creation education, conferences, seminars, hands-on fossil and bone exhibits, fossil exploration outings, and more.
In caring for the earth, it’s wise for us to remember that, as Romans 8:19-22 explains, creation was affected by the fall of man in the Garden of Eden and has been suffering along with us, waiting for the day when it, too, will be freed from sin’s decay and oppression: “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
As Christians, we have much reason to celebrate Earth Day by remembering its Creator.
De Rosa explains, “Celebrating Earth Day in a Biblical context can be a fantastic event to honor our Creator, not the earth or any other idol. The secular origins of Earth Day celebrations, along with their apocalyptic evolutionary themes, imply that humanity's attempts to cause its demise are a futile effort to alter human behavior. A more optimistic perspective is that we should be good stewards of the planet God created for us; He granted us life because of His incredible love, and we will be blessed in return.”
Every day, we can celebrate God’s gift of the earth, not by worshipping it or seeing creation separate from its Creator, but by honoring and thanking Him.
As Psalm 104:5 proclaims, “He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.”
We are wise to remember on Earth Day and each day of the year, “For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).
Resources:
T. DeRosa, personal communication, March 22, 2025
Photo Credit: ©The New York Public Library/Unsplash
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.