How Green Is Your Bible?

This week for Joyful News on Ministry, we go to Tyler, Texas. Jesus is green in Texas.



Thanks to Dr. Stuart Baskin, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Tyler for proclaiming the good news of being green.






Thinking green is a good way to start the new year, and Dr. Baskin had good words to say about "The Green Bible." Check this news story from KLTV 7:

God's word has gone green, literally. "The Green Bible" recently hit book store shelves here in East Texas. It highlights verses that publishers say help readers, "see God's vision for creation" and help them in "healing and sustaining it."

KLTV 7's Layron Livingston flipped through the pages of this green gospel.

The pages are made from recycled paper; the ink is soy-based. The cover is made from renewable cotton-linen. The publishers are practicing what they preach. The Bible has gone green.

Dr. Stuart Baskin, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Tyler said now is as good a time as any.

"The strength of [The Green Bible] is it reminds us of the fact that God has called us to be stewards over [His] own creation," he said.

Baskin said Christians have shied away from the subject in the past.

The President of the National Wildlife Federation, Larry Schweiger, said The Green Bible "offers solid context." He said, "We must heed the call to solve urgent climatic and ecological threats facing creation."

Is it a scriptural message, or a political one?

Baskin said the world, and everything in it, does not belong to humans, but rather, to God.

"It's not a left wing issue, or a right wing issue, it's an issue for all people," said Baskin. "One doesn't have to be a political activist to be a responsible steward." (Read More)

Check this video about the Green Bible:

First Presbyterian in Tyler is involved in mission ministries that include sustainability and the environment. They raised $6,000 this year through their alternative gift market.

Here are are few of their mission projects this past year:

• Children & Families: Presbyterian Camps at Gilmont, TX
• Sustainable Development: Equip a Clinic, Bolivia
• Education: Haiti Education Fund
• Environmental Protection: Healthy Stoves and Rescue a River, Haiti
• Medical Assistance: Cataract Surgery, Nepal & Tibet
• Peace & Justice: Recovery Ministries of Tyler, TX
• Emergency Disaster Relief: Aid to War-Torn Darfur, Sudan and People in Immediate Jeopardy, Global

Thanks Stuart and First Presbyterian of Tyler, Texas for reminding us that Jesus is joyfully green!