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: Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show prescribing hope for healthy families here Family radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well hey there friends. Welcome to my favorite time of day. I love m getting to spend time with you prescribing hope for healthy families. And we are going to have a heavy emphasis on hope today and we're going to talk about how young people especially see a lack of hope in the world. Now when I tell you what our topic is. So some of you are going to say wait, what? What are you talking about? But I want you to hang in there with me.
Understanding and Addressing Eco-Anxiety in Young People Amidst Negative World Messages
Go to this place. Maybe you are driving home with your teenager. Maybe it's your child. Maybe it's your grandchild. Maybe it's just another teenager you love and care for. And they say all of a sudden, out of the blue, hey, I don't know if I want to have kids. Like, what kind of world would they grow up in? I'm thinking, like, this is not a world to bring kids up in. We're hearing that more and more. or maybe there's a college student who mentions that planning for the future feels kind of pointless because the world seems to be getting worse. We don't realize the kind of messages that older generations speak over younger generations when we say, oh, the world used to be so much better. This is a terrible time to grow up. It's a terrible time to be alive. And you might be surprised to hear that come back. You might be, you might have been thinking about something completely different and not realizing that they are wondering if you at the question if there's going to be a future in their lives that's worth preparing for. This is a conversation that families need to be ready to have because, I want you to think about what comes across a young person's phone today across their screen in just a single scrolling session. They'll see it. News of war, natural disaster, warnings about the end of the earth with artificial or superintelligence. Economic predictions that the world is just, the economy is going to explode. A video announcing the pollution planet is approaching catastrophe. And then come the comments on this on the social media. People arguing, blaming, mocking, and making some pretty confident predictions about what happens next. There might be some useful information there, but there is also a lot of speculation, a lot of exaggeration, and a lot of just, if we're honest, outright nonsense. Now, take some effort to sort through it, especially when that next frightening message arrives before you've processed the last one and this starts to shape our worldview. Adults can feel overwhelmed by that experience too. But I'm telling you, young people are encountering these messages while they're forming their understanding of the world. That's a much more vulnerable place and they're trying to imagine their place in it. They're asking questions about college and work and marriage and family. And that all gets tangled up with bigger questions of is it even wise to hope for those things. So today we're looking specifically at something called eco anxiety.
Examining Climate Doomerism's Impact on Young People and Offering a Biblical Perspective
Now, this is anxiety about the environment. Now, I want to be really clear. I am not a climate science expert. That's really not what we're talking about today. I'm going to leave the scientific assessments to Qualified, thoughtful voices. But my concern and my place in this is how I am seeing climate doomerism messages really frightening young people. And I want to talk about how families can help them respond with discernment, responsibility and hope so we can acknowledge honesty, that some elements of this conversation just feel downright ridiculous. It's a complicated issue that is trying to be put out there on a 30 second video that's just basically saying the world is doomed. Well, actually, if you have a biblical worldview, yeah, that is true. But we have a higher hope.
Students Experiencing Climate Doomerism Leading to Paralysis and Apathy
And you see all the kids are trying to interpret all of these, all of these conflicting voices. And I'm seeing students talk about this and write about this in a public way and in private conversations. I saw one September Opinion column, a column from a college student who described this experience of opening social media and encountering what feels like one approaching climate apocalypse after another. And the CL and this particular student argued that climate doomerism, which is the belief that disaster is inevitable and action is pointless, that's the doomerism piece of it, can turn into paralysis. And they. And then another article from a student from Duke I saw describing a similar experience, becoming so immersed in those concerns that the result was finally just apathy like, I don't care about anything in the world. What's the point of caring? Because it's just this feeling of impending doom and this matters for your family because exhaustion and hopelessness doesn't always announce itself very clearly. It just comes through in phrases like, whatever, it doesn't matter, I don't care, I, I, I don't care. I don't know what I think.
Understanding the Root of Teenagers' Concerns and Fears About the Future
I, I don't care. You might hear cynicism about the future or you might hear sincere questions, but those are going to be further down on the list. So before responding, we need to understand what's behind those words that kids are floating up to express their concern about what they're hearing. We need to start asking, what have you been watching? What makes you feel particular problem? Are you worried about? How are you starting to feel? What, what are the voices in your life that are making you feel hopeless? These questions help us discover whe whether we're discussing an environmental concern or just a frightening prediction, or just a broader loss of hope. And during teenage years, especially planning and decision making skills are still developing. And those peer relationships are really important. So they're listening to what their peers think because they think, maybe the adults in my life aren't connected. They don't know, they don't realize the way that the world is. But young also have a really strong capacity to learn and adapt. And they benefit from adults who will help them work through these complicated messages and ultimately point them to a biblical worldview and a source of eternal hope.
The Difference Between Encouraging Resourcefulness and World-Ending Pessimism
That is really important because we need to recognize when these cultural messages, whether they're about anything that feels doomeristic. I think I just made up that word. But when it becomes a worldview message, because there's a significant difference between encouraging people to use resources widely, wisely to steward, steward the planet well, and to really just say, what's the point though? The world is just. There is no hope for the world. But again, our biblical worldview gives us a fuller picture. Human beings bear God's image. Children are gifts. We have dignity. We have purpose.
A Biblical Worldview's Foundation for Hope, Dignity, and Responsibility Towards Creation
We have responsibilities. Genesis describes both dominion over creation and the work of cultivating it and keeping it. So we can teach our kids to value human life, to care for their neighbors and treat God's creation response responsibly. This can become really practical in your home. But the most important message for Christian families is that our deepest hope is in Jesus Christ. That is a truth to return to together. When any sort of news is unsettling, we can pray about what troubles us. We can seek wisdom. We can do the good that's within our reach. We can trust God with what seems outside of our control. Scripture acknowledges a world where suffering happens, but it points us toward redemption. We have reason to care about today and a hope for tomorrow. So today my guest is Andrew J. Spencer, and he is joining us to discuss his new book about this very topic. It's called Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. He has a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves as associate editor for books at the Gospel Coalition. And he, his writing explores theology, environmental ethics, Christian stewardship. He is married, has three children, lives in Michigan. Andrew, I'm so grateful for your time today to have this conversation. Welcome to the show.
Generational Perspectives on Youth Concerns and the Need for Christian Voices
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, thank you for having me. Glad to be here.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I'm glad that we're going to talk about this. And I think that, you know, it's really when, when sometimes, when older generations and when I say that, I mean me because I'm Gen X and I'm rapidly, as my kids would say in Gen Z. That's an older generation mom. It's easy to be dismissive of these kinds of concerns that young people have, but this is really something that we're seeing. Obviously you're seeing it enough to write a book about it to address it. Can you tell us a little bit about your background, perspective and your conviction to put this message out in the world?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well I didn't choose this book. The publisher asked me to write it because I wrote a basic Christian environmental ethics.
Addressing Widespread Adolescent Anxiety About the Environment with a Gospel Hope
that stems from my background. you know I went to the Naval Academy, I served in in, in the submarine force, so learned about nuclear power, ended up working in commercial nuclear power for about 15 years. and through that time was able to bridge that gap into a Christian environmental ethics through seminary. and so kind of this grew out of that. But it's the realization out there that about 75% of American adolescents in 2022 was the latest data I have reported experiencing moderate to extreme concern about the environment on a given day. And this is actually it's worse worldwide. and so it's things that what teenagers and even in, into the mid-20s, Gen Z, and some Gen Alpha are talking about and thinking about on a daily basis. And so as I read some books like you know Abigail Shrier's book Bad Therapy where she talks about the ways some of the therapeutic culture has distorted and frightened kids particularly about this issue, I kind of recognized that there needed to be a Christian voice that, that pointed people toward the hope of the gospel. because additionally when I was doing research just thinking about the book proposal idea, I read 10, 15, 20 different secular approaches to this and they're not very hopeful. It's about coping and not overcoming and not looking forward to the redemption of all things through the power of Christ which is the promise that the cross gives us and what scripture points to.
Gen Z's Anxiety and the Book's Goal to Offer Gospel Hope Amidst Environmental Concerns
so that's where this comes from. And you know all of this fits, fits in with the bigger idea that you know, Gen Z, is the anxious generation. and we see this in even in my circles that would very conservative in Michigan. In my area we don't see a lot of concern about global warming, climate change, whatever you want to call it. But there's still a level of anxiety. This is just one piece of that bigger puzzle. But I think it's an important one. And my hope for the book is that it's going to be a gospel tract for those who maybe don't understand the full power of the gospel. Maybe they're identified as Christians to be able to see. I'm deeply concerned about the environment.
The Pervasive Doomerism Affecting Young People and its Impact on Their Worldview
Here's the answer, in Christ that's going to point me toward, hope not just in this life, but also for the life to come?
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, that's such interesting perspective. And knowing that. Okay, the publisher came to you saying there's a felt need. And looking at it, you're right. It's not just about the climate. There's so much doomerism that's everywhere about the economy, about governments. There's just a cynicism that is running through. And I see that just covering young people. And they have, they. There's a lot of fear that is there. When you went into doing your research, Andrew, what. What did you go into thinking that this would be? Did it end up being that way? Or did you find things along the way that surprised you, that changed your perspective, that maybe gave you more empathy for young people?
Evolving Perspectives on Eco-Anxiety: From Big Ideas to Practical Solutions
How did your perspective evolve from stepping into. Okay, all right, I'll do this because I have some background here and Gospel hope to. Now, coming up with this, with this final message that you have, which I think is really powerful and really different, like you said, because it does just every page points you to hope.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, I kind of come from the Bob Newhart school of Stop it. if you're familiar with the Mad TV sketch, if not, go look it up, after the show's over. and, you know, that's kind of how my personality is toward a lot of these issues. but you realize that, that, that when you're flooded with messages that, you know, the sea levels are going to rise and temperatures are going to soar and all the species are dying, and we're at fault and humans are a scourge on, on the planet. Kids, don't have a framework to push back on that. and so, they need a message. They need somebody to stand in and say, this all isn't true. And the way that you're processing and being told to process isn't helpful. Here's another way that's my perspective changed because I see, I saw a deeper need for that approach. and I went from, hey, just, you know, think about the big ideas to, okay, you really maybe need to see some practical things that you can do. and some, what are the underlying technological issues that maybe your media, stream is. Is shaping you in a way that you aren't aware of to help cut off the worry before it starts.
Shifting Conversations from Anxiety to Hope Through Biblical Worldview and Discernment
So the approach changed, I guess, in two ways. One, what I, what I realized what the solution was, which wasn't just thinking better thoughts in terms of a theological structure and number Two, that there are some practical steps that, families and kids can take in order to, to keep out of the, the anxiety rut.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I want to talk about some of those practical steps. We're coming up on our first break here, but we have a lot more to cover. I think it's so important what I hear you saying. Andrew is talking about the, of listening to that young person's fears and responding to them with biblical perspective, with an eternal hope that is kingdom minded. Help them examine the messages behind those fears. And this doesn't matter if it has to do with the climate or any cultural message that's coming in. We need to teach our kids to be discerning of those messages. And it is really unbelievable how much power a calm, caring conversation can give us.
The Biblical Foundation for Caring for Creation While Maintaining Gospel Hope
The room to really just ask questions and seek wisdom together. So after the break, we're going to talk about the biblical foundation for caring for creation while remaining anchored in hope. The book is called Eco Anxiety and the Cross. It's by Andrew J. Spencer. We'll talk about how to face climate fear with Gospel hope when we come back.
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Perfectly by Micah Tyler: I would be perfect if it wasn't for the little ways I fall short every day of my life I would be perfect if it wasn't for the million things that I never can seem to get right But I got this peace inside Cause I know that every time I give you failures and you give me grace all of my problems don't push you away and somehow you love somebody like me don't know how you do it but you do it perfectly.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is Perfectly by Micah Tyler. And I'm so grateful that the Lord does things perfectly because here in a broken world, we don't do things perfectly.
Understanding and Responding to Youth Eco-Anxiety with Empathy and Christian Character
And one of the things that young people are facing today that maybe we're not responding to very well is a real anxiety about the environment. Now I know, I know some of you listening are thinking, okay, this is why Gen Z is a bunch of snowflakes. Listen. We would do so well and really show Christian character by being caring, understanding what it's like to live in their world, what it's like to live in a 24.7 doom scroll. That's giving them competing messages. We don't know what it was like to grow up with that kind of influence. We could trust, for the most part, our parents and our trusted adults in our lives. And kids today have so many competing voices. I'm talking today to Andrew J. Spencer. Dr. Spencer has a has a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he's the author of this book called Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. Now, I am a professor. I teach college students. I am a pediatric clinician. I work with kids all the time. This is a topic of conversation.
The Biblical Foundation of Creation's Value and Humanity's Role from Genesis
But Andrew, I want to go back to the beginning. Let's go back to the biblical framework for thinking about creation because it's easy to get swept up and all the conflicting messages and all the conflicting science and all of the. The political partisanship that goes into this. But we need to bring it back to a biblical foundation. And that's really the work of what your doctoral dissertation did and is now coming in this book that's really practical for families. Take us back to the beginning. And I mean literally the beginning in Genesis.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Yeah. Well, so, any discussion of the good of the environment or creation has to begin with our understanding of the value of creation. and you know, God opens up His Word in Genesis chapter one by telling us that creation has value. So when you read through Genesis chapter one, maybe just circle all the places that God said it's good. And so he is not granting creation value. He's describing creation as value. And he says it's good six times. And the seventh time he says it's very good after he's created humanity.
Humanity's Place in Creation and Countering Anti-Human Environmental Ethics
And in that passage, as he's creating all of the world and everything that's in it, it is humanity that is the capstone of creation. And so the last thing he does is he made, man, male, female, in his own image, and he gave them a responsibility to go, to go, to, and populate, the world, to subdue the world, and to cultivate it. So in Genesis 2:15, then you see the message that when God puts Adam into the garden, it's to cultivate and keep it. So there's a very agricultural, a very, developmental role that humanity is supposed to have in creation. So we're very good. We have value. Creation has value. And we're here for a specific purpose. That's key to thinking about this question of eco anxiety or environmental ethics in general, because There are a lot of versions of environmental ethics that tell us that humanity is an alien species on this planet. In fact, there's a movement called the, a humanist movement that argues that human extinction, is the best possible solution for the planet.
The Hope of Renewal: From a Fallen World to God's Redeemed Creation
The Bible doesn't open up that possibility and in fact pushes back against that strongly. But if you can imagine being a young person and hearing some of these messages coming through TikTok or X or whatever the stream that they're getting it from, that's telling them that, hey, there's way too many humans, the image of God must go, and we've got to stop having influence and, impact on creation that affects the way that you view the world. So when we are beginning this discussion of eco anxiety, we begin with the goodness of creation, the goodness of humanity. And then we also look at the end of Scripture and see where it points. Because when you look at Revelation chapter 21 and 22, what you see is what the Garden of Eden would have become had sin not entered in the world.
Living Towards Redemption: Reconciling Ourselves and Creation with God's Plan
Right? We're living in this post Genesis 3, the fallen world, where sin infects everything, thorns infest the ground. but there's going to be joy to the world world. as the hymn says, that that hymn is actually not a Christmas hymn. It's meant to be an Easter hymn because it points forward to the renewal of all creation. However that takes place in your eschatology. but we look forward and, and what we see In Revelation chapter 21 and 22, we see the Garden City. So it's what Adam and Eve were meant to do. they were meant to flourish. They were meant to, develop creation. They were meant to build this city. And that city is going to have the Tree of Life restored to it. And that's what we're longing for. So when we look along this biblical arc, it gives us a sense of hope even now in this world, that though things aren't what they ought to be, one day God is going to make them all right. But at the same time, we also see in Scripture that we are called to live in some manner that points toward that final redeemed creation.
Christ's Redeeming Work: Reconciling All Things Through His Sacrifice on the Cross
That's how we live, fighting sin, trying to live sin free. It's how we treat each other, our neighbors, whether it's our Christian neighbor or a non Christian neighbor. We try and reconcile those relationships and it has to do with reconciliation to creation as well. Are we going to be able to do that perfectly in this life? Nope. Should we live that way as Much as we can in the meanwhile. Yep. And that's what Francis schaeffer back in 1970, in his book Pollution and the Death of Man, called substantial healing. Living in light of the new creation, even now and today. And so.
Creation's Hopeful Groaning: Participating in God's Renewal Through Christ
So really, I started in creation. I got us all the way to eschatology. But that's in the background of this entire message. And, it's only made possible because Christ on the cross, Colossians one tells us that he reconciled all things to himself, whether things in heaven or things on earth, things visible or invisible, and all through the blood, that he shed on the cross. So he made possible, that redemption, that renewal that we hear about even in, like, Romans, chapter 8, where Paul talks about creation groaning right now in childbirth. Right. Looking forward to what? Well, forward to when it too is going to see and participate in the glory that's to be revealed in us. So as we are renewed and redeemed, so creation is renewed and redeemed as well. And that's a hopeful thing.
A Hopeful Worldview: Understanding Environmental Issues and God's Ultimate Restoration
Right. And so when we look at the world that way, it both makes sense of what's wrong with the environment, and it gives us hope that someday this is going to be set right. And it's not my job to make it perfect now. It's just my job to make it as better as live as well as I can, within the framework that I. That I exist.
The Power of Gospel Hope: Countering Secular Pessimism and Polarization
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, you just gave so much great information there, I'll admit. My main takeaway is can we sing Joy to the world at Easter? Because I'm a big Christmas fan. And I'm going to mention that to my pastor. I'm going to say, you know, the Dr. Spencer says that that is an Easter hymn, but really, I wish that every young people, every young person could hear the message that you're. That you're giving. Because what you just said was so grounded, it was so hopeful, it was so empowering, really. And it gives us meaning and purpose, even though we're in a world where thorns infest the ground, where we're in a world where there's suffering, where there is brokenness. And when we look at the secular counter. Well, I really was gonna say counter narrative.
Navigating Cultural Conversations: Building Healthy Responses to Environmental Concerns
But it's really like a counterfeit message because it's saying, oh, the best hope that you can provide is. Is in yourself. And we kind of see, you know, one of the things that when people or groups of people are traumatized is polarization. That's kind of a natural result of trauma. And I See that, you know, in this hyper partisan environment, this kind of polarization on issues when we're talking about the climate, it's like we can't have healthy conversations just like you were just having. It's like either, you know, nope, that's just all bogus. We, you know, don't care and the world is going to be burned up anyway, so it doesn't matter. Or it's the, this fear driven activism. How do you bring families into that healthier, more balanced response just like you just presented so beautifully to us.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, Neil Postman, I think, he says it this way, that, that it's impossible to have a family if you can't control the information, that comes in.
Controlling Information Flow in Families: The Challenge of Modern Media
that's a paraphrase. But what he's a media ecologist, that he wrote. hold on, I'll think of it after I'm done. Anyway, so. But we have to think about, yeah, we have to think about the information, that we are bringing into our family and that's coming into our family and into our homes. And you know, this is hard now. It didn't used to be as hard when it was three channels, and you know, maybe a radio station and if you weren't supposed to listen to secular music, you had to do, right, it real quiet at night after everybody went to bed, you know, like there's enough of us that have been there to know that what that was like. Now it's on your phone, it's on your computer, if you send your kids to school, even if it's a Christian school, there's information that gets through, on school devices, that we just can't control. So what we have to do is help our kids frame that. I mean we can't unfortunately roll back the clock and become Amish, and simply in some ways exclude ourselves from participation in society.
Building a Christian Worldview: Grounding Truth in Scripture and Biblical Data
Instead, what we need to do is really focus on building a Christian worldview from the ground up. because there's nothing that I said in that initial piece that really isn't just, it's just basic Christian worldview, right? Creation, fall, redemption, consummation. However, some people say three, some people say four parts. but that's what it is. And so then using that to say this is actually our truth, and this is not just our truth, it is the truth truth that we're grounded in. And we have to continually point ourselves and our kids back to that and make sure that when we're talking, we're not talking as if, there's some sort of right, left, red, blue way of approaching this. There's a biblical way of approaching this. And that's what we need to approximate and do our best to live out in this life. We start with the biblical data because the biblical data is the data that we can trust.
From Worldview to Policy: Addressing Environmental Issues Biblically and Practically
And then we work from that. That before we even think about any policy discussions. I will tell you that I think that one of the things that tends to trip up any of this environmental discussion is just it starts at policy level and a lot of times the environment is used as a wedge, to further causes that wouldn't necessarily be furthered, by the environmental issue. It's greenwashing, where everything, all your products, they talk about this is eco friendly, even though a lot of times it's really not. these policies, people talk about socialism, this is supposed to be eco friendly. unfortunately they don't look at history where the Soviet Union, and China have been some of the worst, under the. Under, you know, communist rule, some of the worst environmental offenders. M and so we have to differentiate what is the actual underlying worldview claim that Scripture gives us from the policy issues that may be detached from any particular worldview, that, that environmentalism and concern for creation sometimes is used to advocate for. And we need to build from the bottom up and not begin the conversation at the top and then go down because the division happens when you're talking about tax rates and carbon taxes and you know, how we develop regulation for water and whether that keeps a farmer in Nebraska from being able to, you know, clear out his drainage dish, ditch without, EPA approval and those sorts of things. But everybody wants clean water, everybody wants clean air.
Shifting Conversations from Fear to Hope: Addressing Economic and Existential Anxieties
Everybody wants people really to have access to natural resources that, that are, sufficient to sustain healthy life. If we begin that conversation there, then we get a lot further along the way to some sort of meaningful solution and meaningful cooperation that's really helpful and
Dr. Jessica Peck: knowing what to talk about some of those issues. And you're so clearly informed. I have so many more questions, but the next one that I have is not so much what to talk about, but how to talk about it. Andrew because what I see is a lot of fear and anxiety just dominating the conversations. And so sometimes I feel like the what to talk about is just overshadowed by the emotion with which it's delivered. Whether that's anxiety that the world is going to disappear, you know, and you have that spectrum or the anxiety. On the other hand, like that maybe these economic, these you know, restrictions are going to be cost prohibitive for my business and I'm not going to be able to run my business. Or maybe it's anxiety or fear that, hey, my kids are getting swept up into a worldview that is just not biblical.
Historical Progress and Present Dangers: A Balanced View of Environmental Issues
And now they're talking about not having kids. I mean, and it could be the environment, it could be anything where we're trying to look for man made hope. You talked about what to talk about, some of the things to talk about. Can you talk more about how to talk about it, how to replace that fear and anxiety with hope?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Yeah, I mean, in one sense we did.
The Impact of Social Media Algorithms on Anxiety and Perception of Danger
We should look back and see that, that things are a lot better objectively than they were 60, 70 years ago. one of the reasons why Earth got Earth Day got kicked off in 1970 was because there were multiple rivers that had lit on fire because there were sheens of oil and the pollution was so bad. I live near Lake Erie. Lake Erie was essentially dead to the extent that, commercial fishing had to get shut down. Not a. Ah. And so what we see now is things have recovered a great deal. so in many ways things are better than they were back in 1970. That's a good place to start. And that's true with poverty globally and a whole bunch of other things. We forget those things because we're always looking for the next danger signal. And that's part of the way that social media and the algorithm is really damaging to our society and to our families and to our own personal, ah, psyche. because, we get dopamine hits from negative news and we're drawn to things that are negative. And so we're always, you, know, we're looking for, we're hunting for that next danger signal that's going to give us a dopamine high. And our phones can do that. But the problem is that that also shapes the way that our brains see the world.
The Ephemeral Nature of Online Concerns: Maintaining Perspective in a Fast-Paced World
And so you can go from kind of perfectly normal, to all of a sudden really thinking, what? Well, there's a big issue. Well, did you know it was a big issue last week? Are you going to think it's a big issue next week? And chances are in this world that we live in, you, you aren't going to remember what you were mad about last week today. And that's something that we need to consider.
Dr. Jessica Peck: So I'm going to hold you right there. Andrew. We're already at our second break. We're going to pick back up right there, right there. When we come back and we'll talk more about having a hope perspective. We'll also talk about a biblical view of environmental stewardship. If God has given us dominion over the world, then how are we to steward it? I'm talking to Andrew J. Spencer about his book Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. Hope needs to become a part of our everyday life and our worldview. We'll talk more about how to do that with your family. Right on the other side the of this break.
Wesley Biblical Seminary: Equipping Tomorrow's Pastors and Christian Leaders with Biblical Authority and Hope
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Lead Me to the Cross by Brooke Fraser and Hillsong UNITED: Savior I come quiet my soul remember. Redemption's hill where your blood was spared my ransom Everything I once held thee I Count it all as long Lead me to the cross where you have poured out Bring me to my knees Lord I lay me down r me of myself I belong to you Lead me, Lead me to the cross.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is Lead Me to the Cross by Brooke Fraser and Hillsong UNITED And that's what we're talking about today is leading us to the cross. I'm speaking with Andrew J. Spencer.
Countering Fear-Based Messaging: The Hope Found in a Biblical Worldview
He has a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and he's written a book called Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. Now I know a lot of you listening may think that is not something that I face, but I'm telling you this is something that is encountering young people today. They are encountering overwhelming messages about just a general pessimism about the world doomerism. And we want to give young people optimism and hope. And so much of the messaging that they are encountering is fear based because fear sells and sometimes entities will try to sell a problem that kids didn't even know that they had. Just like Andrew was talking about before the break. I know there have been some times where I've gone on vacation and decided, you know what, I'm just not going to look at the news for a whole week. That was really hard for me. But guess what? The world went on. Nothing fell through. Like nothing happened that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been checking the news compulsively. We do model this for kids because we have a lot of fear and we feel like knowledge is power. If we know more, we will feel better about it. But right before the break, Andrew, you were just in the middle of talking to us about the contrast between a biblical worldview and a secular worldview.
Mindful Media Consumption: Prioritizing Eternal Significance in Christian Households
Where biblical is anchored in hope. Secular, you might be just apathetic or just really fear ridden. So I'm going to give it back to you right where we left off and let you pick up your answer.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Yeah, so I was talking about data input and how, how that gets to us and how that shapes us. and that's something that all of us need to watch. it. We're affected by the television shows that we watch, the, what were, you know, the reels that we're seeing, in our social media feeds, and the algorithm is designed to keep our eyeballs on whatever that media source is. we live in an attention economy, so it matters a whole lot what we give our attention to. What we need to do as Christian households is make sure that we're giving our attention to things that actually have some significance for eternity, that make a difference for the long run. And we need to ask ourselves, is this media that I'm taking into, into my life, and watching with my eyes and listening to with my ears, is it helping me grow more Christlike and live, in the peace of the creation that he has made, or is it making me less content, with this world?
Connecting Locally and Practically: Addressing Eco-Anxiety Through Community Engagement
And, if it's making me less content, then I need to make a change with that. it's one of the big things that I talk about in the book. every time new information technology comes up, the people that develop think that and they will say, say outright, this is going to solve the world's problems. That happened with the telegraph. the creator of the telegraph said, hey, listen, once people know what's happening, in the, in the next country, they're not going to be any wars that happened with the Internet. And yet what do we see, we see a lot more conflict, between people that don't even know each other arguing on the Internet. why is it that? Well, it's part of, it's because humans were designed by God to have face to face interactions primarily. Right? We're designed to interact with people that we know, that we love, that we build relationships to. And so there's something about the kind of in person space like a local church, like a local community that's meant to be the center of our existence, not the global world. So when we're thinking about how we help kids that are struggling with eco anxiety, part of it is what the kids call touching grass, getting out into creation, getting out into their community. And then instead of worrying about, you know, the, the the plastic buildup in a river, in some country, that's all the way across the world, why not think about what's in my local park? is there trash that's going to end up in the creek, that's going to end up in the river, that's going to end up in one of the Great Lakes, that's going to end up in the ocean? What can I do about that?
Wise Resource Stewardship: Aligning Environmental and Financial Health for Hope
Well, if I want to go for a walk, I can go pick stuff up and I can make a real difference. that changes the level of anxiety we have because one kids are doing something meaningfully That we, even if we don't believe in the bigger, environmental issues out there, if that's not part of our worldview that we can still affirm because nobody wants trash in their creek. So we can go take care of that. We, can encourage our kids to make wise, decisions about resource usage. I mean who wouldn't like their kids to take shorter showers, and to use the resources. Resources. That's right. And honestly, that's one of my big pitches, for environmental stewardship in general is that many of the things that make for wise environmental stewardship are also wise with regard to financial stewardship. And if we chose to make wiser financial choices in many cases, that would also be good for the environment. Not always.
Caring for Creation and People: Practical Steps for Environmental Stewardship
And we don't want to do that to become miser. we don't want to not take mission trips, because we're worried about carbon emissions. We don't want to, you know, not do some of those important things, that are necessary to get the gospel to the ends of the earth. But we should be making choices, that steward our resources, both financial and environmental, in A way that points toward hope, for the future.
Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, I'm thinking as you're talking about some of the real things, the real concerns about the environment you described already, you know, chemicals or oil being on water, you know, bodies of water or that, you know, you restrict fishing. I think as a pediatric clinician of the, of the crisis that happened in Flint, Michigan with the lead being in the water and poisoning children. That is not a gospel centric perspective. We want to care for people, and we do that by caring for the environment. And so how. What are other practical ways that we can step into this with a, with a pragmatic view and really live out that environmental stewardship every day in our lives?
Local Action, Gospel Focus: Glorifying God Through Creation Care Initiatives
You've already described some practical ways. What are ways to continue to do and also at the same time be giving messages of a biblical worldview and an eternal hope. How do we put those two strategies together?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, I would encourage people to look locally. So for example, I live near Lake Erie. So there's a, there's a river raisin cleanup project, that I, I try and participate in every year. This year I was on my way to a mission trip, so I couldn't, I couldn't do it. But we go out and we, we, we pick up trash, we clean out the riverbed, and it's permitted. it's, it's run by the local water shed, the organization that supervises that. and so my whole family goes. We make an effort and it's a localized effort that sees, that causes real change. We pull toilets out and just trash that got put in upstream and it keeps it from going down into Lake Erie. those are real concrete things that we can do. And when we talk about it, we don't talk about it as we're saving the planet. We talk about it as we're serving God and glorifying him by caring for the creation that he made.
Conscious Consumerism: Making Wise Choices for Environmental and Financial Health
Right? Because, God doesn't make junk and he doesn't junk what he made. and so we need to treat it with some care because he loves creation not the same way that he loves humanity. but he does love creation and care for it. And so if we start talking about things that way, that makes a big difference. And we build our world around that. And we think about, okay, okay, you know, let's take the extra time to actually put the batteries into the rights disposal bin instead of just throwing them into the landfill. there are ways that, that is healthier for the environment that doesn't take a whole lot more effort. Some recycling is better than others. There's a whole debate about that. we can be wise, and think about those things, as we go, but we should also make consumer decisions and consciously make consumer decisions that have positive, positive environmental and financial, results. So what, what startles me sometimes walking around on trash day in my neighborhood is the overfilling trash bins every week. Not just Christmas because we all stuff it full on Christmas, but every week. How are we bringing in so many good consumer goods that there's that much going out? Do we really need to do that?
Stewardship as Glorifying God: Inspiring Children Through Responsible Resource Management
Are there ways that we can economize without, you know, being brutally miserly? I, I think about my, my grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. and though they owned a business and they were doing well financially, they would still make, some hard choices about, you know, reusing plywood that they didn't need to reuse and, and doing all sorts of sorts of things. Why, why are we not doing some of those things, maybe not all of them, even now, because those have environmental impact. And when we talk about those things, not just as here I am to save a nickel, but rather here I am to try to glorify God by, by stewarding creation. Well, by not overusing the resources that he's given me, then that changes our kids perspectives because they see us caring about it. Maybe in a different way than they might hear about in their classroom or on the news, but they see us caring about it. And then, then we're giving an answer for the hope that is within us, even within our home and showing them that there's integrity, within our Christian worldview.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh yes. I, I was raised by a granny who taught me how to wash foil. Like I would wash the foil. And we could reuse that because it was perfectly reusable. And that is, it's, it really is a heart issue of, like you said, consumerism and stewardship. And it goes if the ha. Of course it impacts the environment.
Intergenerational Wisdom: Sharing Life Experiences to Build Character and Resilience
But there's so many other character issues that we can talk about in that. And I love what you talking about with this intergenerational messaging, Andrew. And I'm thinking back even in reading your book about your time that you described, you described in some degree of detail being on a submarine. And I told you like that is, I thank you so much for your service because it seems very scary. It's very isolated. It's, it was you, you talked about surfacing for just a little period of time and maybe people could, you know, get some sun or maybe swim if it was safe to do that. That, that is something that young people can relate to. Feeling isolated, being in a high stakes environment. And sometimes, you know, I was just talking to you in the break about this how I think that older generations, they think I don't understand this world that you're living in. Why can't it just be like our world? I think that's been the, I've said many times, I think that's the rise of popularity of Jonathan Haidt's book because really the premise of that book is let's make your childhood like mine so that I feel more comfortable in managing it. But when we really talk about it, it, the context and things that we are, that we are having, that's different. But you could share so much wisdom with your own children about how military service informed you and it strengthened you and it challenged you and it shaped your character. That's where we need to get to in these conversations. So often I see grandparents and grandkids or parents and kids, they're debating the issues and they're really not getting to the heart of the matter matter and really bringing in that spiritual perspective.
Redirecting Conversations: Focusing on Foundational Truths and the Resurrection
What advice would you have for families and redirecting from arguments about topics or contents or issues to really bringing it back to the heart of the matter?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, you know, if it's one of the things Tim Keller said in the last few months that he was alive, he said that if, the resurrection is true, then everything's going to be okay. Okay. And that's a pretty good place to begin. Any conversation when anyone in the family has anxiety over anything, no matter how significant is that if we are, if we are in Christ and if the resurrection is true, then all of this is going to work out.
Foundational Worldviews: Grounding Families in Creation, Scripture, and Hope
And you know, we, we should work to try and find the best answers that we can, but we don't have to agree necessarily on, on marginal tax rates or exactly what needs to be recycled and what needs to go to the trash and those sorts of things. What we need to do is focus on those things that we can, we have a solid, consensus on. And hopefully that's the resurrection. And if it's not, then we definitely need to focus on that. but then when we be, when we begin those basic worldview discussions about the goodness of creation, about the authority of scripture, about the value of humanity and about the hope for all of creation in the end of the world, those ground us in ways that some of the details just go away, and we're able to, make compromises, not in moral sense, but in, in just a, you know, okay, so we won't buy that next thing, because we're making a choice and I'm conceding to your desire, to do, you know, to do something, that's maybe a little less expensive or a little less elaborate and disposable.
The Power of the Gospel: Overcoming Anxiety Through Christ's Redemption
and so there, there's grounds for that because you share these foundational worldviews, truths in that. So, I mean, we always need more gospel. We need more catechesis, and we need to be preaching that to our. To ourselves and to our kids every day. And so if I were to say one thing that I would hope that somebody, in a family struggling with eco anxiety, would do is just keep going back to the cross and remembering that Jesus Christ died for our sin and to make.
Final Encouragement: Embracing Gospel Hope and Pointing Families Towards Christ
Make the whole world right. We have hope in the gospel that can overcome any sort of anxiety that the world can offer.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I could not have said it better myself. And that's the title of your book. Eco Anxiety and the Cross. Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope by Andrew J. Spencer. Thank you so much, Andrew, for redirecting us, for resetting our priorities and reminding us of what is really important. Keep pointing your fingers, families, toward the hope of Christ through your words, through your actions, through your presence. Let them see adults who teach our kids how to carry our concerns to God and move forward with hope. And as you do that, I pray that the Lord will bless you, keep you, make his face to shine upon you, give you peace and hope. We'll see you here tomorrow.
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Thanking Our Sponsor PreBorn and Highlighting Their Life-Saving Impact Through Ultrasounds
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: Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show prescribing hope for healthy families here Family radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well hey there friends. Welcome to my favorite time of day. I love m getting to spend time with you prescribing hope for healthy families. And we are going to have a heavy emphasis on hope today and we're going to talk about how young people especially see a lack of hope in the world. Now when I tell you what our topic is. So some of you are going to say wait, what? What are you talking about? But I want you to hang in there with me.
Understanding and Addressing Eco-Anxiety in Young People Amidst Negative World Messages
Go to this place. Maybe you are driving home with your teenager. Maybe it's your child. Maybe it's your grandchild. Maybe it's just another teenager you love and care for. And they say all of a sudden, out of the blue, hey, I don't know if I want to have kids. Like, what kind of world would they grow up in? I'm thinking, like, this is not a world to bring kids up in. We're hearing that more and more. or maybe there's a college student who mentions that planning for the future feels kind of pointless because the world seems to be getting worse. We don't realize the kind of messages that older generations speak over younger generations when we say, oh, the world used to be so much better. This is a terrible time to grow up. It's a terrible time to be alive. And you might be surprised to hear that come back. You might be, you might have been thinking about something completely different and not realizing that they are wondering if you at the question if there's going to be a future in their lives that's worth preparing for. This is a conversation that families need to be ready to have because, I want you to think about what comes across a young person's phone today across their screen in just a single scrolling session. They'll see it. News of war, natural disaster, warnings about the end of the earth with artificial or superintelligence. Economic predictions that the world is just, the economy is going to explode. A video announcing the pollution planet is approaching catastrophe. And then come the comments on this on the social media. People arguing, blaming, mocking, and making some pretty confident predictions about what happens next. There might be some useful information there, but there is also a lot of speculation, a lot of exaggeration, and a lot of just, if we're honest, outright nonsense. Now, take some effort to sort through it, especially when that next frightening message arrives before you've processed the last one and this starts to shape our worldview. Adults can feel overwhelmed by that experience too. But I'm telling you, young people are encountering these messages while they're forming their understanding of the world. That's a much more vulnerable place and they're trying to imagine their place in it. They're asking questions about college and work and marriage and family. And that all gets tangled up with bigger questions of is it even wise to hope for those things. So today we're looking specifically at something called eco anxiety.
Examining Climate Doomerism's Impact on Young People and Offering a Biblical Perspective
Now, this is anxiety about the environment. Now, I want to be really clear. I am not a climate science expert. That's really not what we're talking about today. I'm going to leave the scientific assessments to Qualified, thoughtful voices. But my concern and my place in this is how I am seeing climate doomerism messages really frightening young people. And I want to talk about how families can help them respond with discernment, responsibility and hope so we can acknowledge honesty, that some elements of this conversation just feel downright ridiculous. It's a complicated issue that is trying to be put out there on a 30 second video that's just basically saying the world is doomed. Well, actually, if you have a biblical worldview, yeah, that is true. But we have a higher hope.
Students Experiencing Climate Doomerism Leading to Paralysis and Apathy
And you see all the kids are trying to interpret all of these, all of these conflicting voices. And I'm seeing students talk about this and write about this in a public way and in private conversations. I saw one September Opinion column, a column from a college student who described this experience of opening social media and encountering what feels like one approaching climate apocalypse after another. And the CL and this particular student argued that climate doomerism, which is the belief that disaster is inevitable and action is pointless, that's the doomerism piece of it, can turn into paralysis. And they. And then another article from a student from Duke I saw describing a similar experience, becoming so immersed in those concerns that the result was finally just apathy like, I don't care about anything in the world. What's the point of caring? Because it's just this feeling of impending doom and this matters for your family because exhaustion and hopelessness doesn't always announce itself very clearly. It just comes through in phrases like, whatever, it doesn't matter, I don't care, I, I, I don't care. I don't know what I think.
Understanding the Root of Teenagers' Concerns and Fears About the Future
I, I don't care. You might hear cynicism about the future or you might hear sincere questions, but those are going to be further down on the list. So before responding, we need to understand what's behind those words that kids are floating up to express their concern about what they're hearing. We need to start asking, what have you been watching? What makes you feel particular problem? Are you worried about? How are you starting to feel? What, what are the voices in your life that are making you feel hopeless? These questions help us discover whe whether we're discussing an environmental concern or just a frightening prediction, or just a broader loss of hope. And during teenage years, especially planning and decision making skills are still developing. And those peer relationships are really important. So they're listening to what their peers think because they think, maybe the adults in my life aren't connected. They don't know, they don't realize the way that the world is. But young also have a really strong capacity to learn and adapt. And they benefit from adults who will help them work through these complicated messages and ultimately point them to a biblical worldview and a source of eternal hope.
The Difference Between Encouraging Resourcefulness and World-Ending Pessimism
That is really important because we need to recognize when these cultural messages, whether they're about anything that feels doomeristic. I think I just made up that word. But when it becomes a worldview message, because there's a significant difference between encouraging people to use resources widely, wisely to steward, steward the planet well, and to really just say, what's the point though? The world is just. There is no hope for the world. But again, our biblical worldview gives us a fuller picture. Human beings bear God's image. Children are gifts. We have dignity. We have purpose.
A Biblical Worldview's Foundation for Hope, Dignity, and Responsibility Towards Creation
We have responsibilities. Genesis describes both dominion over creation and the work of cultivating it and keeping it. So we can teach our kids to value human life, to care for their neighbors and treat God's creation response responsibly. This can become really practical in your home. But the most important message for Christian families is that our deepest hope is in Jesus Christ. That is a truth to return to together. When any sort of news is unsettling, we can pray about what troubles us. We can seek wisdom. We can do the good that's within our reach. We can trust God with what seems outside of our control. Scripture acknowledges a world where suffering happens, but it points us toward redemption. We have reason to care about today and a hope for tomorrow. So today my guest is Andrew J. Spencer, and he is joining us to discuss his new book about this very topic. It's called Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. He has a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves as associate editor for books at the Gospel Coalition. And he, his writing explores theology, environmental ethics, Christian stewardship. He is married, has three children, lives in Michigan. Andrew, I'm so grateful for your time today to have this conversation. Welcome to the show.
Generational Perspectives on Youth Concerns and the Need for Christian Voices
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, thank you for having me. Glad to be here.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I'm glad that we're going to talk about this. And I think that, you know, it's really when, when sometimes, when older generations and when I say that, I mean me because I'm Gen X and I'm rapidly, as my kids would say in Gen Z. That's an older generation mom. It's easy to be dismissive of these kinds of concerns that young people have, but this is really something that we're seeing. Obviously you're seeing it enough to write a book about it to address it. Can you tell us a little bit about your background, perspective and your conviction to put this message out in the world?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well I didn't choose this book. The publisher asked me to write it because I wrote a basic Christian environmental ethics.
Addressing Widespread Adolescent Anxiety About the Environment with a Gospel Hope
that stems from my background. you know I went to the Naval Academy, I served in in, in the submarine force, so learned about nuclear power, ended up working in commercial nuclear power for about 15 years. and through that time was able to bridge that gap into a Christian environmental ethics through seminary. and so kind of this grew out of that. But it's the realization out there that about 75% of American adolescents in 2022 was the latest data I have reported experiencing moderate to extreme concern about the environment on a given day. And this is actually it's worse worldwide. and so it's things that what teenagers and even in, into the mid-20s, Gen Z, and some Gen Alpha are talking about and thinking about on a daily basis. And so as I read some books like you know Abigail Shrier's book Bad Therapy where she talks about the ways some of the therapeutic culture has distorted and frightened kids particularly about this issue, I kind of recognized that there needed to be a Christian voice that, that pointed people toward the hope of the gospel. because additionally when I was doing research just thinking about the book proposal idea, I read 10, 15, 20 different secular approaches to this and they're not very hopeful. It's about coping and not overcoming and not looking forward to the redemption of all things through the power of Christ which is the promise that the cross gives us and what scripture points to.
Gen Z's Anxiety and the Book's Goal to Offer Gospel Hope Amidst Environmental Concerns
so that's where this comes from. And you know all of this fits, fits in with the bigger idea that you know, Gen Z, is the anxious generation. and we see this in even in my circles that would very conservative in Michigan. In my area we don't see a lot of concern about global warming, climate change, whatever you want to call it. But there's still a level of anxiety. This is just one piece of that bigger puzzle. But I think it's an important one. And my hope for the book is that it's going to be a gospel tract for those who maybe don't understand the full power of the gospel. Maybe they're identified as Christians to be able to see. I'm deeply concerned about the environment.
The Pervasive Doomerism Affecting Young People and its Impact on Their Worldview
Here's the answer, in Christ that's going to point me toward, hope not just in this life, but also for the life to come?
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, that's such interesting perspective. And knowing that. Okay, the publisher came to you saying there's a felt need. And looking at it, you're right. It's not just about the climate. There's so much doomerism that's everywhere about the economy, about governments. There's just a cynicism that is running through. And I see that just covering young people. And they have, they. There's a lot of fear that is there. When you went into doing your research, Andrew, what. What did you go into thinking that this would be? Did it end up being that way? Or did you find things along the way that surprised you, that changed your perspective, that maybe gave you more empathy for young people?
Evolving Perspectives on Eco-Anxiety: From Big Ideas to Practical Solutions
How did your perspective evolve from stepping into. Okay, all right, I'll do this because I have some background here and Gospel hope to. Now, coming up with this, with this final message that you have, which I think is really powerful and really different, like you said, because it does just every page points you to hope.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, I kind of come from the Bob Newhart school of Stop it. if you're familiar with the Mad TV sketch, if not, go look it up, after the show's over. and, you know, that's kind of how my personality is toward a lot of these issues. but you realize that, that, that when you're flooded with messages that, you know, the sea levels are going to rise and temperatures are going to soar and all the species are dying, and we're at fault and humans are a scourge on, on the planet. Kids, don't have a framework to push back on that. and so, they need a message. They need somebody to stand in and say, this all isn't true. And the way that you're processing and being told to process isn't helpful. Here's another way that's my perspective changed because I see, I saw a deeper need for that approach. and I went from, hey, just, you know, think about the big ideas to, okay, you really maybe need to see some practical things that you can do. and some, what are the underlying technological issues that maybe your media, stream is. Is shaping you in a way that you aren't aware of to help cut off the worry before it starts.
Shifting Conversations from Anxiety to Hope Through Biblical Worldview and Discernment
So the approach changed, I guess, in two ways. One, what I, what I realized what the solution was, which wasn't just thinking better thoughts in terms of a theological structure and number Two, that there are some practical steps that, families and kids can take in order to, to keep out of the, the anxiety rut.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I want to talk about some of those practical steps. We're coming up on our first break here, but we have a lot more to cover. I think it's so important what I hear you saying. Andrew is talking about the, of listening to that young person's fears and responding to them with biblical perspective, with an eternal hope that is kingdom minded. Help them examine the messages behind those fears. And this doesn't matter if it has to do with the climate or any cultural message that's coming in. We need to teach our kids to be discerning of those messages. And it is really unbelievable how much power a calm, caring conversation can give us.
The Biblical Foundation for Caring for Creation While Maintaining Gospel Hope
The room to really just ask questions and seek wisdom together. So after the break, we're going to talk about the biblical foundation for caring for creation while remaining anchored in hope. The book is called Eco Anxiety and the Cross. It's by Andrew J. Spencer. We'll talk about how to face climate fear with Gospel hope when we come back.
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Perfectly by Micah Tyler: I would be perfect if it wasn't for the little ways I fall short every day of my life I would be perfect if it wasn't for the million things that I never can seem to get right But I got this peace inside Cause I know that every time I give you failures and you give me grace all of my problems don't push you away and somehow you love somebody like me don't know how you do it but you do it perfectly.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is Perfectly by Micah Tyler. And I'm so grateful that the Lord does things perfectly because here in a broken world, we don't do things perfectly.
Understanding and Responding to Youth Eco-Anxiety with Empathy and Christian Character
And one of the things that young people are facing today that maybe we're not responding to very well is a real anxiety about the environment. Now I know, I know some of you listening are thinking, okay, this is why Gen Z is a bunch of snowflakes. Listen. We would do so well and really show Christian character by being caring, understanding what it's like to live in their world, what it's like to live in a 24.7 doom scroll. That's giving them competing messages. We don't know what it was like to grow up with that kind of influence. We could trust, for the most part, our parents and our trusted adults in our lives. And kids today have so many competing voices. I'm talking today to Andrew J. Spencer. Dr. Spencer has a has a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he's the author of this book called Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. Now, I am a professor. I teach college students. I am a pediatric clinician. I work with kids all the time. This is a topic of conversation.
The Biblical Foundation of Creation's Value and Humanity's Role from Genesis
But Andrew, I want to go back to the beginning. Let's go back to the biblical framework for thinking about creation because it's easy to get swept up and all the conflicting messages and all the conflicting science and all of the. The political partisanship that goes into this. But we need to bring it back to a biblical foundation. And that's really the work of what your doctoral dissertation did and is now coming in this book that's really practical for families. Take us back to the beginning. And I mean literally the beginning in Genesis.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Yeah. Well, so, any discussion of the good of the environment or creation has to begin with our understanding of the value of creation. and you know, God opens up His Word in Genesis chapter one by telling us that creation has value. So when you read through Genesis chapter one, maybe just circle all the places that God said it's good. And so he is not granting creation value. He's describing creation as value. And he says it's good six times. And the seventh time he says it's very good after he's created humanity.
Humanity's Place in Creation and Countering Anti-Human Environmental Ethics
And in that passage, as he's creating all of the world and everything that's in it, it is humanity that is the capstone of creation. And so the last thing he does is he made, man, male, female, in his own image, and he gave them a responsibility to go, to go, to, and populate, the world, to subdue the world, and to cultivate it. So in Genesis 2:15, then you see the message that when God puts Adam into the garden, it's to cultivate and keep it. So there's a very agricultural, a very, developmental role that humanity is supposed to have in creation. So we're very good. We have value. Creation has value. And we're here for a specific purpose. That's key to thinking about this question of eco anxiety or environmental ethics in general, because There are a lot of versions of environmental ethics that tell us that humanity is an alien species on this planet. In fact, there's a movement called the, a humanist movement that argues that human extinction, is the best possible solution for the planet.
The Hope of Renewal: From a Fallen World to God's Redeemed Creation
The Bible doesn't open up that possibility and in fact pushes back against that strongly. But if you can imagine being a young person and hearing some of these messages coming through TikTok or X or whatever the stream that they're getting it from, that's telling them that, hey, there's way too many humans, the image of God must go, and we've got to stop having influence and, impact on creation that affects the way that you view the world. So when we are beginning this discussion of eco anxiety, we begin with the goodness of creation, the goodness of humanity. And then we also look at the end of Scripture and see where it points. Because when you look at Revelation chapter 21 and 22, what you see is what the Garden of Eden would have become had sin not entered in the world.
Living Towards Redemption: Reconciling Ourselves and Creation with God's Plan
Right? We're living in this post Genesis 3, the fallen world, where sin infects everything, thorns infest the ground. but there's going to be joy to the world world. as the hymn says, that that hymn is actually not a Christmas hymn. It's meant to be an Easter hymn because it points forward to the renewal of all creation. However that takes place in your eschatology. but we look forward and, and what we see In Revelation chapter 21 and 22, we see the Garden City. So it's what Adam and Eve were meant to do. they were meant to flourish. They were meant to, develop creation. They were meant to build this city. And that city is going to have the Tree of Life restored to it. And that's what we're longing for. So when we look along this biblical arc, it gives us a sense of hope even now in this world, that though things aren't what they ought to be, one day God is going to make them all right. But at the same time, we also see in Scripture that we are called to live in some manner that points toward that final redeemed creation.
Christ's Redeeming Work: Reconciling All Things Through His Sacrifice on the Cross
That's how we live, fighting sin, trying to live sin free. It's how we treat each other, our neighbors, whether it's our Christian neighbor or a non Christian neighbor. We try and reconcile those relationships and it has to do with reconciliation to creation as well. Are we going to be able to do that perfectly in this life? Nope. Should we live that way as Much as we can in the meanwhile. Yep. And that's what Francis schaeffer back in 1970, in his book Pollution and the Death of Man, called substantial healing. Living in light of the new creation, even now and today. And so.
Creation's Hopeful Groaning: Participating in God's Renewal Through Christ
So really, I started in creation. I got us all the way to eschatology. But that's in the background of this entire message. And, it's only made possible because Christ on the cross, Colossians one tells us that he reconciled all things to himself, whether things in heaven or things on earth, things visible or invisible, and all through the blood, that he shed on the cross. So he made possible, that redemption, that renewal that we hear about even in, like, Romans, chapter 8, where Paul talks about creation groaning right now in childbirth. Right. Looking forward to what? Well, forward to when it too is going to see and participate in the glory that's to be revealed in us. So as we are renewed and redeemed, so creation is renewed and redeemed as well. And that's a hopeful thing.
A Hopeful Worldview: Understanding Environmental Issues and God's Ultimate Restoration
Right. And so when we look at the world that way, it both makes sense of what's wrong with the environment, and it gives us hope that someday this is going to be set right. And it's not my job to make it perfect now. It's just my job to make it as better as live as well as I can, within the framework that I. That I exist.
The Power of Gospel Hope: Countering Secular Pessimism and Polarization
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, you just gave so much great information there, I'll admit. My main takeaway is can we sing Joy to the world at Easter? Because I'm a big Christmas fan. And I'm going to mention that to my pastor. I'm going to say, you know, the Dr. Spencer says that that is an Easter hymn, but really, I wish that every young people, every young person could hear the message that you're. That you're giving. Because what you just said was so grounded, it was so hopeful, it was so empowering, really. And it gives us meaning and purpose, even though we're in a world where thorns infest the ground, where we're in a world where there's suffering, where there is brokenness. And when we look at the secular counter. Well, I really was gonna say counter narrative.
Navigating Cultural Conversations: Building Healthy Responses to Environmental Concerns
But it's really like a counterfeit message because it's saying, oh, the best hope that you can provide is. Is in yourself. And we kind of see, you know, one of the things that when people or groups of people are traumatized is polarization. That's kind of a natural result of trauma. And I See that, you know, in this hyper partisan environment, this kind of polarization on issues when we're talking about the climate, it's like we can't have healthy conversations just like you were just having. It's like either, you know, nope, that's just all bogus. We, you know, don't care and the world is going to be burned up anyway, so it doesn't matter. Or it's the, this fear driven activism. How do you bring families into that healthier, more balanced response just like you just presented so beautifully to us.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, Neil Postman, I think, he says it this way, that, that it's impossible to have a family if you can't control the information, that comes in.
Controlling Information Flow in Families: The Challenge of Modern Media
that's a paraphrase. But what he's a media ecologist, that he wrote. hold on, I'll think of it after I'm done. Anyway, so. But we have to think about, yeah, we have to think about the information, that we are bringing into our family and that's coming into our family and into our homes. And you know, this is hard now. It didn't used to be as hard when it was three channels, and you know, maybe a radio station and if you weren't supposed to listen to secular music, you had to do, right, it real quiet at night after everybody went to bed, you know, like there's enough of us that have been there to know that what that was like. Now it's on your phone, it's on your computer, if you send your kids to school, even if it's a Christian school, there's information that gets through, on school devices, that we just can't control. So what we have to do is help our kids frame that. I mean we can't unfortunately roll back the clock and become Amish, and simply in some ways exclude ourselves from participation in society.
Building a Christian Worldview: Grounding Truth in Scripture and Biblical Data
Instead, what we need to do is really focus on building a Christian worldview from the ground up. because there's nothing that I said in that initial piece that really isn't just, it's just basic Christian worldview, right? Creation, fall, redemption, consummation. However, some people say three, some people say four parts. but that's what it is. And so then using that to say this is actually our truth, and this is not just our truth, it is the truth truth that we're grounded in. And we have to continually point ourselves and our kids back to that and make sure that when we're talking, we're not talking as if, there's some sort of right, left, red, blue way of approaching this. There's a biblical way of approaching this. And that's what we need to approximate and do our best to live out in this life. We start with the biblical data because the biblical data is the data that we can trust.
From Worldview to Policy: Addressing Environmental Issues Biblically and Practically
And then we work from that. That before we even think about any policy discussions. I will tell you that I think that one of the things that tends to trip up any of this environmental discussion is just it starts at policy level and a lot of times the environment is used as a wedge, to further causes that wouldn't necessarily be furthered, by the environmental issue. It's greenwashing, where everything, all your products, they talk about this is eco friendly, even though a lot of times it's really not. these policies, people talk about socialism, this is supposed to be eco friendly. unfortunately they don't look at history where the Soviet Union, and China have been some of the worst, under the. Under, you know, communist rule, some of the worst environmental offenders. M and so we have to differentiate what is the actual underlying worldview claim that Scripture gives us from the policy issues that may be detached from any particular worldview, that, that environmentalism and concern for creation sometimes is used to advocate for. And we need to build from the bottom up and not begin the conversation at the top and then go down because the division happens when you're talking about tax rates and carbon taxes and you know, how we develop regulation for water and whether that keeps a farmer in Nebraska from being able to, you know, clear out his drainage dish, ditch without, EPA approval and those sorts of things. But everybody wants clean water, everybody wants clean air.
Shifting Conversations from Fear to Hope: Addressing Economic and Existential Anxieties
Everybody wants people really to have access to natural resources that, that are, sufficient to sustain healthy life. If we begin that conversation there, then we get a lot further along the way to some sort of meaningful solution and meaningful cooperation that's really helpful and
Dr. Jessica Peck: knowing what to talk about some of those issues. And you're so clearly informed. I have so many more questions, but the next one that I have is not so much what to talk about, but how to talk about it. Andrew because what I see is a lot of fear and anxiety just dominating the conversations. And so sometimes I feel like the what to talk about is just overshadowed by the emotion with which it's delivered. Whether that's anxiety that the world is going to disappear, you know, and you have that spectrum or the anxiety. On the other hand, like that maybe these economic, these you know, restrictions are going to be cost prohibitive for my business and I'm not going to be able to run my business. Or maybe it's anxiety or fear that, hey, my kids are getting swept up into a worldview that is just not biblical.
Historical Progress and Present Dangers: A Balanced View of Environmental Issues
And now they're talking about not having kids. I mean, and it could be the environment, it could be anything where we're trying to look for man made hope. You talked about what to talk about, some of the things to talk about. Can you talk more about how to talk about it, how to replace that fear and anxiety with hope?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Yeah, I mean, in one sense we did.
The Impact of Social Media Algorithms on Anxiety and Perception of Danger
We should look back and see that, that things are a lot better objectively than they were 60, 70 years ago. one of the reasons why Earth got Earth Day got kicked off in 1970 was because there were multiple rivers that had lit on fire because there were sheens of oil and the pollution was so bad. I live near Lake Erie. Lake Erie was essentially dead to the extent that, commercial fishing had to get shut down. Not a. Ah. And so what we see now is things have recovered a great deal. so in many ways things are better than they were back in 1970. That's a good place to start. And that's true with poverty globally and a whole bunch of other things. We forget those things because we're always looking for the next danger signal. And that's part of the way that social media and the algorithm is really damaging to our society and to our families and to our own personal, ah, psyche. because, we get dopamine hits from negative news and we're drawn to things that are negative. And so we're always, you, know, we're looking for, we're hunting for that next danger signal that's going to give us a dopamine high. And our phones can do that. But the problem is that that also shapes the way that our brains see the world.
The Ephemeral Nature of Online Concerns: Maintaining Perspective in a Fast-Paced World
And so you can go from kind of perfectly normal, to all of a sudden really thinking, what? Well, there's a big issue. Well, did you know it was a big issue last week? Are you going to think it's a big issue next week? And chances are in this world that we live in, you, you aren't going to remember what you were mad about last week today. And that's something that we need to consider.
Dr. Jessica Peck: So I'm going to hold you right there. Andrew. We're already at our second break. We're going to pick back up right there, right there. When we come back and we'll talk more about having a hope perspective. We'll also talk about a biblical view of environmental stewardship. If God has given us dominion over the world, then how are we to steward it? I'm talking to Andrew J. Spencer about his book Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. Hope needs to become a part of our everyday life and our worldview. We'll talk more about how to do that with your family. Right on the other side the of this break.
Wesley Biblical Seminary: Equipping Tomorrow's Pastors and Christian Leaders with Biblical Authority and Hope
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Lead Me to the Cross by Brooke Fraser and Hillsong UNITED: Savior I come quiet my soul remember. Redemption's hill where your blood was spared my ransom Everything I once held thee I Count it all as long Lead me to the cross where you have poured out Bring me to my knees Lord I lay me down r me of myself I belong to you Lead me, Lead me to the cross.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is Lead Me to the Cross by Brooke Fraser and Hillsong UNITED And that's what we're talking about today is leading us to the cross. I'm speaking with Andrew J. Spencer.
Countering Fear-Based Messaging: The Hope Found in a Biblical Worldview
He has a PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and he's written a book called Eco Anxiety and the Cross Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope. Now I know a lot of you listening may think that is not something that I face, but I'm telling you this is something that is encountering young people today. They are encountering overwhelming messages about just a general pessimism about the world doomerism. And we want to give young people optimism and hope. And so much of the messaging that they are encountering is fear based because fear sells and sometimes entities will try to sell a problem that kids didn't even know that they had. Just like Andrew was talking about before the break. I know there have been some times where I've gone on vacation and decided, you know what, I'm just not going to look at the news for a whole week. That was really hard for me. But guess what? The world went on. Nothing fell through. Like nothing happened that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been checking the news compulsively. We do model this for kids because we have a lot of fear and we feel like knowledge is power. If we know more, we will feel better about it. But right before the break, Andrew, you were just in the middle of talking to us about the contrast between a biblical worldview and a secular worldview.
Mindful Media Consumption: Prioritizing Eternal Significance in Christian Households
Where biblical is anchored in hope. Secular, you might be just apathetic or just really fear ridden. So I'm going to give it back to you right where we left off and let you pick up your answer.
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Yeah, so I was talking about data input and how, how that gets to us and how that shapes us. and that's something that all of us need to watch. it. We're affected by the television shows that we watch, the, what were, you know, the reels that we're seeing, in our social media feeds, and the algorithm is designed to keep our eyeballs on whatever that media source is. we live in an attention economy, so it matters a whole lot what we give our attention to. What we need to do as Christian households is make sure that we're giving our attention to things that actually have some significance for eternity, that make a difference for the long run. And we need to ask ourselves, is this media that I'm taking into, into my life, and watching with my eyes and listening to with my ears, is it helping me grow more Christlike and live, in the peace of the creation that he has made, or is it making me less content, with this world?
Connecting Locally and Practically: Addressing Eco-Anxiety Through Community Engagement
And, if it's making me less content, then I need to make a change with that. it's one of the big things that I talk about in the book. every time new information technology comes up, the people that develop think that and they will say, say outright, this is going to solve the world's problems. That happened with the telegraph. the creator of the telegraph said, hey, listen, once people know what's happening, in the, in the next country, they're not going to be any wars that happened with the Internet. And yet what do we see, we see a lot more conflict, between people that don't even know each other arguing on the Internet. why is it that? Well, it's part of, it's because humans were designed by God to have face to face interactions primarily. Right? We're designed to interact with people that we know, that we love, that we build relationships to. And so there's something about the kind of in person space like a local church, like a local community that's meant to be the center of our existence, not the global world. So when we're thinking about how we help kids that are struggling with eco anxiety, part of it is what the kids call touching grass, getting out into creation, getting out into their community. And then instead of worrying about, you know, the, the the plastic buildup in a river, in some country, that's all the way across the world, why not think about what's in my local park? is there trash that's going to end up in the creek, that's going to end up in the river, that's going to end up in one of the Great Lakes, that's going to end up in the ocean? What can I do about that?
Wise Resource Stewardship: Aligning Environmental and Financial Health for Hope
Well, if I want to go for a walk, I can go pick stuff up and I can make a real difference. that changes the level of anxiety we have because one kids are doing something meaningfully That we, even if we don't believe in the bigger, environmental issues out there, if that's not part of our worldview that we can still affirm because nobody wants trash in their creek. So we can go take care of that. We, can encourage our kids to make wise, decisions about resource usage. I mean who wouldn't like their kids to take shorter showers, and to use the resources. Resources. That's right. And honestly, that's one of my big pitches, for environmental stewardship in general is that many of the things that make for wise environmental stewardship are also wise with regard to financial stewardship. And if we chose to make wiser financial choices in many cases, that would also be good for the environment. Not always.
Caring for Creation and People: Practical Steps for Environmental Stewardship
And we don't want to do that to become miser. we don't want to not take mission trips, because we're worried about carbon emissions. We don't want to, you know, not do some of those important things, that are necessary to get the gospel to the ends of the earth. But we should be making choices, that steward our resources, both financial and environmental, in A way that points toward hope, for the future.
Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, I'm thinking as you're talking about some of the real things, the real concerns about the environment you described already, you know, chemicals or oil being on water, you know, bodies of water or that, you know, you restrict fishing. I think as a pediatric clinician of the, of the crisis that happened in Flint, Michigan with the lead being in the water and poisoning children. That is not a gospel centric perspective. We want to care for people, and we do that by caring for the environment. And so how. What are other practical ways that we can step into this with a, with a pragmatic view and really live out that environmental stewardship every day in our lives?
Local Action, Gospel Focus: Glorifying God Through Creation Care Initiatives
You've already described some practical ways. What are ways to continue to do and also at the same time be giving messages of a biblical worldview and an eternal hope. How do we put those two strategies together?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, I would encourage people to look locally. So for example, I live near Lake Erie. So there's a, there's a river raisin cleanup project, that I, I try and participate in every year. This year I was on my way to a mission trip, so I couldn't, I couldn't do it. But we go out and we, we, we pick up trash, we clean out the riverbed, and it's permitted. it's, it's run by the local water shed, the organization that supervises that. and so my whole family goes. We make an effort and it's a localized effort that sees, that causes real change. We pull toilets out and just trash that got put in upstream and it keeps it from going down into Lake Erie. those are real concrete things that we can do. And when we talk about it, we don't talk about it as we're saving the planet. We talk about it as we're serving God and glorifying him by caring for the creation that he made.
Conscious Consumerism: Making Wise Choices for Environmental and Financial Health
Right? Because, God doesn't make junk and he doesn't junk what he made. and so we need to treat it with some care because he loves creation not the same way that he loves humanity. but he does love creation and care for it. And so if we start talking about things that way, that makes a big difference. And we build our world around that. And we think about, okay, okay, you know, let's take the extra time to actually put the batteries into the rights disposal bin instead of just throwing them into the landfill. there are ways that, that is healthier for the environment that doesn't take a whole lot more effort. Some recycling is better than others. There's a whole debate about that. we can be wise, and think about those things, as we go, but we should also make consumer decisions and consciously make consumer decisions that have positive, positive environmental and financial, results. So what, what startles me sometimes walking around on trash day in my neighborhood is the overfilling trash bins every week. Not just Christmas because we all stuff it full on Christmas, but every week. How are we bringing in so many good consumer goods that there's that much going out? Do we really need to do that?
Stewardship as Glorifying God: Inspiring Children Through Responsible Resource Management
Are there ways that we can economize without, you know, being brutally miserly? I, I think about my, my grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. and though they owned a business and they were doing well financially, they would still make, some hard choices about, you know, reusing plywood that they didn't need to reuse and, and doing all sorts of sorts of things. Why, why are we not doing some of those things, maybe not all of them, even now, because those have environmental impact. And when we talk about those things, not just as here I am to save a nickel, but rather here I am to try to glorify God by, by stewarding creation. Well, by not overusing the resources that he's given me, then that changes our kids perspectives because they see us caring about it. Maybe in a different way than they might hear about in their classroom or on the news, but they see us caring about it. And then, then we're giving an answer for the hope that is within us, even within our home and showing them that there's integrity, within our Christian worldview.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh yes. I, I was raised by a granny who taught me how to wash foil. Like I would wash the foil. And we could reuse that because it was perfectly reusable. And that is, it's, it really is a heart issue of, like you said, consumerism and stewardship. And it goes if the ha. Of course it impacts the environment.
Intergenerational Wisdom: Sharing Life Experiences to Build Character and Resilience
But there's so many other character issues that we can talk about in that. And I love what you talking about with this intergenerational messaging, Andrew. And I'm thinking back even in reading your book about your time that you described, you described in some degree of detail being on a submarine. And I told you like that is, I thank you so much for your service because it seems very scary. It's very isolated. It's, it was you, you talked about surfacing for just a little period of time and maybe people could, you know, get some sun or maybe swim if it was safe to do that. That, that is something that young people can relate to. Feeling isolated, being in a high stakes environment. And sometimes, you know, I was just talking to you in the break about this how I think that older generations, they think I don't understand this world that you're living in. Why can't it just be like our world? I think that's been the, I've said many times, I think that's the rise of popularity of Jonathan Haidt's book because really the premise of that book is let's make your childhood like mine so that I feel more comfortable in managing it. But when we really talk about it, it, the context and things that we are, that we are having, that's different. But you could share so much wisdom with your own children about how military service informed you and it strengthened you and it challenged you and it shaped your character. That's where we need to get to in these conversations. So often I see grandparents and grandkids or parents and kids, they're debating the issues and they're really not getting to the heart of the matter matter and really bringing in that spiritual perspective.
Redirecting Conversations: Focusing on Foundational Truths and the Resurrection
What advice would you have for families and redirecting from arguments about topics or contents or issues to really bringing it back to the heart of the matter?
Dr. Andrew J. Spencer: Well, you know, if it's one of the things Tim Keller said in the last few months that he was alive, he said that if, the resurrection is true, then everything's going to be okay. Okay. And that's a pretty good place to begin. Any conversation when anyone in the family has anxiety over anything, no matter how significant is that if we are, if we are in Christ and if the resurrection is true, then all of this is going to work out.
Foundational Worldviews: Grounding Families in Creation, Scripture, and Hope
And you know, we, we should work to try and find the best answers that we can, but we don't have to agree necessarily on, on marginal tax rates or exactly what needs to be recycled and what needs to go to the trash and those sorts of things. What we need to do is focus on those things that we can, we have a solid, consensus on. And hopefully that's the resurrection. And if it's not, then we definitely need to focus on that. but then when we be, when we begin those basic worldview discussions about the goodness of creation, about the authority of scripture, about the value of humanity and about the hope for all of creation in the end of the world, those ground us in ways that some of the details just go away, and we're able to, make compromises, not in moral sense, but in, in just a, you know, okay, so we won't buy that next thing, because we're making a choice and I'm conceding to your desire, to do, you know, to do something, that's maybe a little less expensive or a little less elaborate and disposable.
The Power of the Gospel: Overcoming Anxiety Through Christ's Redemption
and so there, there's grounds for that because you share these foundational worldviews, truths in that. So, I mean, we always need more gospel. We need more catechesis, and we need to be preaching that to our. To ourselves and to our kids every day. And so if I were to say one thing that I would hope that somebody, in a family struggling with eco anxiety, would do is just keep going back to the cross and remembering that Jesus Christ died for our sin and to make.
Final Encouragement: Embracing Gospel Hope and Pointing Families Towards Christ
Make the whole world right. We have hope in the gospel that can overcome any sort of anxiety that the world can offer.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I could not have said it better myself. And that's the title of your book. Eco Anxiety and the Cross. Face Climate Fear with Gospel Hope by Andrew J. Spencer. Thank you so much, Andrew, for redirecting us, for resetting our priorities and reminding us of what is really important. Keep pointing your fingers, families, toward the hope of Christ through your words, through your actions, through your presence. Let them see adults who teach our kids how to carry our concerns to God and move forward with hope. And as you do that, I pray that the Lord will bless you, keep you, make his face to shine upon you, give you peace and hope. We'll see you here tomorrow.
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Jessica welcomes Dr. Andrew Spencer to talk about helping families respond Biblically to the anxieties their children and grandchildren have about the environment.
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(00:00) Thanking Our Sponsor PreBorn and Highlighting Their Life-Saving Impact Through Ultrasounds
(02:24) Understanding and Addressing Eco-Anxiety in Young People Amidst Negative World Messages
(04:45) Examining Climate Doomerism's Impact on Young People and Offering a Biblical Perspective
(05:35) Students Experiencing Climate Doomerism Leading to Paralysis and Apathy
(06:49) Understanding the Root of Teenagers' Concerns and Fears About the Future
(07:57) The Difference Between Encouraging Resourcefulness and World-Ending Pessimism
(08:33) A Biblical Worldview's Foundation for Hope, Dignity, and Responsibility Towards Creation
(09:58) Generational Perspectives on Youth Concerns and the Need for Christian Voices
(10:41) Addressing Widespread Adolescent Anxiety About the Environment with a Gospel Hope
(12:18) Gen Z's Anxiety and the Book's Goal to Offer Gospel Hope Amidst Environmental Concerns
(13:00) The Pervasive Doomerism Affecting Young People and its Impact on Their Worldview
(13:45) Evolving Perspectives on Eco-Anxiety: From Big Ideas to Practical Solutions
(15:21) Shifting Conversations from Anxiety to Hope Through Biblical Worldview and Discernment
(16:18) The Biblical Foundation for Caring for Creation While Maintaining Gospel Hope
(16:42) Listener Support for American Family Radio and the Dr. Nurse Mama Podcast
(18:11) Understanding and Responding to Youth Eco-Anxiety with Empathy and Christian Character
(19:14) The Biblical Foundation of Creation's Value and Humanity's Role from Genesis
(20:19) Humanity's Place in Creation and Countering Anti-Human Environmental Ethics
(21:28) The Hope of Renewal: From a Fallen World to God's Redeemed Creation
(22:16) Living Towards Redemption: Reconciling Ourselves and Creation with God's Plan
(23:18) Christ's Redeeming Work: Reconciling All Things Through His Sacrifice on the Cross
(23:51) Creation's Hopeful Groaning: Participating in God's Renewal Through Christ
(24:42) A Hopeful Worldview: Understanding Environmental Issues and God's Ultimate Restoration
(25:03) The Power of Gospel Hope: Countering Secular Pessimism and Polarization
(25:44) Navigating Cultural Conversations: Building Healthy Responses to Environmental Concerns
(26:41) Controlling Information Flow in Families: The Challenge of Modern Media
(27:47) Building a Christian Worldview: Grounding Truth in Scripture and Biblical Data
(28:40) From Worldview to Policy: Addressing Environmental Issues Biblically and Practically
(30:19) Shifting Conversations from Fear to Hope: Addressing Economic and Existential Anxieties
(31:22) Historical Progress and Present Dangers: A Balanced View of Environmental Issues
(31:42) The Impact of Social Media Algorithms on Anxiety and Perception of Danger
(33:02) The Ephemeral Nature of Online Concerns: Maintaining Perspective in a Fast-Paced World
(34:05) Wesley Biblical Seminary: Equipping Tomorrow's Pastors and Christian Leaders with Biblical Authority and Hope
(36:39) Countering Fear-Based Messaging: The Hope Found in a Biblical Worldview
(37:56) Mindful Media Consumption: Prioritizing Eternal Significance in Christian Households
(39:10) Connecting Locally and Practically: Addressing Eco-Anxiety Through Community Engagement
(40:44) Wise Resource Stewardship: Aligning Environmental and Financial Health for Hope
(41:44) Caring for Creation and People: Practical Steps for Environmental Stewardship
(42:45) Local Action, Gospel Focus: Glorifying God Through Creation Care Initiatives
(43:56) Conscious Consumerism: Making Wise Choices for Environmental and Financial Health
(45:17) Stewardship as Glorifying God: Inspiring Children Through Responsible Resource Management
(46:40) Intergenerational Wisdom: Sharing Life Experiences to Build Character and Resilience
(48:13) Redirecting Conversations: Focusing on Foundational Truths and the Resurrection
(48:50) Foundational Worldviews: Grounding Families in Creation, Scripture, and Hope
(49:51) The Power of the Gospel: Overcoming Anxiety Through Christ's Redemption
(50:22) Final Encouragement: Embracing Gospel Hope and Pointing Families Towards Christ
(51:12) Thanking Preborn for Rescuing Babies and Supporting Young Moms
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