Tempo di lettura: 3 minuti

According to an old theory, already implicit in Heiddeger’s writings on technology and popularized by a well-known article by historian Lynn White Jr., the Judeo-Christian tradition is the cause of the environmental crisis we are experiencing. If animism and paganism promoted a form of respect for the environment based on the belief that behind the natural elements there were spiritual beings, their defeat would have caused the desacralization of those elements and their transformation into resources to be exploited by man, prince of creation and its ruler. Without the need to historically analyze the validity of this theory, we can recognize how a superficial reading of the Bible may have led some Christians to take an inconsiderate attitude towards the environment.

On the other hand, careful reflection on what the Bible says about our relationship with nature represents the most solid foundation for a commitment to the protection and safeguarding of creation.

It is true that man is created in the image of God and his relationship with Him places him on a different plane from the rest of creation since the beginning of the biblical narrative, yet it is precisely the beginning of Genesis that suggests to us that man has always had a role of responsibility towards the environment:

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden, to work it and take care of it.”

(Gen. 2:15).

In confirmation of this high value that natural elements have in the Christian worldview, we can recall that all of creation has been subjected to the effects of sin and is awaiting the return of Christ (Rom. 8:19-23), for “all things were created by him and for him” (Col. 1:16). Modern environmental concerns should not be foreign to any Christian who takes the truths just mentioned seriously, but there is more: without God, humanity risks losing any valid motivation to protect the environment that does not lead to anti-humanism.

Without God, it seems difficult, if not impossible, to find the balance between anthropocentrism, which has given support to the senseless exploitation of natural resources useful for economic development, and anti-humanism, which, by denying man the right to consider himself more important than other forms of life, turns him into the problem to be contained or eliminated. Neither atheistic materialism nor modern pantheism can provide a solution to this dilemma. Both fail to provide any basis for ethics, or end up equating human life to that of other animals, if not plants (or viruses!).

  • Why should I care about the survival of someone other than myself?
  • Why would it be wrong to eliminate even a small minority of human beings, if it would bring undoubted well-being to all other life forms on the planet?
  • Why would it be right to eliminate a life form like Coronavirus?

Questions for which the answer seems obvious and intuitive suddenly become difficult, if one excludes God from the picture.

The Bible does not resolve questions of environmental ethics with a form of anthropocentrism limited by God’s law, but instead by placing Christ Jesus at the center of all things.

The purpose of creation is to glorify Christ, and God’s plan culminates not in the salvation of man but in the unity of all things under one head, Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:9-10).

Christianity proposes a theocentric humanism that assigns a special role to man and a great value to his life, which, however, is not the ultimate end of things. Human beings are called to contribute to the realization of God’s plan, and they are called to do so also by taking care of the environment.

Francesco Schiano
(GBU staff worker in Naples)

Tempo di lettura: 2 minutiMarch has arrived and for many of us it feels like we’re living in a movie we’ve seen over and over again, like a time loop from which we can’t escape. A year ago many in our country were scared, skeptical, terrified, hopeless, but we would never have guessed that a year later so many of these feelings would still be in our hearts and minds. The fact is, although time has passed, for many, the situation seems to be unchanged.

Students are still in distance learning and universities seem to be functioning only online , with a few exceptions here and there. The thrill of stepping through the door of the university classroom for the first time for many is gone, for yet another semester. For others, however, the experience of online graduation will become a bittersweet memory to be recounted in the future.

The daily life of GBU groups has also changed now. Online Bible study meetings, thousands of messages in chat rooms, social promotion, and online events have become part and parcel of a normal GBU day. But don’t let that fool you. The essence remains. That desire to share Jesus with one’s friends, the commitment to witnessing the gospel, and the fellowship that spurs growth in one’s own faith and the faith of others is there for anyone who wants to see it.

In times like these, where challenges against our faith are piling up, we cling to the Word and the hope we can find only in Jesus. He is the one who assured us that He would be with us until the end, pandemic or not. My invitation to you is to go and read the news from the different groups. You will see that instead of complaints or ‘defeated tones’ there are many reasons for joy and hope. There is news  from large and consolidated groups but also stories of the challenges from small groups that have just been born and who enthusiastically recount every small victory. There are many reasons for praise and there are requests for prayer, because the students have now realized that in their life of faith they will not be able to go much further without the prayer and intercession of their brothers and sisters.

What has changed then since the last news report? If we look at the circumstances, not much. But if we look to the One who works every good work in us, who acts when no one else can, and who changes the lives of students every day, then there is much to be seen. So I invite you to read the news, praise the Lord for His work, and pray for the groups, with the assurance that Jesus has not stopped in time, but is at work making all things new.

 

Carol Rocha
(GBU Staff)

Tempo di lettura: 2 minuti

How GBU faces the Coronavirus emergency

Sharing Jesus from Student to Student.

This is the GBU motto. The goal is to reach university students with the message of the Gospel, proclaimed and witnessed by students who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

At the beginning of the school year, students belonging to different GBU groups started planning activities and events to accomplish this goal. University students full of passion for Christ have organized Bible studies, prayer meetings, themed evenings with an evangelistic message, and many more initiatives. It has all been done with great commitment. Students invested time and energy, filled with enthusiasm and zeal, with the joy and the urgency of sharing the message of salvation in Christ Jesus.

The Coronavirus seems to have nullified these efforts.

Today, Italy is locked down, universities are closed. The students are at home and the GBU initiatives have all been postponed indefinitely. We can’t hide our frustration! The students use these events to proclaim Christ publicly, but also to establish relationships and share the Gospel one on one. Now the virus keeps us away from people and separates the GBU students from their friends, those friends who need someone to witness to them about Christ. And yet, we should and we must stop. The GBU students must stay home, not only to comply with the Ministry’s decrees, but out of respect for other students, professors, families and, in general, our neighbour.

However, we find ourselves asking: “Do we just stop? Is our mission quarantined also? Or is it still possible to Share Jesus from Student to Student in the times of Coronavirus?”

With determination and passion for God, GBU students all around Italy are taking charge with creativity to keep witnessing Chris and live their faith in the university. And since the university activities have migrated online and on social media, likewise  GBU students are using these resources to have an impact on the multimedia student society of today. From Messina to Turin, students are implementing many activities: prayer meetings and Bible studies in video calls, evangelistic posts on social media, one on one witnessing with roommates, and many more ideas that are being born right as we speak. All this so that Gospel witnessing  in universities will not stop.

After all, this too is a way of loving our neighbour. Doctors readily and lovingly care for those in need.With the same urgency and the same love, the GBU students want to keep on sharing Jesus with their friends, colleagues and roommates, so that others may choose to follow Him. That is why, in a climate where Italian students respond to government directions with fear or sometimes with blatantly careless attitudes, the GBU students continue to boldly proclaim their faith in God and the hope found in Chris Jesus.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” [Jesus]
(Gospel of John, 16:33)

Domenico Campo
(GBU staff worker in Sicily)

Tempo di lettura: 2 minutiFrom 27 until 29 March 2018 the “Bible on Display” event took place at the Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro. The exhibition was carried out in the Department of Medicine and General Surgery, offering an overview of the Bible, its contents, reliabilty of the text from a historical/scientific point of view, the invaluable message of life offered by Jesus, its evolution through printing etc.

It is very easy to set up, as roll up banners are used. The exhibition can be shown in any kind of venue, preferably sheltered.
During the event organised by GBU Catanzaro, a brief speech was given by Giovanni Donato which aroused interest among the students. Questions, doubts and puzzlements were raised, dialogue and debate were prefered and some wanted to go deeper with the Bible message and join the meetings held by students in the local GBU group. Bibles in a variety of languages were also exhibited and New Testaments given out. Read more