Reclaiming Permaculture as Followers of Jesus
Permaculture is a increasingly popular topic among homesteaders, gardeners, farmers, and social reformers. It refers to a design science that uses natural patterns and principles to create well-thought out, productive, and efficient examples of land stewardship. Swales, herb spiral beds, compost, keylines, companion planting, no-till gardening, zone-layout, multi-function elements, utilization of perennials for food production, and integration of animals and crops are some of the things that come to mind when people think of permaculture. However, there are also some other things that are often associated with permaculture: new-age thinking, nature worship, evolution, eastern spiritualism, relative morality, etc. As Christians seeking to honor God through agriculture, many of us are attracted to the practical aspects of permaculture, but how do we respond to the anti-Christian perspectives that often go along with it?
When I was just getting started with my farm I began reading about permaculture and got ‘bitten’ by the bug. It was absolutely amazing how taking simple principles from God’s design in Creation could create such beauty, efficiency, and resilience. But while I was reading about all this wonderful testimony of God’s wisdom I became increasingly distressed at the lack of acknowledgement of the Creator by the authors. I began to think, ‘Why aren’t Christians developing and teaching this stuff? We . . . who claim to know and love the Creator . . . why aren’t we learning from and applying His wisdom displayed in Creation like these permaculture experts?’ This sparked in me a desire to see followers of Jesus become students of excellent land stewardship, and provided one of the motivations for starting this blog and writing my book, Born-Again Dirt. It also gave me a heart to see those who appreciate permaculture discover a relationship with the Author of the creation they value so much.
So the question is: Is the permaculture movement something Christians should learn from?
Years ago one of the first books that I read on permaculture was “Gaia’s Garden”. Wow. With a title like that is that even a book I should have on my shelf? But I found that were many amazing observations of God’s wisdom in creation in it. The author, Toby Hemenway, is great at describing the beauty of design in creation and how we can utilize it! But sadly, at least at the time Mr. Hemenway wrote it, he didn’t claim to know the Creator. Therefore there were many false ideas mixed in that ultimately robbed God of glory and us of the true joy we can have in our role as his stewards. Instead of throwing away my copy, however, I began to ‘edit’ it. To try to reclaim the ideas for Christ.
First I changed the title of the front by using a marker to make it read, “God’s Garden” instead of “Gaia’s Garden”.)
Then, as I read I would try to mark and add notes to the text to help me see the truths mixed with the false ideas. For example, on page 29 the author, Mr. Hemenway says,
“But if we share the work with nature and bring into our gardens the wisdom gained in three billion years of evolution, we can have all that the annual garden offers and vastly more.”
I edited it to read, “But if we share the work with Creation and bring into our gardens the wisdom of God’s design, we can have all that the annual garden offers and vastly more.”
Gaia’s (God’s) Garden ended up providing me with many amazing examples of how to utilize and honor God’s natural design in stewarding the land, but they had to be wrested from the false ideas they were mixed with and brought into the light of a Biblical perspective.
I would like to argue that we as Christians need to reclaim permaculture for Jesus by taking ownership of these principles of God’s design, weeding out the false philosophies, and seeking to create thriving examples of ‘Christian Permaculture’ to the Glory of God.
On one hand we need to realize the danger of totally accepting something like permaculture when it is not based on the truths of God’s Word. On the other hand we can learn from it if we purposely identify and sift out the subtle lies and how they impact our perspective. We don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. But we need to be careful to reclaim the truths for Christ and place them on a Biblical foundation.
The encouraging thing is that this is already beginning to happen! There is a swell of people interested in “Christian Permaculture”. I hear from them regularly on this blog. God is giving his people a desire to excel in stewarding the land and give him the glory for the wisdom Permaculture has observed and promoted.
In 1 Corinthians 10:5 Paul says: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” In a world that needs answers to many of the problems facing our food system, we as Christians need to be willing to take even the thoughts we have about land stewardship and make them obedient to Christ. This is not a neutral issue. There is an enemy, Satan, who wants to rob Christ of the glory that comes from His people being excellent managers of his Creation.
However, the enemy is not those who promote or teach permaculture from a godless perspective. Some of my best friends happen to fall in this category! It grieves me that they appreciate some of the wisdom of God but are missing a relationship with Him. They are being cheated and are missing out on the real thing! And unfortunately in general we as Christians haven’t helped the situation. One of the things that has turned people in permaculture away from the Creator is the poor example of creation care presented by those who claim to follow Jesus. We need to start by humbling ourselves, looking to God for answers, and showing love to those around us. Not by pointing fingers and claiming our right to do with Creation whatever we want since God gave it to us (which isn’t true).
One of the things that permaculture fails to take into account is the fallen nature of man. We are all broken and need Jesus. And as Christians looking at reclaiming some of the wisdom of God promoted by permaculture, we need to start with a heart of humility, unselfishness, and faithfulness. All things modeled by Jesus when he came. Only then will we be able to be used by God to start redeeming the land around us. Only if we let him start with our hearts first.
Agriculture is an often hotly contested battlefield in our world today because it impacts the lives of everyone. And I think what we see is just the visible manifestation of the spiritual warfare going on unseen. As you and I step out onto our land and farms, eternity is at stake . . . and God’s glory. When people need answers to challenges they face in our farming and food practices, my desire is to see Christians equipped with the answers from God’s wisdom in creation. Then we will have an opportunity to point them to the source of those answers, Jesus, and give them hope for not just the present, but eternity.
Let’s discover what permaculture can really offer by starting with the heart of Jesus. Will you join me?
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I have a medicinal herb farm and face the same thing. I constantly have to teach that it is God’s medicine not New Age stuff. Thank you so much!
So true! I have a friend in Africa who is an herbalist and he has the same problem since everyone associates them with witchcraft!
Close the ecological loop by inserting the One who created and sustains all life!
Amen!
Noah, you done a great job with this topic. Thanks. I, too, have wrestled with Permaculture. You can tell by what I came up with, Abundaculture. Why would I strive for permanent sustainability when I could have ABUNDANCE…packed down and overflowing? It’s also wonderful to realize that God’s yoke is easy – He wants to bless us, we don’t have to carry the whole load. Growing food with God is a pleasant thing, a gift from God. Keep up the excellent work!
Thank for the encouragement Mr. Jack and for your example in this area over the years!
Beautiful 🥰 I love this ! Abundaculture!
Good article. Interestingly enough, I’ve had a similar experience with reading “Permaculture, A Designers’ Manual” by Bill Mollison. Of note, the cover art for me conjures up thoughts of the Garden of Eden, with the presence of the serpent, even though that imagery represents to the author a variety of non-Christian concepts. But for me, that symbolism in the image is an important reminder that we have been banished from that garden, and that the devil remains present here on Earth. Sometimes I want to fix it all, and become frustrated with the idea that I can’t, but I remember your words, Noah, that faithfulness in Christ, patience, etc. are required. God has always left a remnant. And I know I am doing my part to walk the path; even if all I ever do is maintain the compost pit and garden bed I built last summer, that is more than I did before that in the specific way of glorifying God by being a good steward of the earth while I am here. I just pray that if I should do more, that God make clear to me what that should be.
Thanks for your honesty Chip! I look forward to seeing the journey God has you on, in faith as well as Farming.
I coined the term “stewardculture” and have been blogging about the Christian’s role in homesteading and farming for about three years. We can learn from permaculture just as we can learn math or physics as these are just language sets to describe God’s created world. I even went so far as to earn my PDC. Consider this, we don’t villainize math, but there are people who worship numbering systems. Like you, I simply translate the errors in terminology that most secular permaculturists use in order to describe God’s systems and creatures. We should have no greater fear of learning permaculture than we do learning metallurgy so we can be better blacksmiths and welders. Are there things we should avoid when it comes to some people and some writings related to permaculture? Absolutely. The Holy Spirit is our guide and the Bible is our filter through which we asses the writings of permaculture, or for anything developed by men.
Even the man many refer to as the godfather of permaculture, Bill Mollison, acknowledged that there is a universal response to creation. He wrote that religious people will find a natural affinity to the ideas supported by permaculture. In his Permaculture Designers’ Manual he spells out that when believers “generalize love and respect to all living systems as a witness to the potential of creation, they too will join the many of us now deeply appreciating the complexity and self-sustaining properties of natural systems, from whole universes to simple molecules. Gardener, scientist, philosopher, poet, and adherent of religions all can conspire in admiration of, and reverence for, this earth.”
Though Mr. Mollison’s acknowledgement is a bit lacking as to the Designer of creation and leads a bit too close to Earth worship, he is right in that we should have a very deep appreciation of God’s work and that appreciation should lead us to worship of the Creator and stewardship of His creation.
I am currently drafting a manuscript that takes on these issues and tries to recraft the teachings of permaculture in a biblical context. If anyone is interested in reading what I write about stewardculture, you can visit my blog at http://stewardculture.com/.
Mr. Dan, thanks for your thoughts and work on this topic! I encourage people check out your website.
Personally, I feel that many permaculturists are living a life that values things that are close to Gods heart more than the average Christian. There is a humbleness, attuned to Creation, care for community an acknowledgement of our smallness in the bigger scheme of things, but yet an acknowledgement to the significance of our lives. I don’t think we need to “reclaim” permaculture. I think we need to observe it and learn from it. We don’t need to take everything- perhaps a bit of colonialist thinking. We need to honour what is good. All truth is Gods truth. It doesn’t need claiming or defending. It works because it’s true- or at least much closer to truth than the capitalist leaning of much of society, including churches. Wow we can be so proud.
Hi Dan, thank you for your comment and work on this topic, I am interested into reading what you wrote on this topic too but when I click on the link it can’t open it, so could you maybe send it again as answer on my comment or on my e-mail address: Ornella.jamart@gmail.com thanks and God bless you all, can’t explain everything here but I am very encouraged by reading all of this.
Awesome post! Very inspiring to fellow Christians who have a passion to steward the earth. How can we though get the church on board? Why are we Christians who care about this considered “free huggers” and just crunchy? It should be taken seriously but feel it’s not.
Tree huggers I meant!
Thanks! As far as getting the Church on board, I feel like a big part of our job right now is to focus on learning to be good examples of stewardship ourselves and using that to serve the last, least, and list. That goes a lot farther than just telling people. We just have to raise the banner higher and Jesus will draw men to himself.
I agree that this is a very inspiring post! Noah, I appreciate your voice in the field of proper land care among so many who deny God’s sovereignty.
My thoughts on how to get the Church on board are this: we are the Church. Today, and especially in America, we have become so conditioned to think that we can only spread the Gospel through “church” activities, “church” mission trips, “church” organizations, “church” events. Christ came to preach directly to people, and He did so regardless of who listened and despite the lack of support from the religious establishment of the day.
So many people avoid or outright ridicule proper stewardship because of the massive disconnect between what is being preached from so many pulpits and how God actually intended His world to be run. So many Christians don’t even study the Bible for themselves, let alone meditate on how they can honor the Lord by how they grow food. We as believers need to re-learn how to think outside the box and think for ourselves, submitting to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we are constantly learning about God, His creation, and His Will in our lives.
Thanks for the good news, that Christians everywhere are waking up to their stewardship connection to the land! I wondered about this, on a large scale. It was encouraging to watch educational videos by Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta (both Christians) about large-scale agriculture in America.
Thanks for sharing! I will have to check out those resources.
thank you for this wonderful article. it’s a call for us to understand that God expect us to protect and replenished the earth
Amen! Thanks!
Really a move of the Holy Spirit urging us by his help and with Gods Word to separate the truth from the lies, light from darkness. That is something creative, as in Genesis 1, verse 4. So good to be able to embrace and enter into these truths. When watching teaching on permaculture a pagan spirit came along together with all these wonderful observations of how Gods Creation works. That spirit is an antichrist spirit. So we need to be rooted in the bible, prayer and in the christian fellowship. Thank you!
Mr. Noah, thank you for the publication! I am Brazilian and YWAM missionary, I am initiating a project that brings the biblical understanding about the concept of Permaculta here in Brazil. I am very happy to know that Christians are getting up to look at creation with the eyes of the Father. I would like to know more about what God has already shared with you on the subject.
Thank you!
Sounds like a great project. I am also glad to see Christians beginning to take Creation Care seriously in light of God’s wisdom.
You need to give respect to the man who created the word (permaculture). Who spent 65 years of his life researching and living in the forest, to bring this knowledge to everyone, has a doctorate degree in agriculture, you need to do your homework. Stop capital icing on someone’s work
Thanks for your caution and correction. I do not mean any disrespect to Mr. Mollison. He has definitely done a wonderful service in the wisdom of God he has observed and applied through agriculture. My main objective in this article is to caution Christians about adopting non-Christian values while we learn from the helpful principles laid out in Permaculture.
I’m currently reading an online Permaculture Design course and after just some pages I realised that the three ethics of it corrolate with how I see our duty and honour as children of God! A quick Google search brought me to your site. Thanks for your thoughts above; I will check the rest of your site in due course.
Stewardship of God’s Creation is something completely different than how Western societies use (misuse and abuse) the natural resources! I surely love Dan Grubb’s term of “stewardculture” and will definitely browse his site too!
Keep up the good work and let’s pray more followers of Christ will “see the light”.
Amen! Thanks for the encouragement.
Noah, I like the way you think. Another book you might like is “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. She is a Native America writer and professor of Botany who has written on both the wonder of nature and the spiritual connection of following the principles of the natural world. I think with your discernment, you’ll get a lot out of it. If you can find God in “Gaia’s Garden” then you will most definitely find Him here.
With all due respect to Robin, especially giving a different indigenous view, I did prefer Katherine Hayhoe’s book, as she is both a well known Christian author and one of America’s top climate scientists. Science should be what we consider particularly and especially on current events which are of course what science is good at.
As practicing Christian who has done a PDC (with David Holmgren and others) I have found Born-Again Dirt a very helpful book and also this article. May more be written as we reclaim the Lord’s original mandate in Genesis 2:15.
Thank you for honouring The Creator of our gardens. In my early walk with Jesus I used to be embarrassed about my love for nature and Gods creation thinking that people in the churches would think I was too new agey. But now I know that that is how God created me to be and I also found the most amazing Christian Care organization, ARocha. It is wonderful to worship and steward well God’s amazing creation with other, and to use His method of permaculture. May we reach others for Him through our love for growing in His garden, in His way. Thanks for great articles, Ginny, Cape Town, South Africa.
What a wonderful testimony! Isn’t it such a privilege to get to represent God as we steward his land?! Thanks for your heart and may God continue to use you to shine His light to the last, least, and lost through the work of your hands.
Noah
This is so wonderful to read! I’m one of many who want to take care of the earth like we’re commanded to do, but I’m always wary because new age thinking infiltrates so easily into permaculture. I like how you changed it to God’s Garden. I think I’ll do the same on my copy of the book! I’m definitely going to be following your blog!!
That’s great! It’s great to get to connect with like-minded people. God is raising up a generation of Christ-centered stewards of the land, and it is so exciting to be a part!
What is your Christian denomination and are you Seventh Day Adventist?
Hey! Thanks for your question. I currently participate in a home fellowship that is associated with the work of Curtis Sergeant and https://metacamp.org/. As far as statement of faith I would adhere to the https://www.lausanne.org/content/covenant/lausanne-covenant. Denomination wise I would probably fall into a reformed Baptist category, but obviously hold to Scripture alone as a standard and recognize my need to continually grow in my knowledge of God and obedience to his commands. I am not a Seventh Day Adventist though I respect those who are (and personally take a sabbath day each week) and appreciate their willingness to apply God’s rest in their lives.
Thank you for such a graceful article, Noah. You clearly have a love for the whole of God’s creation, including the people that you might, at times, disagree with. In our modern culture this is of exceptional value and importance, and you are clearly someone who has really understood the need to love everyone, and seek to encourage the “bits” of truth they may have, to help them fight THE truth of Jesus. This article has certainly encouraged me that, as you say, I don’t have to “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.
Bless you.
Thanks for the encouragement Stephen. May God continue to let our hearts and conversations be ‘full of grace, seasoned with salt’.
I started learning principles of permaculture and woke up this morning grappling with why they are so “anti-God”. The nature and the systems that work in nature were created by God. Then it hit me, they want to be god, they choose, arbitrary, what is good, what is fair, etc. I love learning how God’s design works and will always strive to give Him the glory. Thank you for confirming what I am not off track, and reminding me that Satan is the enemy.
So grateful for your heart and totally agree! May God raise up more creation stewards that will show his redemptive power and amazing wisdom in the way they tend the land!
Noah
wow, so glad to have stumbled upon this page! I have joined a group that has started a permaculture community garden in our town(Lively, Ontario). I am in love with all of the learning I am doing in this group,, and the food we bring to our community throughout the growing season, but its been a struggle to share with people that i do this out of my faith and relationship with God. When I am in the garden i feel connected and at peace, I would love practical tips on how people can start conversations with the public in these garden spaces, or act their faith, that might stimulate conversation…it seems hard for me to put myself out there.
Permaculture is nothing more than taking what scientists have observed about ecosystems and environments and integrating that knowledge into agriculture; and more broadly yet unproven, civilization as a whole. Bypassing permaculture resources to bypass the impenitent beliefs possibly included in them is as easy as finding secular scientific resources about ecosystems and environments. Along with conventional agriculture resources like government agencies which are secular as far as I know. You don’t have to intertwine yourself with the impenitent just to farm or build civilization creatively. Secular resources do exist for likely everything. As Christians we don’t have to reject everything that isn’t Christian just because it isn’t Christian so long as we keep our conscience (reference the Catechism of the Catholic Church on conscience). I drive a Chevy, and the badge on it looks like a Cross that fell over but I use it anyways because it’s the only vehicle I have. The historian Josephus Flavius has writings used often by Christians. Josephus Flavius lived during the time of the incarnate Christ, and was a nonChristian Jewish Roman Military Governor of Galilee who knew about the disciples of Jesus.
Christian permaculture resources would be good to have, of course; and even better would be Catholic permaculture resources. Joel Salatin is one of the few outspoken Christians I’ve found who has made resources for permaculture type farming and has a proven business model.
I am so happy to have come across this blog. I am a community and regional planning student and have recently come to believe in Christ within the last year. In the last year I’ve also struggled to find where I “fit in” within the body of Christ. Permaculture, agriculture, gardening and food systems are of big interest to me and in reading the Bible I’ve become more cognizant of God’s command to be stewards of the earth. I see a lot of like-minded people in this comment section and do wonder if there are faith-based permaculture organizations or groups I could become a part of. Thanks!
Hi Noah thank you for this post. It gave me the encouragement that I needed now.
Oh and sUch a great title ´Born again dirt´ 😀
I love this so much! I just discovered your blog. As a follower of Christ, an educator, parent, and backyard gardener, I’m convinced the ideas of observing and honoring the design God’s already given us, stewarding creation for Him, glorifying Him, and serving others rather than trying to merely look out for our own immediate interests is so biblical! I’m so glad you are writing about Christian permaculture. Have you read Nancy Pearcey’s Total Truth? This blog post reminds me so much of what she’s encouraging Christ followers to do! Thank you, again. I can’t wait to read more of your writing.
I really like Nancy Pearcey’s work, though I haven’t read Total Truth. The book I have from her is Saving Leonardo. I was actually privileged to have breakfast with her at an event a few years ago and had a good conversation related to worldview and agriculture. So grateful for writers and speakers like her.
In January of 2020, the Lord put it on my heart to start growing food. As the year went on it began to make perfect sense and I started to discover things like homesteading and permaculture. There are many reasons why I wanted to get into all of this, but a big one was to be a better steward of the Lords creation! So glad I found a Christian perspective of it!
Jeremiah, It is so good to hear from you! God seems to be calling many people into this area. I pray that we can be used by him to play our role in shining his light to the world through agriculture.
Is there going to be an online Christian permaculture course? I am signed up for the official PDC course. As much as I want to learn the practical concept, i am not comfortable with the “mother earth” portion. I would absolutely love a Christian interpretation. I am on a mission to not just grow my own food but inspire those around me to follow me in that journey.
LC, I hope to do a Christian permaculture course in the near future. I appreciate your heart to learn about it from a Christian perspective.
Thank you Noah! I’ve previously done some editing on my copy of “God’s Garden” too! 🙂