What Would Jesus Drive? An…

                          What Would Jesus Drive?
                 An Educational Campaign of the Evangelical Environmental Network
                                        Actions to Take
The Question
Jesus is concerned about what we drive because pollution from vehicles has a major impact on human
health and the rest of God's creation. It contributes significantly to the threat of global warming. And
our reliance on imported oil from unstable regions threatens peace and security. Making transportation
choices that threaten millions of human beings violates Jesus' Great Commandments to "Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength"
and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mk. 12:30-31), as well as the Golden Rule to "Do to others as
you would have them do to you" (Lk. 6:31).
The Lordship of Christ extends throughout every area of our life. Nothing is excluded from His
Lordship. This includes our transportation choices. That is why "What Would Jesus Drive?" is a
question all Christians should ponder seriously. Obeying Jesus in our transportation choices is one of
the great Christian obligations and opportunities of the twenty-first century.

Actions
Empowered by grace and guided by the Holy Spirit, Christians are called to fulfill the Great
Commandments to love God and neighbor, indeed to love sacrificially with a humble desire to serve
others, and to act as Jesus' ministers of reconciliation of all things (2 Cor. 12:9; Mt. 22:37-40; Mk.
12:28-34; Lk. 10:25-28; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; Jas. 2:8; Dt. 6:5; Lev. 19:18; Jn. 13:34; I Jn. 4:7-8; Phil.
2:5-8; Col. 1:15-20; 2 Cor. 5:18). We are to do the will of God by following Jesus - the Creator,
Savior, Lord, Great Physician, and Prince of Peace.
What transportation choices would Jesus choose? The following action suggestions are based upon
Jesus' teaching of the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule in light of current transportation
impacts.
- Christians should organize their lives so that it is easier and more desirable to walk, bike, car pool
  and use public transportation more, and use personal vehicles less.
- When they move to a new location, Christians should choose a place that makes it is easier and
  more desirable to walk, bike, or take public transportation.
- When a new passenger vehicle is required, Christians should purchase the most fuel efficient and
  least polluting vehicle available that truly fits their needs and does not significantly threaten their
  safety or the safety of others.
- Christians could donate a significant portion of the money they save from fuel savings to missions.
- SUVs should be purchased only by those who truly need them, such as individuals in rural areas and
  those genuinely needing 4-wheel drive.
- Christian business leaders should encourage their employees to use public transportation and
  participate in ride-share programs, avoid subsidized parking, and purchase fuel-efficient business
  vehicles.
- Local churches should educate their congregations about public transportation options available
  both for their daily activities and for church services, and create ride-share programs to transport
  members to worship services and church activities.
- Churches, denominations, and Christian organizations should educate their members that
  transportation choices are moral choices. (See our website, www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org for
  educational and worship resources.)
- Christians and Christian organizations and denominations should advocate for government policies
  that make it easy for individuals to do the right thing when it comes to transportation. This includes:
- making communities pedestrian and bike friendly;
  - making public transportation easily accessible, readily available, and affordable;
  - requiring new passenger vehicles to be more fuel efficient by raising fuel economy (or CAFE)
    standards to 40mpg by 2012 and;
  - supporting research and development for hydrogen fuel cells and other promising alternative
    technologies.
- Christians and Christian organizations and denominations should encourage automobile
  manufacturers to make more fuel efficient and less polluting vehicles by purchasing them and by
  contacting them to make their views known.
- Christians should express their views to others, such as writing a letter to the editor of the local
  paper on the topic of What Would Jesus Drive?, using facts and arguments provided by this
  campaign.

For More Information
See these websites: www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org and www.creationcare.org.

Get Involved
Go to the www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org website, sign the Pledge, and get the official bumper sticker.
Tell others about the campaign. See our "Action Suggestions" Fact Sheet or the "Actions" page of the
website for what else you can do. Contact EEN to get more involved in the campaign.
    Contact EEN: een@creationcare.org ~ 202-554-1955 ~ 10 E. Lancaster Ave, Wynnewood, PA, 19096
10-22-02