Ruth then gave a theological underpinning to the rest of the day by thinking about the Creation narrative in Genesis - and contrasting it with the Babylonian creation narrative that preceded it. She suggested that the Genesis Creation story was written as it was precisely to highlight the differences between the Hebrew God and the Babylonian family of gods.

The Genesis Creation story also highlights certain things about God, about the world, and about humankind. Among other things, our God is a singular, supreme being who empties himself to create space for his creation; our world is described as being "good" rather than coming from an evil source; and humankind is created to care for and to be intimately connected with God's creation.

She said: "This gives us fresh ways of thinking about God, our world and our place in it. We don't embrace creation care because of a secular agenda, or because of science, or because it is popular, but because it is fundamental to our Christian faith."

There was also input from Andy Atkins, chief executive of the environmental charity A Rocha. He suggested that there were some fundamental paradoxes about society's response to this issue:

• Climate change is simple physics and chemistry, and the greenhouse effect theory was first suggested in the 19th century... 
  BUT the issues involved are so complex that the UN Convention on Climate Change still can't mention the phrase "fossil fuels" because oil companies don't want us to cut carbon emissions;
• Climate change is an existential threat to everyone under 40 years old (eg. there were 24,000 heat-related deaths in Europe in 2025, and flooding and food shortages are likely to follow)...
  BUT most of us are worried about other things (which may be equally valid, such as food poverty, or housing or unemployment or access to medical care). It's hard to think about doing something about the environment when other things seem more urgent
• The government's central job is to protect citizens from existential threats (such as war, famine and flood)...
  BUT more politicians are seeking to increases their electoral prospects by denying the reality of climate change or postponing action.
• The Church has dwindling numbers of participants, is challenged by divisions and has a shortage of funds...
  BUT churches have unique assets, including buildings, people, community links, a national voice, investments and international connections that could make a massive difference to climate change.

He suggested four Biblical principles that might help us to make a difference:

1. Loving God and loving your neighbour: this fundamental principle might encourage you to worship God for his creation and save others from damage caused by climate change;
2. Upholding the truth: in the face of influential people who don't seem to care about the truth, we need to have the courage and confidence to tell the truth about climate change and challenge those in our churches.
3. Displaying the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5): many people aren't knowingly opposing the science, but they happen to be worried about other things. So we need to show love and patience, not belittling or criticising people, but helping them to see what they can do about the issue.
4. Using the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12): you need different kinds of people with different gifts: the one who gets into the technical details, the one who loves gardening, the one who does the research, the one who leads in sung worship. All of them can do what God has called them to do in their specific sphere of life.