"... More earthbound Christians, though, are beginning to ponder on the biblical creation story, according to which, God says that humans should 'have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth' ..."
http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/green.html
Does 'dominion' mean that we are entitled to blow the tops off mountains to get at the coal beneath?
[Thanks for this post Apoc29]
9 comments:
My thoughts on this stemming from the original thread I sent to Sputnik are:-
- How involved should 'the church' (as an organisation)! be involved in environmental/green issues?
- Should we as Christians do our bit for the environment or is it ok to continue exploiting God's resource to us? How far do we choose to take this... how radical should we be?
- Where does having dominion over the earth finish what about modern day medical science and the advances that this brings things like stem cell research etc?
- Will part of our judgement be the size of the carbon footprint we personally are responsible for?
On an environmental level I think we are mere custodians over the world and we should have more respect for our planet and what we can learn or gain from it. At some point I guess we will be accountable for these things.
Re medical science this is a massive debate, for me the over riding factor is, is this not man just trying to extend life and thus 'play God'. However what about all the 'good' that is done and the improvement to some peoples quality of life does this balance it out?
Further to the link from the original post check these out also.
Not sure if anyone else saw this documentary on 19/03/07 is series first of three. http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/A/animal_farm/index.html
Is some of this good/progress as potentially it could have far reaching consequences and solve hunger issues in the third world, or is it meddling with nature and so God's plan?
Also for an alternative view on golbal warming did anyone see this documentary:-
http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/
How do we know who to believe?
Does this have links with the discussion about power/control/freedom in open forum or monoblog thread?
".. Does 'dominion' mean that we are entitled to blow the tops off mountains to get at the coal beneath? ..."
yes it does.
if the 'green agenda' is just about 'saving the planet', then this is not a 'church agenda'. Gods agenda is about people.
the responsibility we are given over the planet is open to 'use' and 'abuse'. are we blowing up mountain tops to 'meet the needs' of ourselves and others, or because we are lazy and use over-automation to feed our sluggardry? biblically, God has much to say about 'the sluggard'.
i dont see any biblical importance of the 'carbon footprint' (the current media buzzword) over any other convenient measure of nations and governments.
i think we misunderstand the magnitude of God if we think we can make the world a 'managable package of entities that can be balanced and controlled'. ice ages, seasons and cycles have been put in place, which we cannot change.
there is nothing 'fragile' about Gods creation. we, on the other hand, are like grass that withers.
Sputnik I entirely disagree with you I think that God is concerned about our 'use' and 'abuse' of HIS creation.
I understand God's main agenda to be people however I think your view that this is his sole agenda is very narrow.
I also think that throughout scripture comparison between God and creation or nature are frequent and this demonstrates his heart for ALL creation not just people.
I did not say that we would ever be able to 'manage' the world or environment, natural disasters are always likley to occur due to the fact that the world is 'fallen'!
What I asked was whether we should be doing more to 'respect' and 'preserve' our gift from God?
to 'preserve' the planets resources certain makes sense as part of our responsibility.
i know of an entire village in south malawi who were displaced because they used up so many trees, for basic living needs, that the rains washed away the land that was once bound together by the tree roots.
but i dont see this is a uniqely christian issue. we *all* use up energy.
as for 'respecting' the earth. im not sure about that. in what ways would you say we are 'abusing' the planet?
Sputnik,
I did not say it was a uniquely 'Christian' issue I asked what people thought our response should be?
Well I think the ways in which we 'abuse' our planet are many and varied it depends on how far you wish to take the concept.... everything from littering to de-forestation I guess.
Within this though I was also interested in the whole medical science aspect and 'playing God' as it is so fondly put.
Once again it is such a blurred and fuzzy boundary as these issues just did not exist in Jesus's time.
on 'planet abuse', i can see how 'littering' and 'deforestation' are about 'personal responsibility'. im all for that. the more we understand about personal responsibility, the more we can appreciate the doctrine of grace (not being treated as our sin deserves). but it is the role of the state, rather than the church, to set laws to reduce these things.
my grandfather was a coal miner. i see how closing domestic mines in favour of overseas sources makes sense to a country if labour is cheaper overseas, or if you would rather 'dig up someone elses back yard' than your own. i also see how the opening/closing of geographically-based industry, such as mining, affects families and shapes entire communities.
i would say that Gods heart is to see that people are not thirsty, not hungry, not cold, not sick, not separated from their families, etc. if Gods provision, to make these things happen, is in coal buried hundreds of metres underground i say dig it out or blow it out.
were 'green' issues really not around in Jesus time? or did he not measure/talk about them because that was(is) not his agenda?
i would still say that part of the 'dominion' we have been given means that God will leave us to bask in the fruit of our planet-processing, while He goes on breathing life into the souls of mankind.
I'm not sure if I'm understanding this issue the same way, but I feel that the way we care for the planet has an effect on man, which sputnik you previously argued was God's agenda.
The way that we in "Western" Society have abused the planet and contributed to global warming and pollution has a direct effect on the lives and livelihood of others.
The rising water levels, and sat what you like about that not being true, I believe are a result of the way we have beaten this planet up for "medical advances" and industry.
There are countries near the equator that suffer directly as a result of higher water levels, some which will not even be above ground in 100 years time. Often those people live of the land in a respectful way. Farming and building in sustainable ways, yet our actions in this country and others like it are taking that land away from them.
My Christian response would be to highlight the human effects of what we are doing. We ahev a responsibility to care about all people. If that means not using my car as often to avoid countries I've never heard of dissapearing under water then that's what it has to mean to me.
We do not need coal to run countries, there are natural sustainable safe energy sources that could power the industries we run without having a huge effect on the world. So maybe our response is to say that we should be looking ahead to the ling term future of the people of this planet, and that's why we need to look after it!!!!!!!!!!!
I like DQM's argument about how we care about the planet having a direct impact upon 'man'.
I think the question may be one of justice as this world is increasngly being divided into the 'haves' and the 'have nots'!
I think justice is one of God's key messages.
I guess within this though if all nations on earth were exploiting its resources to the same or an equal degree this would just bring other issues... I still think that God is passionate about the preservation of ALL his creation and that whilst he created us to have 'dominion' over the earth this should in effect translate as 'manage' or caretake effectively.
Another thought I have had lately along these lines but more with regard to medical science debate which was also implicit in the starting thread! It suddenly occurred to me that some people are very quick to condem what they perceive as 'playing God' however I realised the other day that without some of these advances even simple things people I know and am close to would not still be here.
Again whilst some medical science may be questionable most is used for good. However we return to issues of justice as this is largely to the benefit of western society.... If advances and medications were more equally distributed and available would this make it more acceptable?
Post a Comment