By
Ada Brownell
The need to care for the earth has
awakened in America and now is taught from kindergarten through college. Along
with that awakening comes resentment against Genesis 1:28 where God said to
Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every
living thing.”
What is God’s and the Christian’s
view?
The Bible not only speaks of
dominion, but also of responsibility, respect and stewardship of nature. Dominion
can be interpreted to mean “loving care, such as parental authority.”
Christians often
take the lead when it comes to preserving human life, especially the lives of
the unborn, but are not noted for being tree and mouse lovers. But most
understand we endanger ourselves when we endanger the ecosphere.
Albert
Schweitzer, a theologian/philosopher of the last century, said reverence for
life is connected with the individual’s will to live.
“If I am a
thinking being, I must regard other life than my own with equal reverence,”
Schweitzer said.”[1]
The Bible teaches
us to respect life. After all, our Heavenly Father—not Mother Nature—created
all the ecosystems Himself in the beginning. He gave us guidance in Old
Testament laws about how to care for the environment. However, just as nature has
natural systems which need to stay in a state of equilibrium
and disturbing one element could affect the whole earth, our beliefs about the
environment also need balance.
In Deuteronomy
15-20, we are warned not to worship nature. Making idols of any animal, bird,
creature or fish is forbidden. “When you look up to the sky and see the sun,
the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing
down to them.” The Lord condemns such worship as an “abomination.”[2]
Likewise in
Isaiah 1:29, the prophet says “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted.”
In the beginning when God inspected
His work, He said, “It is good.”
Life, indeed, is
precious and good. God shows us through His Word to respect it and all of His
creation. No matter how we mourn over contamination of coastal waters, the destruction
of wetlands, and the tragic loss of wildlife and jobs when there is an oil
spill, I am not to elevate nature above God or people.
But when we have
a disaster, I can pray for speedy cleanup and restoration; for wisdom for those
involved in the technical aspect of the cleanup; and for those whose lives and livelihoods
are affected.
Ada
Brownell, a free lance writer and retired newspaper reporter, has written
numerous stories on the environment and with Dennis Darrow received the 1994 Colorado
Associated Press Editors and Reporters first-place environment award for a
series that appeared in The Pueblo Chieftain. Her blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com
[1]
“The Ethics of Reverence for Life,” Albert Schweitzer, Christendom, 1936, 225-39
[2]
Deuteronomy 17:2-4
HOW THE BIBLE VIEWS ECOLOGY
·
The land
is to rest every seven years. “For six years sow your fields, and for six
years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a
Sabbath of rest” (Leviticus 25:3-4).
·
Don’t cut
down trees unnecessarily. “When you lay siege to a city for a long time,
fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to
them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of
the field men, that you should besiege them?” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20).
·
Be
compassionate to animals. “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the
grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you
fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with
it” (Exodus 23:5). Jesus tells about the shepherd leaving his flock to find one
lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7). “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal”
(Proverbs 12:10).
·
Respect
birds. “What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not
a single sparrow can fall to the
ground without your Father knowing it” (Matthew 10:29NLT). “If you come across
a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the
mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the
young. You may take the young, but be
sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a
long life” (Deuteronomy 22:6-7).
·
Respect
the earth and its Creator. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s
foundation? Who stretched a measuring line across it? Who shut up the sea
behind doors? Have you ever shown the dawn its place? The earth takes shape
like clay under a seal. Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked
in the recesses of the deep? What is the way to the abode of light? Where does
darkness reside? Have you entered the storehouses of the snow? What is the way
to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east
winds are scattered?“ (Selected from Job 38).
·
Turning
away from God affects the land. “Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites;
because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land. There
is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is
only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery. They break all bounds
and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who
live in it waste away, the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the
fish of the sea are dying “ (Hosea 4:1-3).
·
God
blesses the crops of the obedient. “’Bring
the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Test me
in this,’” says the Lord Almighty, “’and see if I will not throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room
enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in
your fields will not cast their fruit... all nations will call you blessed for
yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty” Malachi 3:6-12).
--Ada Brownell
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