There are two competing thoughts we will want to consider when we think about the earth and our responsibility for it.
In the account of creation found in the 3rd Chapter of Genesis we find the Adam and Eve story and the idea of "original sin" in which Adam and Eve were told, "do not eat the apple" because "you are not gods". It was a presentation of the idea that we have to let God be God and we are not to assume we have control over the earth. We have to treat the earth with responsibility.
The other idea comes from the 1st Chapter of Genesis where we find the injunction to be the we are made in the image of God. We are to "subdue the earth" and we are "to be fruitful and multiply". I think we could call this the "collateral sin" of not taking responsibility for the earth as we have been given it to do.
We are caught between not being gods, and being made in the image of God and we are in that tension between "do not violate the earth" and "do take charge of the earth".
What is our task these days?
How are we to live?
How do you resolve this?
If you have thoughts write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
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2 comments:
I'm not too good at interpreting God's intentions when the Bible provides countervailing direction; best leave that to you.
But from a pragmatic perspective, I am reminded of the "tragedy of the commons" argument posed by Garrett Hardin in the 1960's to represent our interdependency and shared responsibility for limited resources. Hardin saw the earth in the same way colonial farmers viewed their community pasture (The Commons) in which all farmers grazed their stock. Were one farmer to overgraze or misappropriate the pasture, all would suffer. The analogy can be taken to lengths that challenge the authority of the state or of personal reproductive rights but I prefer to stop at a high and very general level: How we behave affects others on the planet directly or indirectly. Examining our personal behavior on this tiny lifeboat crammed with 6.5 billion people is our first responsible step of respect, indeed, love for one another.
If we are caught in the tension between "do not violate the earth" and "do take charge" sounds to me that we should try to live in harmony with it. Sounds idealistic but not difficult.
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