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Christians and Environmental Stewardship
Christians and Environmental Stewardship
Christians and Environmental Stewardship
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The well-being of the environment is the responsibility of all people. From the water in the ground, to the air that we breathe and everything in between, is a gift from God, and worthy of preservation. The book of Genesis says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it” (Gen 1:15, New American Standard). It is clear by this passage that God intended for man to not only care and prepare the land for growth, but also to remain faithful in his responsibilities that God had given him. Christians should not neglect their responsibility toward protecting the environment and living a life that exemplifies this cause.
David wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1). Just as Adam was placed in the garden to keep and protect it—Christians have the same responsibility to keep the earth God has placed into their care. They should not have the attitude that one day Christ is coming back, so why should they worry about all the pollution that is taking place—like all the groundwater that is being polluted and dried up. As one journal states, “Groundwater tables are falling at phenomenal rates, often more than one meter per year, in many parts of the world. Formerly perennial rivers and streams whose base flow was supplied by groundwater are becoming seasonal or disappearing altogether. Wetlands are drying up. Salt water is intruding inland in many coastal areas, and land is subsiding under cities. Pollution is increasingly threatening those supplies that are available” (Giordano, 2009, p. 153). Christians can do simple things, that when multiplied across this nation, can have a profound effect on the water supply. Like men not ...
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...all the more” (Luke 12:48b). There is no excuse for a Christian to stand buy and do nothing, while their environment is slowly being destroyed. They have been given much; God requires them to take responsibility and to be good stewards of the environment.
References
Giordano, M. (2009). Ground water: Issues and solutions. 34, 153-178
Muller, G. H., & Wiener, H. S. (2009). To the point (2nd ed.) Reading and writing short arguments, New York: Longman
Silvius, J., E., (n.d.) Christian stewardship of the environment, Retrieved from, http://www.creationism.org/csshs/v10n3p24.htm
Stone, D. A., Allen, M. R., Scott, P. A., Pall, P., Min, S., Nazawa, T., at al. (2009) The Detection and Attribution of Human Influence on Climate. 34, 1-16
Day, J., C., (2010), National populations projects, Retrieved from, http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/natproj.html
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
...that they believe is just and being ethical when concerning the environment, adherents will be rewarded by God. Humanity also benefits as, environmental ethics provided by the Christian teaching and beliefs allows communities to come together and discuss issues concerning the environment whilst being guided by their faith.
...ell. We should care about the health and well-being of the plant and animal life around us because the majority of us also depend on these animals and their life cycles for nourishment. The water from thiswatershed, as well as others, is where we get our drinking water, irrigation and other industrial water usage, which means that the animals depend on this water as well. If they ingest harmful chemicals, we in turn ingest these chemicals with our daily food intake. The James River Association accepts volunteers to assist with the care of the Chesapeake River watershed and its sub-watersheds. There are lots of other ways to get involved in the prevention of further pollution to our precious natural resources. The first step is to not become part of the problem. Do not liter, don’t dump your oils in the gutters and think that you are not part of the problem.
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. Print.
An environmentalist is a person worships the environment and cares for nature more than people. Christians and others share the common perception that environmental ethics exist for how human beings should relate to the land, the free market perceptive and the environmental perceptive. Humans share a relationship with all creations of the earth. But as humans, they find themselves as having a role in the created order which is they have a closer relationship with the creator who has charged them with acting responsible within his creation. Even allowing a common complaint of environmental activists is that Stewardship means that the earth was made exclusively because of human beings - that having dominion upper nature is the same as having the power and directly of domination. Christians consequently share a close relationship by means of the whole of aspects of creation, since in relation to the environment, its unbroken humanity, not unbroken nature, that's seen to be the problem. Stewardship in simple terms means to manage someone else’s property. Christians proclaims that everything belong to God, so as Christians, we need to have the attitude that our belongings are his belongings. As stewards, we have the responsibility of being in charge of the earth. We have been placed in charge and are responsible for whatever happens to it, even though it does not belong to us, as we all know it belong to God. In Genesis 2:15, God took man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work and take care of it.
The articles “The Environmental issue from hell” by Bill McKibben and “The Obligation to Endure” by Rachel Carson both talk about the environmental consequences that people have caused. However, McKibben writes about Global warming and argues that it is a moral responsibility to preserve the earth, while on the other hand, Carson writes about pollution of the earth caused by man. McKibben article makes good points and supports his claim with facts which makes his article valid. Carson supports her idea with adequate information and factual evidence which also makes her article valid.
Unity, protection and accountability, that is tawhid, khalifa and akrah: the three central concepts of Islam, are also the pillars of the environmental ethics of Islam. The relationship between humankind and the environment is part of social existence, an existence based on the fact that everything on earth worships the same God. Humans are expected to protect the environment since no other creature can perform this task. Humans are the only beings that god has ‘entrusted’ with the responsibility of looking after the earth.
In the final chapter of the Pope’s encyclical he talks about how “Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings about all who need to change.” The Pope stresses that we need to educate ourselves on the environment and the issues of the world, which would then in turn (hopefully) change people’s attitudes towards the environment and the issues we face and also change their way of life to be more integral and responsible to the earth. The Pope claims that “A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of
I strongly agree with Pope Francis that if we teach younger generations not to be wasteful and show them how to be resourceful, then it won’t be such a struggle in the future. "Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices.” (211). There are so many new ways to help reduce our use of natural resources that if from a young age we are taught these methods then we could help save our planet. “All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity.” (211). Again, I agree with the Pope that recycling and reusing makes you feel good because you are making an active contribution to reduce climate
Christian theology states that God created the earth and gave it as a gift to humans to be shared with all other living creatures. This belief is known as the “Creation-centered approach to the natural environment” (Massaro, p.163). This approach emphasizes the value of nature by recognizing humans as being an equal part of God’s creation under which all “species deserve protection” (Massaro, p.163). With such publicly known cases of pollution like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or Bethlehem Steel’s pollution of Lake Erie decades ago, it is evident that humans have been using the environment in accordance with the Stewardship or even the Dominion model, both of which place humans above all other creations. According to Massaro, Christian theology also explains that showing “disregard for the air that others breathe and the quality of the water they drink is to sin against God” (Massaro, p.162). This type of disregard destroys humankind’s relationship with all other living organisms.
...and consume. The earth isn’t getting any bigger or more abundant- so it’s up to us to take care of it.
God has not abandoned the world. It is His will that His design and our hope for it will be realized through our co-operation in restoring its original harmony. In our own time we are witnessing a growth of an ecological awareness which needs to be encouraged, so that it will lead to practical programs and initiatives. An awareness of the relationship between God and humankind brings a fuller sense of the importance of the relationship between human beings and the natural environment, which is God's creation and which God entrusted to us to guard with wisdom and love (cf.
As an environmentalist (or a "radical" environmentalist, as I am often labeled by members of the mainstream environmental movement), I feel it is my duty as a protector of the Earth's well-being to write this editorial as a means of bringing into the American consciousness a variety of frightening environmental issues. Though some of you may be aware of these problems, I know many are not, and thus may be shocked to learn about the degradation of our Earth and the people living in it. Indeed, I truly believe that "since the dawn of the industrial age, America has behaved like an alcoholic with a good job—prospering despite a lifestyle that jeopardizes the future and ruins much of what is good with irresponsible behavior.
We all belong to the same world and all of us have the same responsibilities towards the world and its environment. This fact might be hard to digest, but if we continue to pollute the Earth at the current rate, all of the world’s ocean waters will become one-hundred-thirty percent acidic. This means that the ocean will be unable to sustain most of its marine life and only a few creatures will be able to survive in the water. A big population of people think that they do not or have few responsibilities towards the environment. People think that the governor of a country should take steps to help the environment. They leave it to scientists since they have the technology to prevent pollution, or that is what most people think. There are more responsibilities to the world each individual has than most of realize. The amount of negligence and ignorance of humans towards the Earth is taking a heavy toll.
On the whole, I think that it is our moral obligation to protect the environment and its inhabitants. We must all contribute in protecting the nature. No matter how small or insignificant our actions may seem, they matter. It only takes 1 person to start a movement that could possibly lead to a major environmental breakthrough. Are you going to be that person?