“What part does religion play in the relationship between man and ‘Nature,?

Answer 1

I think the origins of today's religions are rooted in older traditions based on man's need to understand and live in harmony with Nature. For instance, the winter solstice was originally a time of fear as ancient people saw the days get shorter and colder. The nights grew longer and they feared the sun would not return. They develped rites to encourage the sun's return. Later people realized that there was a cycle and marked the movement of the sun with elaborate structures that centered the sun in its seasonal travels across their sky. Religion and celebrations moved from fear the sun would not return to festivities acknowledging we were headed back toward longer days. From there when Christianity came a long as well as other religions the older traditions got absorbed into the new mythology. Mythology has tended to move away from earth centeredness as humans no longer feared nature and came to be in better control of their environments.

I think we see some revival of earth centered spiritual practices as some people feel the need to reconnect with the natural cycles of nature and life as a more authentic spiritual need than some of our present day religious traditions.

Answer 2

I don't know about religion in general, but inthe Jewish and Christian Bible, in Genesis chapter 2, man is told to have doominion over nature, and it is obvious that this is not to be an abusive dominion - it's a question of having responsibility for nature.
It is human selfishness that brings about the environmental disasters we are living with today.

Answer 3

The God and the Goddess created man and nature, your relationship with nature is part of your relationship with the divine.

Answer 4

Religion can be seen as God's path or guidelines for humans. And nature is a mirror in which God has been shown his power and beauty. I think a perfect religion must show humans how to conduct nature peacefully and don’t harm it or destroy it. So religion is your life itself and you can live it as God wants you to do. Its why that I don’t believe in division between religion and life .You see that life, nature and religion all are one thing.

Answer 5

One comes to mind. Religion may well be a disguised version, or mythological approximation, of how we explain "nature." The Greek philosophers were the first significant tradition attempting to de-mythify our explanations. And the struggle goes on to this day.

Answer 6

There is man. It is real. There is nature. It is real. Religion doesn't play any part because it is mythical.

Answer 7

The planet is as much one of God's creations as Man is, and is due as much respect. As a matter of fact, St. Augustine of Alexandria describes nature as being "God's 'other' book".

Answer 8

Genesis 1:26

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Daniel 2:38

38 in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

Answer 9

None.

Nature and men were perhaps created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
There are images of this hapening online

http://www.venganza.org

Answer 10

Christians are called to be stewarts of the earth. That means we are to care for the environment and all that live upon God's earth.