Isn't the Christian belief that Man has "dominion over the land and animals" contrary to preserving our planet

Answer 1

I'm a Catholic, but I am also a conservation biologist that specializes in human wildlife conflicts. My specialty are primate species in Kenya, as that is where I am from. In my own country the movement from traditional beliefs to Catholic beliefs was definitely accompanied by a lot of use and abuse of the land and the species that habituated it. So a perverse concept of land ownership did seem to accompany the spread of Christianity, but I don't think that it has to continue to be this way. Of course my field endeavors to develop land management policies such that "dominion" is no longer abuse, but instead is more about being good stewards and working in concert, not just with wildlife, but also with the indigenous population who rely upon the products within the natural world, but with the key being responsible sustainability as opposed to greed, acquisition and abuse. That may have been an attribute in the past, but times are changing and the christian faith has to learn to change with it.

Answer 2

I'll answer with a question.
Doesn't the belief that a king has dominion over the land, animals and people mean that he has some obligation to preserve them?
now I am not saying all kings and the like have done this. the technicalities like that are irrelevant. it is the concept that is important in this example. Also, parents have, in a sense, dominion over their children. Nature and law declare that they must "preserve" them. In this way having dominion over something means that if you are good you will take care of it in the best way you can, evil will do the opposite. Uneducated will be somewhere in between. This is the case in context with the question, and is not intended to cover any other subject.

Answer 3

Only if you think "dominion" means "authorization to suck dry."

Dominion can also mean responsibility, stewardship. it can be like God making Man the caretaker of the planet. In that sense, letting the planet go to crap for our own exploitation ... well ... won't go over too well with God.

You can think of it as a King giving "dominion" of a plot of land to a favored duke. It still belongs to the King. If the duke (Man) really messes up the land, the King might get pretty pissed off.

In other words, (even though this question *should* be asked in R&S, not Biology), as with interpreting any Biblical passage, you have to look to the words for deeper meaning, not literal meaning.

Answer 4

Only if you assume that having control over something means you can't preserve it. And that doesn't make any sense at all. Nothing says you can't utilize resources at your discretion without failing to manage and protect them. In fact, a strict look at the Bible's teaching would reveal exactly the opposite: that we are charged to be good stewards of what we are given.

oh...err...Michaelhobbwhatever from below...I think it's you that's completely missed the point of this question. You said that if you had dominion, you would fix various environmental problems. I don't think you know what the word dominion means--look it up. It has to do with right and authority...nothing at all with the ability to accomplish anything, nevermind "wish it away." The rest of your answer is irrelevant, since the original poster asked about whether Christianity and environmental conservation are COMPATIBLE--not about what your unsubstantiatied opinion on the matter is.

and Joan H: which question are you answering. BTW, I find it funny that you say "what africa needs is a means to reduce the massive population explosion, not abstinance." Ummm...where do I start here? Maybe as soon as the other guy is done looking up "dominion"....

asgspifs: no one is interpreting dominion to mean stewardship (as you pointed out, that is not what dominion means). What they are pointing out is that in addition to man being given dominion (in the Bible), there is a command to be good stewards of what we receive. No one is saying those are the same thing--merely that both exist independantly. Thats not redefining words to "justify what the Bible says." Its merely repeating what the Bible itself says...look it up. Thanks for the kind answer.

Answer 5

The simple answer is a resounding "Yes!"

I would ask Nancy M what, as a Catholic, she is doing in Kenya to help control the human population besides recommending abstinence. The wildlife there cannot be saved unless a curb is put on the explosive growth of the human population. If she wants to conserve wildlife, the first step has to be curbing human population and giving women some choice besides having all the children they can.

I speak from having been in Kenya myself and seeing what is happening with the human population under the "guidance" of Catholic teachings.

Answer 6

Not shocking that the religious folks flocked to this one. Even those answers that say "dominate" = "stewardship" are COMPELTELY MISSING THE POINT.

We DO NOT have dominion over our planet. If we did I'd wish-away global warming, rainforest depeltion and I'd certainly give the environment a tiding up.

Even the idea of stewardship doesn't cut it. It still imples that we have control but REALLY REALLY promise to be nice aboue it. Unless it means getting rid of our SUVs of course.

We are a fraction of bio/ecoshpere. We are a minority but are the most powerful minority. By power I don't mean that we can control the environment, only that we can strongly effect it - often in unpredicatble, stochastic ways.

Our best shot at preserving our planet is NOT to see ourselves as its benefactors (i.e. earth as a gift from god). Rather we should see ourselves as passengers in a life raft who are ripping holes in the sides.

Minimizing our environtmental impact is the key, not excersicing our (supposed) power as masters of the ecosystem for the "good" of the planet.

And hey you Christians.. what would Jesus drive?

Answer 7

Yes it is.
But if they want to interpret the word "dominion" to mean "good stewardship" (which is not what "dominion" means) just to justify what the bible says, then fine - as long as they act as good stewards and do things that help conservation and environmental preservation efforts.

Answer 8

this would solve all the freaken interpretation of anything: live your life the way you want it to then after you die god will decide whether you go up or down back to earth. dominion over the land in my opinion is i have control and i can do whatever the "fu--" i want with it, im not obligated to care for it in anyway. please excuse the language. it was just to make a point.

Answer 9

dominion over land and animals did not mean to recreate the land and animals. god alone does this. we have the power to live among the land and animals. we have no real control. yet we are given the knowledge to try and preserve all things!!!!!!!

Answer 10

What about the Jewish belief about mutliple sets of dishes and untensils? The wahhabite Muslim belief that all flowers should be destroyed?