Where did the idea that man has "Dominion" over the animals and the earth come from?

Question

Dominion is defined as : Control or the exercise of control; sovereignty.

It is maybe true man has the ability to destroy or in animals put in cages, etc. Yes, mankind does domesticate animals, but that is far short of dominion. Who is the man who can by command control a hungry lion in the wild or stop a charging elephant by just convincving the elephant that he is subject to man or mankind Likewise which man is able to tell a tree to grow 6 feet this year and 3 feet next year?

Is it possible that too many Bible teachers are not truly giving much thought to what they teach?

Answer 1

I blame Christianity for that one. Of course, Christianity is on my s*** list right now, so I may not be the most reliable source in this regard

Answer 2

This one isn't "Christianity", it is the Old Testament...the book of Genesis and the story of creation is common to more than just the Christian faith.

It comes from the story in Genesis (Gen. 1:28 to be precise). God gave Adam dominion over the all the life IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. I think that's the part people forget when they think we still have dominion over animals.

How's this for a theory...
The way I've always thought about it was that Adam's choice to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil changed the nature of man...and God, being God, knew that man could no longer be trusted with control over the rest of his creation. In that moment, the nature of animals and even the nature of nature itself changed forever! Clearly we don't have dominion over the animals (or anything else) any more or animals wouldn't kill humans (or even each other), we wouldn't have poisionous plants (remember God told Adam he could eat everything EXCEPT the one tree he chose!), and the earth itself wouldn't have the ability to strike back at the poor management decisions of man (e.g., mudslides caused cutting trees or over developing)! None of those reactions would be necessary because God created man to be a good manager of his creation...Adam decided to choose a different path!

Answer 3

Read Genesis 1:27-31 to find out that God does indeed grant man dominion over all living things on the earth. Man can't command a tree to grow 8 ft. overnight... but he can cut it down. Man can't tell an elephant to stop charging, but he can put a bullet through it's head. God says that because humans are created in His own image, that we have a special place to him.... to the point that he would give us the priority over all living creatures on the face of the earth. God loves every living creature, but He especially loves us, because we are created in His own likeness. That is so to say that we aren't to value the lives of any other creature higher than the life of a human.

Answer 4

You are trying to apply many different types of dominion (in their extreme) to a single use of the word. Nevertheless, let's answer one point at a time.

Who is the man who can by command control a hungry lion in the wild - dominion does not *necessarily* mean that the thing you have dominion over responds to your commands. I assure you, I have dominion over my tomato plant. It lives or dies at my whim, yet does not respond to my command.

Stop a charging elephant by convincing...

Dominion over a human can perhaps be accomplished by convincing, but I assure you, I have never had to convince my tomato plant of anything. And yet I retain my dominion...

Likewise which man is able to tell..

Of course, *all* men able to speak are able to tell a tree this. The fact that man cannot supersede the laws of nature ought to be an argument *for* believing the bible. The fact that my dominion of my tomato plant does not extend to this level does not negate my dominion over my tomato plant.

Another mind-bending question solved by Captain Obvious, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/...

Answer 5

I have always had a problem with this idea. When I was a very young child, my dad took me to church, and we used to have discussions about this. I always said that I just didn't feel like we were supposed to walk around acting superior to all other living creatures.

I also have to disagree with some of the responses. We are very high up in the food chain, but we are not at the top. Ants are probably closer to the top than us. Anyone who owns a pet (particularly a cat) knows that animals can sometimes rule over us. :) The animals that "listen" to the trainers in circuses do so because they have been severly abused a mistreated. Once again, they twist their holy text to fit their agenda...which in this case is that they want to be in charge of everything.

Answer 6

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Just where do you get that domestication is not the same as dominion?
The whole idea is that of steward and caretaker. But as with all other things that were intended sin (disobedience) entered the picture and man took the selfish path that the curse led him down and he has perverted it as he has everything else that was created good like sex.


radah
1) to rule, have dominion, dominate, tread down
a) (Qal) to have dominion, rule, subjugate
b) (Hiphil) to cause to dominate

2) to scrape out
a) (Qal) to scrape, scrape out

Answer 7

The Bible does. The primary issue in the general lack of true dominion is the fall of man from his original perfection.

Answer 8

Genesis 1:28

Answer 9

It's actually in the Bible, God gave Adam after he created him, dominion over all the animals of the earth.

Answer 10

It was God's idae not mans .No doubt about it God created Adam then Eve both in his own image and then.....

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

God said it, that settles it! Cap'n Arlo

Answer 11

Its actually in the Bible - Genesis but I don't remember the exact chapter & verse. People just tend to think that it means they should smash, conquer & control everything because of this "dominion".