Christianity and the Environment
Despite the popular view that many Christians believe environmental issues to be unimportant and indeed incompatible with their core beliefs, there are many more who believe quite the opposite. Many Christians today take environmental issues to heart (McDermott 2011), believing that it is not only the right of the faithful to inhabit and "rule over" the earth, but also their duty to protect this environment. In fact, the majority of Christians have embraced the idea of environmental protection and action to curb climate change without feeling that such action is incompatible with their basic faith. Hence, despite the historic tendency to exploit the earth and its resources under license of their "special" place in creation, Christians today believe that the biblical idea of "mastery" also means protection. Even prominent institutions such as the Vatican believe in the importance of protecting the earth, while the faithful on both the liberal and conservative sides believe that ecologically sound practices are essential from both a practical and religious point-of-view.
In the past, many Christians have interpreted the Old Testament idea of "mastery" over creation as a license to exploit the resources of the earth (McDermott 2011). Indeed, God does provide human beings with a "special" place on earth, declaring them to be higher than the rest of creation. In the past, this has been viewed as a command to rule over the earth, which has further been interpreted as a license to exploit. While there are those who still hold this belief today, the majority of Christians now interpret the idea of mastery to be synonymous with care. God, according to this view, is the master of all, but remains separate from earth. It is therefore the duty of believers, as representatives of God on earth, to protect the environment as part of the "mastery" directive.
Taking this idea further, Silvius (2012) points that Adam was never required to "rule" the earth by exploiting it. His rulership directive was also one of "keeping" it, or caring for nature. Indeed, early in Genesis God commands Adam to study the animals and plants and give them names. In other words, his care of the environment was also a scientific...
Toulmin Model argument in response to one of the following prompts: • What specific action(s) should Christians take regarding the environment and its preservation or restoration? Active in 15 countries, "Target Earth" is a group of individuals, churches, college fellowship and various ministries that are Christian protectors for everything that God created. The group feeds the hungry, saves endangered animals, rebuilds forests, and serves as active voice for environmental concerns. The
action(s) should Christians take regarding the environment and its preservation or restoration? Environmental Christianity There is presently much controversy regarding environmentalism and religion is particularly important when considering people's involvement in preserving the environment, with Christian groups from around the world being actively engaged in preserving and restoring it. Although there are a series of techniques that people can use in trying to save the environment, some methods are actually ineffective.
Christian Biotechnology: Not a Contradiction in Terms Presented with the idea of "Bioethics" most people in the scientific community today immediately get the impression of repressive, Luddite forces wishing to stifle research and advancement in the name of morality and God. Unfortunately, this stereotype too often holds true. If one looks over the many independent sites on the Internet regarding bioethics, reads popular magazines and publications, or browses library shelves for
Jesus' Teachings, Prayer, & Christian Life "He (Jesus) Took the Bread. Giving Thanks Broke it. And gave it to his Disciples, saying, 'This is my Body, which is given to you.'" At Elevation time, during Catholic Mass, the priest establishes a mandate for Christian Living. Historically, at the Last Supper, Christ used bread and wine as a supreme metaphor for the rest of our lives. Jesus was in turmoil. He was
In the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus spent his latter days healing and caring for the sick, dying, and possessed. This should be the way that all Christians act and taking care of the environment for the sake of the poor and needy as well as all living organisms. Regarding the faith and teaching of the Christian Bible, Christians play a vital role in the maintenance of the Earth. The
Healthcare -- Doing as Much Good as Possible Many healthcare professionals believe that medicine and ethics are integrated. I agree with this concept. To do good medicine, one must also do good ethics, and to do good ethics, one must also do very good medicine. The two simply cannot be removed from each other. In today's society, the demands of medicine are so great, and the tendency is so real to allow
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